Left hip resurfaced for osteoarthritis by Jeremy Latham in Southampton U.K.

[hernanu]

Congrats Gary! sounds like a great thing to do (fun as well). Can you post some pics afterwards?

[gary2010]

I hope so, there may be a video as well, I would like to have been fitter, but this pesky ankle has been holding me back, nevermind - I'm coming back!

One of my friends / instructors has this problem in the family now so it's kind of personal, and I think we all know someone who's been through it; our original target was £1000 but that's been beaten now so we're going for 2k

[gary2010]

T+ 1 year, 3 weeks, 6 days

Just had an x ray, I haven't had a chance to show it to my surgeon yet; as we're just past the year mark I'm due a follow up appointment. The femoral neck looks a little narrower than immediately post-op. A little research reveals that femoral narrowing is very common in the first 2 years (about 80-90% of patients) then it stabilises, apart from that it looks ok (to me) so hopefully I get the all clear. I'm still a bit disappointed with my athletic perfomance but the ankle isn't helping.

[hernanu]

Good to hear that things look good - like you said, the femoral neck thing seems to be common, if everything else looks good, then time to tip one for you! (I'll be doing that in my local pub).

The athletic performance will come, I also had an issue with my second metatarsal on my left (supporting) leg after my second procedure. Apparently I was overbalancing on that foot, placing too much stress on the middle toe and it began to hurt. I went to a podiatrist and he noticed that the bone had actually thickened from the extra stress put on it, causing pain when I walked. It lasted for a good 5 months until it worked itself out over the last couple of months. I had to redo my walking, get good shoe inserts, etc.

I feel that delayed me also, but things are getting back on track. I know it's a pain, but that freaking "patience is a virtue" thing keeps popping up in my mind, and eventually you'll geto to where you want to be. What's wrong with the ankle?

[Lopsided]

T+ 1 year, 3 weeks, 6 days

A year plus and you are still counting the days!

I'm still a bit disappointed with my athletic perfomance but the ankle isn't helping.

Gary, from your regular account on this thread, it seems your return to sport has been outstanding. And as you know recovery is not an even process.

D.

[gary2010]

T+ 1 year 4 weeks 6 days.

I sprained the (right) ankle about 3 months ago for the first time ever; I've done the other one loads of times in the past and is now quite misshapen. The right one now looks pretty much like the left, I can't remember how long it took to recover first time but I'm sure it wasn't this long. It swells and bruises with activity and I get a fair amount of pain, I've had a bit of ultrasound on it.

The limiting factor on running and kicking is still my operated hip, the muscles tighten and my flexibilty is impaired, I also get pain in the psoas region, but this goes away quickly when I stop. Before the arthritis set in I found running as comfortable as sitting in an armchair; I would set off without worrying about distance or duration, now every step seems like hard work.

Anyway, I've seen the surgeon and he's pleased with the x ray and my range of motion, so all clear for a year. He says it will continue to bed in for another 6 months and be patient. As you probably realise I'm not a very patient bloke! The other hip shows some signs of degeneration, but doesn't look much different from last year, so it can wait (good).

[hernanu]

Hey Gary, I also had an injury (metatarsal, left foot) that seemed to take forever to heal. It took me about five months before it settled. My operated hip is ok, just flared up a couple of times when I did a roundhouse punch on the swinging heavy bag and missed  . I went around full speed and the hip sort of said "what the f... ?" . It took a couple of days to quiet down, but it did.

I think my supporting muscles are still coming back into shape, since after about 20 minutes of kicking, I get a little wobbly. I figure a full two years for full recovery; the flexibility is pretty good but it'll be a bunch of months before I can kick any higher than waist level. It'll be interesting to see how we fare in recovering. The psoas does kick my behind some times, more when I do leg presses on the weight machine (30 reps X 220 lbs X 3 sets) if I've done some running before hand. It usually quiets down after an hour or so. I'll probably alternate running and that particular exercise.

