Skiing on TWO resurfaced hips

[Buddy]

I had my right hip resurfaced July 1, 2008 and my left done September 30, 2008. Both by Dr. James Pritchett in Seattle, WA. He's great. I was telemark skiing by late December, 2008! Felt fantastic. I have been skiing all my life and grew up ski racing in Sun Valley, Idaho, so am very comfortable on skis, but i was still just a bit apprehensive at the beginning. After a few runs, it was like I had never left! I will say that I was diligent about my rehab and PT in preparation, though, and highly recommend that course.

I skied quite a bit this winter (maybe ten times) and also went backcountry skiing which involved hiking many miles in the mountains and skiing down. So, get back out there!

Buddy

[dw]

looks like you still have plenty of "earn your turns" snow available this spring!

What kind of things did you do to get ready? Did you notice your balance affected at all? what about leg alignment - anything noticable?

*by leg alignment I mean stance/canting/inward or outward rotation.

D

[AKinOR]

Hey Buddy,

I was psyched to read your post. I am 33 and had a LBHR done by Dr. Pritchett this winter. I too have skied all my life......backcountry, resort, heli, halfpipe, terrain park, all of it. I've heard of people returing to ski after hip resurfacing, but not necessarily at a high and aggresive level. Sounds like you may have returned, and at a high level as well. My question is what type of gear did you return on? I am thinking of getting a new setup for next year, and am looking for lightweight gear. I may be wrong, but my thinking is that the lighter gear will translate to less torque when I inevitably crash (hopefully in powder). I will probably get a touring setup, that being the lightest. What kind of gear are you on? How did it feel to take those initial turns? How long did it take for you to be confident in all types of terrain??

Thanks, can't wait for next season. Until then, surfs up.

Steve
Dr. Pritchett - LBHR (12/23/08)

[Buddy]

Sorry it took so long to reply. Now i'm training for a big bike ride (202 miles in one day!).

I too have thought about the implications of a big crash and what that would mean to the hips. I returned to my normal setup, which is non-releasable heavy duty tele gear. I'm on Scarpa T-1's with alpine skis (big fat Scott Santiago Missions) and G-3 bindings. My tourning setup is a bit lighter, though I use the same boots and then have Black Diamond 01 bindings (also non-releasable) on Black Diamond Crossbow skis. I didn't crash this year, so saved the field testing!

I was quite aggressive after the 3rd time skiing, actually, though took it easy in the backcountry. I think I will get releasable stuff next season, just to be safer--but I'm going to ski like hell and try not to fall! That's been my MO.