Martial Artist w/LBHR looking for advice

[eutzie]

I am a 53 year old martial artist that had a LBHR last Nov.  My MD is quite conservative and ordered little training until 6 months post op and was told to refrain from "martial arts" / impact activities for one year.  The most significant issue I faced initially was glute weakness and nerve pain.  This improved with exercises and PT.  Now that my affected side is feeling absolutely fabulous, I find my right side is starting to show the tell tale signs my left side did as it deteriorated.  I am fine while moving, but rising out of a chair or shifting in it can be agonizing.  Twisting or pivoting---bad news.  I was so looking forward to being able to get back into the dojo to begin training.   Have others experience this as well?  Does the unaffected side often deteriorate?  I've seen many on this side who've gotten BHRs....  Have other martial artists out there been able to get back into the dojo and been able to kick a pad with power?  do a combination kick and leave the ground with a fair amount of speed, confidence and balance?  I would like to be able to fully engage again.  Thanks for sharing any experiences or thoughts.

[Lopsided]

Eutzie, I am also about a year out, and I notice that my opposite hip is beginning to degenerate too. In fact none of my joints seem to feel as good as my resurfaced hip. I exercise a lot now, but have not returned to competative sports like I used to. I realise that I am not young and indestructible any more.

I am sure you will return to martial arts, but please use common sense.

D.

[ScubaDuck]

I am only ten weeks out but feeling great.  I haven't had problems with my other hip at all.  The x-rays pre-op didn't show much sign of OA in the right hip.  So we will see.

I have read a lot of hippies on this site talk about how either their other hip deteriorated or at least they noticed the pain in the other hip more once one was fixed.

Best wishes.

Dan

[hernanu]

I am a 53 year old martial artist that had a LBHR last Nov.  My MD is quite conservative and ordered little training until 6 months post op and was told to refrain from "martial arts" / impact activities for one year.  The most significant issue I faced initially was glute weakness and nerve pain.  This improved with exercises and PT.  Now that my affected side is feeling absolutely fabulous, I find my right side is starting to show the tell tale signs my left side did as it deteriorated.  I am fine while moving, but rising out of a chair or shifting in it can be agonizing.  Twisting or pivoting---bad news.  I was so looking forward to being able to get back into the dojo to begin training.   Have others experience this as well?  Does the unaffected side often deteriorate?  I've seen many on this side who've gotten BHRs....  Have other martial artists out there been able to get back into the dojo and been able to kick a pad with power?  do a combination kick and leave the ground with a fair amount of speed, confidence and balance?  I would like to be able to fully engage again.  Thanks for sharing any experiences or thoughts.

Hi eutzie, welcome to the site. I'm 54 and have done  martial arts for a while (since I was 15). I get the stress put on the body from all of our jumping, twisting, impact, etc. I had two resurfaces done, three months apart, mainly because my left side, while my worst, wasn't my only issue - my right still had some cartilage, but was going fast.

I think the second does go fast; fixing the first puts more stress on it, since for me, the moment my first was healthy, I pushed it on anything I did. I also think you notice the second's shortcomings more now that you feel good on the first.

I had already had to stop all martial arts activity for a couple of years, slowing down to basketball and soccer, then soccer, then just workouts in the gym. I still tried kicking and punching the bag, but even that narrowed to just hands. Once I got the first resurface, I was told the same as you, no martial arts for at least 6 months. Since the second resurface was coming in 3 months, that meant 9 months. Drove me right up the wall, since both procedures went fine and I wanted to test them out.

I'm at 14 months on one and 11 months on the second and slowly getting back into things. I've been working out on a bag for a few months, all hands - I can do everything I could before, at full impact. The legs are a bit more of a project; flexibility is what came back first, I can do a fair amount of stretching - palms to the ground, chest to my leg while sitting, etc. for static stretches. I have not done many dynamic stretches, still being conservative with that for the next six months or so (my own thing).

I am doing both kicking and punching with no impact. Kicks are low right now, about waist level and mostly round house kicks at full speed, side kicks I'm being more conservative about; I usually put a significant pop at the end, want to be a bit careful about that. I haven't done any spinning kicks yet, waiting until I get confident about the basic kicks.

There are plenty of martial artists on this site, some of us have taught at one time or another - some are teachers now. I don't doubt that we can get back to full activity, just in due time. One of my goals is to do a completely impractical kick like the jumping wheel again. Just want to show off and land without pain. 

[gary2010]

Check my thread for details of my recovery - if you're very bored!
Good luck!
G

[eutzie]

Thank you to all who've posted.  Hernanu, I can totally related with what you describe.  Flexibility has returned quickly.  I could almost do the front splits again, but am very hesitant in coming close to pushing it.  My experience in kicking is quite similar.  Any front kick comes easily and at times I'm afraid of getting too aggressive.  We frequently work with partners on pads and I have to be very careful to do every kick for accuracy and form when truly I want to go for power.  My opposite side is getting so unreliable that a pivot is oftentimes very painful and almost drops me.  It seems the opposite side is destined to go too.  What a bummer.  I was so hopeful my left side was due to isolated injury that degenerated.  Or perhaps that's how it starts and the stress on the good side is just too much.  In any event, my right side (the former "good" side) seems worse almost daily which is exactly what happened on my left side.  I'm already taking a strong anti-inflammatory which my surgeon still has me taking and my 1 year follow-up is in less than one month.  My question now is this.....Do I grit my teeth and bear up to a degenerating right hip for as long as possible?  Do I begin the process of examining the right hip?  If so, previously we tried 3 cortisone shots over the course of 1+ year before surgery.  (In the midst of this, I developed a severe allergy to lidocaine and worry about procedures like this now.)   If another hip is in my future, I would like to move past it so the recovery is started (again) and I can hopefully look forward to someday finishing my 2nd degree BB and enjoying MA.

[hernanu]

You've gotta remember that you're talking to someone with two, but I can tell you that I could not be working out like I am with only one hip fixed. MA relies so much on balance, that it is almost impossible to be where you want to be with the type of OA we have / had.

I think in a way for me, it was good that the surgeon I met with first crushed any hopes for both hips, since he told me that they had to be done NOW. Of course he wanted to do THRs, but whatever. I guess the question you can ask yourself is: you are obviously tough enough to bear pain, but what will it gain you? you describe pain that requires medication and is preventing you from doing basic pivoting. The progression of OA won't be reversed, so the only thing that would be done is for you to suffer and for the grinding to further compromise your hip. It's your call, but I've personally seen the benefit, so if you're asking, I'm saying that in this case, no pain is gain.

BTW - have you seen Fabian Cuenca's story? Check it out, he's a bi-hippy.

http://www.surfacehippy.info/hipstories09/fabiancuenca09.php

[eutzie]

Fabian Cuenca's story is amazing!  His range of motion is incredible and the mere thought of possibly kicking at a decent height again (other than a front kick) would be fabulous....very inspiring video.  I know having my other side done is inevitable and the pain from knowing you're healing is so much easier to deal with than the pain as your hip degrades.  As you said, 'no pain is gain'.  Good advice.

[hernanu]

I know! I saw his story before my first hip, let me know what was possible. There's no guarantees, but I have to say that the way I'm starting to move now feels like I have an open path to get back to where I once belonged (all due apologies to the beatles).

[gary2010]

I wouldn't delay once the arthritic degeneration is classed as 'severe' ie the blood supply has become intra-osseous. A hip joint either works or it doesn't!
G