Running probably seems like hard work because it is, I think our large muscles are coming back fine, it's the important little supporting ones that need our comfort and attention  . Anyways, good on you that everything seems to be in good shape.

Sounds like you're doing the right stuff for your ankle, maybe your body is a bit overtaxed with recovering from the resurface and is downshifting on anything else that comes up.

[gary2010]

T+ 1 year 16 weeks 2 days

New year's day 2012 I ran my old 10k circuit around bournemouth, half downhill half uphill, for the first time in exactly 3 years. I didn't worry about speed, just plodded comfortably along and pleased to say no problems, even the steep zigzag path off the beach; once I'd been convinced I would never do this again and I must admit felt rather smug.

When I got in I looked at the clock in disbelief - one hour 9 minutes! A full 15 minutes longer than my worst ever time, the whole thing should take about 3/4 of an hour. I'm aware my stride is quite short and gets shorter as I go along, but at least I've got something to work on now.

[Dannywayoflife]

Garry mate times canbe brought down it's your first 10k for 3 years I'd be over the moon if I were you that's awesome! I find it inspiring that your making such a strong recovery. I hope that I too can make a similar one. You still managing to train your arts much?

[hernanu]

Awesome Gary! I'm not there yet, but I never was a runner.

Like Danny says, doing your first 10K in three years, you can ignore the slower time. I'd bet in a year you'll be doing a good clip. Congratulations!.

[gary2010]

Just checking in at the 2 year mark (yesterday); I honestly never think of the hip now. Crewing on festivals in the summer I was squatting 3 foot iron tent stakes out of the ground with a bit of rope. I can run and kick, it's true my fitness isn't quite where it was but I put this down to lack of time to train, while I was injured I aquired other interests.

I know some people have had bad results, but I count mine as a success.

Hope everyone else is doing well,
Best wishes
G

[Dannywayoflife]

Gary mate that's awesome!

[hernanu]

Great news, Gary!

I'm rebuilding fitness as well, did my two year a month back. Good to hear you're back to kicking; good also to hear you've picked up other interests. I've resuscitated some old interests as well (friends and family are receiving lots of paintings for birthdays).

Really good to hear from you and that you're fine.

[gary2010]

I finally got my 2 year x-ray, had it done through the NHS - we still have one for the time being, though the GP said 'don't expect to get a free one next year', we had a short chat about the state of things and he said he's retiring and glad to be out of it - it's always a bit of a performance getting the disc off them but it only costs 10 quid.

The radiographer didn't seem terribly busy so I told her my story and she let me have a look; I could see it was fine so I saved it as a jpeg and e-mailed it to the surgeon. He would normally charge me about £60 to sit in his office but replied that it looked great and I could get away with filling in the questionaire, which I did, maximum score for everything.

Jeremy Latham, top bloke!
G

[gary2010]

The right looks like it's got a bit of life in it still.

[morph]

I emailed him when I was in a quandry and looking for a advice. He replied 2hrs later at 11pm with great encouraging advice and highly recommended Holland to me due to my location and situation. Certainly is a top bloke and a great surgeon who has his patients best interest at heart.

Great to hear everything is good.

[hernanu]

I finally got my 2 year x-ray, had it done through the NHS - we still have one for the time being, though the GP said 'don't expect to get a free one next year', we had a short chat about the state of things and he said he's retiring and glad to be out of it - it's always a bit of a performance getting the disc off them but it only costs 10 quid.

The radiographer didn't seem terribly busy so I told her my story and she let me have a look; I could see it was fine so I saved it as a jpeg and e-mailed it to the surgeon. He would normally charge me about £60 to sit in his office but replied that it looked great and I could get away with filling in the questionaire, which I did, maximum score for everything.

Jeremy Latham, top bloke!
G

Sounds  great, Gary. I was told after my two years to come back in two years anyways, they didn't see a need for a three year look.

How's the hip feeling?

[Dannywayoflife]

Sounds like your doing great!

[gary2010]

Feels completely normal

[Dannywayoflife]

Are you back to any muay Thai Gary?