Are there any martial artists out there?

[jeanco]

Hi.  My name is Jeanne, and I have been having hip pain for over two years.  I have been practicing Aikido, a fairly low impact martial art for over three years.  I've been told that I need a THR or a resurfacing procedure, and I'm getting to the point where I think I need to do it.
I'm worried that I won't be able to practice Aikido after I have recovered.  I'm hoping to hear from someone that has experience with this issue.

[John C]

If you look around, you will find numerous videos of people practicing Karate at very high levels after resurfacing. Because Aikido involves more falls and impacts on the mat, I think that will be the main concern that you will want to discuss with your doctor. In large part because of my hip issues over the past twenty years prior to surgery, I switched from Karate to Tai Chi, which I think is very good for my new hip.

[Leonardo]

Hi John,

I've been doing Tai Chi for many years and I love it. I'm now 3 weeks post op and I was wondering if Tai Chi is good or not after BHR.
My question is because most of the Tai Chi movements are twisting the HIP and I'm not sure if this is the best for us.....
How long are you beeing doing it?

Leo.

[John C]

Hi Leo,
I have been practicing Tai Chi for about 10 years now. I started doing very basic standing Chi Gung and some simple Tai Chi weight shifting exercises about one week after surgery, but no twisting movements. I started back doing the long form at about 7 weeks after surgery. Over the next few months I did get some subtle clicking during some of the twisting movements, as you suggested. At six months, that has gone away most days, though it does happen occasionally, which interestingly is usually associated with a less than perfect technical movement. My feeling from talking to the doctor, was that I should be careful with twisting movements for the first six weeks, which I did. After that, I feel that the slow focused movements of the hips in Tai Chi are ideal therapy, and has been a very positive aspect of my recovery.

John

[Leonardo]

Thanks, I'll start slowly as you suggested...

[fenceman]

Hi Jeanne,
John is right about the Tai Chi.  It has really helped with the stability in my op leg and my general post op health.  I have done Chinese styles for about 20 years and some of those forms are pretty high impact.  I am back doing some of the forms at slower speeds and without the high kicks.

Leo, there are different styles of Tai Chi and some that do not twist so much.  I am doing Tai Chi Chuan which has about 100 steps and the movements into the stances are slow and smooth.  There are some kicks in the form that I skip over (reverse crescent) and just go to the next step.  I did try another form called Pa Kua Chang which is like Tai Chi but done faster.  You spin on 1 foot 360 degrees which did not feel good at all on my hip.  I will wait on that one.

My Dr. told me I would not have any restrictions after 1 year.

[jeanco]

Thanks for all the responses.  I have studied Tai Chi in the past and absolutely can see how it would be helpful and put less stress on the hip. It's not what I wanted to hear, but good to know.
Jeanne