My journey with Osteoarthritis and my journey to get rid of it

[ad313tg]

Just had my 6 week post op followup and I got cleared to ditch the crutches.

The xrays looked good on both hips.

This has been a long journey for me but worth every bit and I look forward to the next phase of getting back to normal daily functions.

The best part is I can start walking, building some endurance and then I will transition to introduce a little cycling (no more than 15 miles for the next year). Just to be able to get back on the bike after almost 9 months (the longest I've been off my bike in 41 years) makes me happy.

By the way, Saturday, July 16th was my one year anniversary of my first BHR. I joked with the PA today, since it's been one year for the first hip I was telling the PA I wanted to cycle 50 miles on my first hip resurfacing and 15 miles on my latest hip resurfacing. He laughed and said I would have to do the 50 miles while holding the leg of my latest hip resurfacing out to the side. Of course I would never do it.

I want to thank this list (and Pat) for all the information contained here and when I talk to others considering a total hip replacement to let them know there are other options because I know that without my daughter's boyfriend telling me about The Undertaker having a BHR and then finding this list I'm sure I would have ended up with total hip replacement and my cycling days would most likely have been over (at least my 6,000 to 9,000 miles per year).

I will continue to follow this list, following other's journey to become pain free, what a great feeling to be pain free.

Keep on pedaling!

Tony

[petemeads]

Congratulations Tony, but a couple of things to query - why the 15 mile limit for a year, and what makes you think a THR would stop you cycling?

My BHR dates from 2014 and I had to be careful because my bone wasn't very good so cycling became an important non-impact exercise, along with walking, for the first few months. My THR on 2nd May 2017 was a result of a failed BHR attempt (bone broke) but my surgeon assured me I would not break my ceramic implant. I was back on the indoor trainer at 2 weeks, as soon as the stitches were out, and back on the road after a month. 2nd July 2017 I rode 58 miles/3000ft ascent with my son faster than the previous year, total for that month was 270 miles. No pain, no problems, but my powermeter did show a 52/48% split favouring the other leg, which is now resolved. I was 66 at the time of my THR, running is my favoured sport and I am only tending to cycle for an hour or two nowadays, when the weather suits, so not an ardent cyclist at all...

Pete

[ad313tg]

petemeads,

Sorry, I did not respond to your questions earlier.

My surgeon, Dr Peter Brooks, protocol was to limit my cycling to 15 miles per day for one year after surgery. He told me on a phone conversation just before my first BHR that if I give him one year, that he would have me back on the bike. It was longer than 1 year only because of all the difficulties I had getting the 2nd BHR done but at 1 year from my 2nd BHR I am in deed back on the bike and many of my fellow bike club members tell me it is as if I was ever off the bike. I disagree, I'm still working on my conditioning (since being released in June, I say they took the training wheels off) and so far I'm back down to my pre-BHR weight and if I can get my conditioning back to where the hills don't remind me that I have been off the bike for a while, I will truly be back to pre-BHR riding.

It was difficult not to ignore that 15 miles per day restriction but I was not going to jeopardize my recovery just so I could start riding longer distances.

It has now been almost 2 years since my first BHR (July 16th 2021) and it's been 1 years since my second BHR (June 9th 2022).

I am back to cycling further than 15 miles per day and IT FEELS WONDERFUL to ride again longer than 15 miles. I am working on riding 25-35 miles per day and hope by September to be back to riding my normal 50-60 miles per day.

I know of a few bicycle members in my bike club that have had a THR and they were never able to get back on the bike, never asked why, not sure if it's ROM, pain or just too hard for them to get sufficient conditioning to be able to keep up with the group. I know from when my in-laws had their THR that they were told that they had to be very careful with a THR to keep from dislocating the joint even when just getting in and out of a car.

I have now ridden 1,350+ miles for the year, 600 of those miles are since I was released by the surgeon's office on June 12th.

[ad313tg]

Happy New Year, everyone!

An update since my last post in July 2023.

I was released by my orthopedics to go back to cycling more than 15 miles per day in June. For the time frame, June 12th, 2023 to November 18th, 2023, I cycled 3,291 miles (779 of those miles were prior to June 12th). I have walked 225 miles around my allotment, around the local outdoor paved walking track and in the woods at the local park (197 of those miles were prior to June 12th).

As I mentioned in my post in July, many of my fellow club members can't believe that I had 2 hip procedures and they can't believe that I didn't lose much of my speed or endurance during the period January 2020-June 2023 (disagree, but I worked hard to get as much as possible back). I too, am now certain, my speed and endurance are mostly back although I still have not gone back to riding my REALLY HILLY rides where climbing over a 50 mile ride can be 55+ feet of climbing per mile but that is my goal for 2024. I did go back to riding long distances, at first, 25-35 miles and then I finally worked my way back to 50+ miles per day by the first of August.

On my birthday in September as I normally do on my birthday, I rode, my age + 1 miles for a total of 66 miles, on my mountain bike, on the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath.

I hung up the bike on November 18th for 2023 and started hiking in the woods at my local park and plan to start riding again by March 1st, possibly earlier if we get some days where the temperature gets above 40 degrees.

My cycling goals for 2024 are ride my HILLY rides again and to log 5-6k miles between my road bikes and mountain bike.

The pain is but a distant memory and I look forward to 2024.

For those deciding if BHR is for you, it is, you will wonder why you didn't do it sooner and you are going to be glad when it's done and you are back to being pain free.

Keep on pedaling!

Tony