I have reservations after having De Puy ASR done in Sept 2009.
I was a keen runner prior to surgery, and that's why I had a resurfacing done. When I say keen runner I mean half marathon distance. I wanted to carry on doing it raising money for charity.
Surgeon has told me to give up running which I think is a little odd. Needless to say I ignored his advice, and decided to do some light jogging on the treadmill at the gym. I can run for 40 minutes, but then I get very bad groin pain meaning I have to give up.
I have a feeling he's trying to cover up for the faulty De Puy ASR I have in me.
I worry about this on a daily basis.
Is it just me??
If worry about this is bothering you on a daily basis, I would suggest two ideas. First confirm the exact angle of the acetabular cup. ASRs were more sensitive to this angle than some other brands, and knowing that angle may help in knowing if you need to worry. If your cup is in a good position, the ASR might not be a problem for you at all. If the cup is not well placed, you may have some tough decisions to make. The second thing is too have a serum ion test done. If this test comes out with low Cobalt and Chromium numbers, this should go a long way to putting your mind at ease, since it would indicate that your ASR is performing well, and not showing any worrisome wear issues. If the numbers are high, then you are back to making some tough decisions. Either way, knowing these facts may be preferable to the worry that you are now dealing with on a daily basis.
I do not know about in the UK, but I think that I heard in the US that De Puy is paying for many of these tests, so that people know if they have anything to worry about. I cannot say this for sure, but it is worth looking into.
Lastly, I would want to know the specifics of why your surgeon wants you to give up running. Since running on hip resurfacing devices is normally acceptable, I would want to know specifically why he is discouraging it in your case.
I totally agree with John. Many peoplle with ASRs will probably keep theirs for many many years providing the angles are proper.
Running on your hip would probably not cause metal debris, heck, walking would do the same thing as running, either the 2 parts of the implant are at proper angles to each other or they are not.
You may have just pushed it too much, I would not give up, get the serum tests, see another doctor for a 2nd opinion if you must.
Chuck
I like Mr. McMinn's response to FAQ where "if you are very keen on resuming impact loading sports, then please start jogging on the treadmill with good footwear for a few months starting around the 11th month before moving on to outdoor jogging or high impact sports." High impact sports include running, football (soccer), squash or racquetball, skiing, etc. I bought some high end running shoes (Asics Gel Kayano) and started fast pace walking following by running on the treadmill (10 minute/ mile pace) before jogging at the same pace outdoors. I skiied downhill at 6 months (according to Dr. Su's restrictions), ran occasional outdoors but did not play racquetball until 2 years post-op. My lower back muscles were strained when I resumed racquetball, but I broke them in with my new left hip.
Did your Dr. say why to stop running? Does this include other high impact sports such as full court basketball, racquetball, singles tennis or football (soccer) where there is a lot of running?
Gee, and here I was fantasizing about getting back to wrestling and ju jitsu . . . Anyway, I pretty much agree with the other posters: Get all the angles measured, get the ions measured, speak again with your surgeon, and never hurts to get a 2nd or 3rd opinion. If everything is good, perhaps you can slowly build from 40 to 50 to 60 etc min on the treadmill. Next thing you know you're at 1/2 marathon distance. I would be interested to know how it works out. Regards,
Eitan
Thanks folks.
I have had the special blood test carried out, and the surgeon confirmed that the readings were ok for someone with a metal device. I have to go back each year for the same test.
I do have problems in the groin area when I take exercise at the gym. It's not all the time though.
I have a lawyer working for me now, should the device fail. It is estimated that there are 8,000 patients in the UK who had an ASR.
There is a rumour on the internet that DePuy knew that the device had a high failure rate, but kept on supplying it to hospitals.
Although I did not get an ASR, it was not an option with my surgeon, there were some aspects of it that I liked. It had the lowest coverage to give the greatest range of movement, and it had the lowest clearance. A low clearance for two articulating lubricated surfaces should give the least wear. So maybe in the long run, those ASRs that were placed correctly will outperform many other devices.
QuoteI have a lawyer working for me now, should the device fail.
I cannot see how a device will suddenly fail.
One other thing to consider. I have been working with a personal trainer to set the base exercises I need to get back to some target activities. My goals are to get back to at least punching bag level in Tae Kwon Do (legs and hands), to some pretty competitive soccer (football) and to weight lifting at the level I'm used to.
All of these require strengthening of our commonly weakened areas, so she and I have been trying to focus initially on core strength and stretching, followed by weights which include balancing with weights, as well as sideways strengthening exercises.
She has put me on basic yoga exercises, free weights while sitting on a large ball (I know, looks silly, but puts the onus on balance), leg presses with light weights (2-230 lbs) for high reps, and sideways walking with and without bands, balancing on one leg while doing pulls on a weight, etc.
The point is that we have to consider what we're targeting. I started doing leg presses at Physical Therapy, then switched to the gym, where there was a different machine. The change in angle apparently put more stress on my groin muscles, because I got a pull at the same weight. I stepped down the weight and gradually increased it again. It pointed out to me that some muscles may be fine for an exercise, but we have to consider the whole muscle assembly, since we are rebuilding our muscle support for the activities we want to do.
And to answer the original question - no I don't regret any part of these operations (I had two). I was able to leave my apartment this morning, after sleeping without pain for 8 hours straight, get in my car, drive to the gym, walk in, go through a pretty intense workout which included getting up and down off the floor many times, use the elliptical and doing yoga stretches. All of this without a single twinge of pain.
I sat with the PT this morning at the end, we were sitting in a lotus position, and I was telling her how amazing it was that I was able to sit in that position at all (without suffering the pains of hell).
So no regrets here. Like all procedures, this has its worries, but having had people in my family who suffered from cancer, paralysis and kidney failure, I think getting something done that eradicates the existing problem is not bad.
In April of 2008 I was fitted with a Zimmer Durom cup which was pulled from use a short time later due to a high rate of failure. Yes I lost some sleep over that, however, three years later my x-rays caused my surgeons jaw to drop as everything looked as perfect as it was from the day it was placed. I have been given a new lease on life regardless and enjoy the activities I thought were going to be history. The surgery liberated me from the sobering reality of not only being crippled but destined to become worse.
So, no, there are no regrets in this corner.
Terry