time to get it resurfaced....competitive BJJ future?

[surratt]

Awesome!  This website is a godsend, you have no idea how much comfort I have gotten from this place.  You feel kind of alone with your problems and a place like this kind of givers you a home.

Well Ive been doing mma since around 2005 and just recently 2 years ago got obsessed with the gi, I recently moved to Atlanta to pursue jiu jitsu at a higher level and am loving it here training at Alliance.   Im training 6 days a week and harder than I ever have and getting better quick but this hip is my main roadblock.  It has gotten pretty bad over the past year and there are some days i can barely walk.  The severity comes and goes.  I have been putting this off bc im making such good gains in my game and the thought of 6 months off depresses me.

Ha but this is how i know im ready, the pain is so bad i actually want to do it now...the thought of getting the constant pain and limp out of my life is pretty wild.   Considering 100 years ago id be a cripple at 35 most likely.. ( im 31 now).

I guess im just trying to meet any fellow jiu jitsu guys or kickboxing and let me know anything you think i should know.  Will i be able to still compete at jiu jitsu and what is the best possible time of recovery im looking at?  From what i am reading it appears as i will not be able to do any serious training for at least 6 months.  That is terrible to think about but it has to be done.

Also im wondering if i can focus on boxing while i heal up around the 3 month mark....seems like that would not be near as bad on my hips as something like jiu jitsu.  As long as I can find something to dedicate myself to and throw up some goals in im fine.

Thanks in advance for any help guys!

Jeremy

[hernanu]

Hey Jeremy - not a BJJ guy, but Olympic Tae Kwon Do. There's plenty of BJJ fighters here, I'm sure they'll check in.

I think you're going to be able to go back, but your timescale may be different than what you expect. My surgeon advised against going back to full speed impact workouts until a year had passed. Some here went back earlier, but probably not at six months. I'll let them tell you their stories.  (Danny?)

The most important thing is to pick a really good surgeon. Their skill will let you get back to where you belong.

The thing though is that if you've got OA, then it will stop you at some point. I know it did me. It stopped me for six years - four of denial and coming to terms with the need for the surgery, two of recovery after the surgery. I'm working out at full speed now, boxing and kicking workouts on the bag, good motion and flexibility.

Like I said, others will drop in, but I can tell you for myself, I'm back to full power on kicks and punches.

Welcome, you're in the right place.

[surratt]

Thats awesome man....good to hear...although the one year timeline is not good at all considering im in my final years of my athletic prime.  Im currently researching ways to push out the inevitable maybe a few years.  Prolotherapy looks promising but we will have to see.  Its so difficult for me to think that i cant do jiu jitsu for an entire year but like you said it will stop me at some point and the pain has gotten pretty bad.  I physically cannot run anymore so in the next year im sure it will be terrible.  6 months recovery is bad enough as it is but damn a year i cant even imagine

Hey Jeremy - not a BJJ guy, but Olympic Tae Kwon Do. There's plenty of BJJ fighters here, I'm sure they'll check in.

I think you're going to be able to go back, but your timescale may be different than what you expect. My surgeon advised against going back to full speed impact workouts until a year had passed. Some here went back earlier, but probably not at six months. I'll let them tell you their stories.  (Danny?)

The most important thing is to pick a really good surgeon. Their skill will let you get back to where you belong.

The thing though is that if you've got OA, then it will stop you at some point. I know it did me. It stopped me for six years - four of denial and coming to terms with the need for the surgery, two of recovery after the surgery. I'm working out at full speed now, boxing and kicking workouts on the bag, good motion and flexibility.

Like I said, others will drop in, but I can tell you for myself, I'm back to full power on kicks and punches.

Welcome, you're in the right place.

[surratt]

I had to stop kickboxing bc of the toll it took on my hips...man to think that i can get back into that is awesome....    let me know if any one  has any experience with prolotherapy

[Dannywayoflife]

Hay mate skip the prolothearpy it's not proven and once arthritis is set in as it sounds as though yours is then resurfacing is the only option to remain active.

Go see the best surgeon you can and use a proven device such as the bhr.

Recovery times vary greatly but you'll need 6 months off till you start rolling lightly and a year till you can start pushing it. Remember that if you push too hard too soon it can make your device fail either then or later on. Better to allow full healing and then enjoy for long term!

[surratt]

Damn...that is hard to hear...i had my heart set on 6 months, then slowly working my way back into training hard...a year off is heart breaking.  Especially considering im 31 and im in better shape than ive ever been and on a roll competing and getting better.  I was just hoping i could find something to give me some time.  Even if its only one year of training before i have to get the surgery

Hay mate skip the prolothearpy it's not proven and once arthritis is set in as it sounds as though yours is then resurfacing is the only option to remain active.

Go see the best surgeon you can and use a proven device such as the bhr.

Recovery times vary greatly but you'll need 6 months off till you start rolling lightly and a year till you can start pushing it. Remember that if you push too hard too soon it can make your device fail either then or later on. Better to allow full healing and then enjoy for long term!

[Dannywayoflife]

I know how you feel mate. I was 28 when I had mine done and was very active in mma along with other stuff.

I see you've sent your X-rays to Dr Gross? I think he says wait 6 months before pushing. Personally I'd wait a year as the healing is more complete although bone is still remodelling for far longer than that.

Honestly save your money on the prolothearpy. I've known mate have it for other things and its juts been an expensive waste. I can't see how it could help advanced arthritis either. If you want to delay surgery slightly get some steroid shots, but not many.

[surratt]

yeah its a weird thing..they basically inject sugar water in your joints and it is suppose to encourage healing and regrowth.   There are tons of people that swear by it so i figured it might be worth a try.  If i could put it off a year id be happy.  I will talk to Dr. Gross about it when he calls me back and see what i can do to push it out.  I also need to prepare financially to take off work for 6 weeks and the out of network expenses.   It sucks bc i just moved to Alliance Atlanta and im training at a higher level than i ever have and this hip threatens to take it all away for a year

[surratt]

Im wondering how bad boxing would be on my hip after 3 months...if i could focus on that it wouldnt be so bad.  Just light bag and mit work...maybe start doing jiu jitsu technique to keep my mind going

[Dannywayoflife]

Boxing at 3 months would be a deffo no no mate. It's high impact and at 3 months that's the most likely time for a neck fracture.

I know it's hard but what's 12 months if it give you your life back?

I'm pretty sure Gross lifts restrictions at 6 months. I personally felt better waiting the full 12 as it means healing is nearly fully complete.

[hernanu]

I started light boxing at 9 months, but by light I mean LIGHT. Just getting the right rotation on the hip, driving through the bag was a project to get into. I wasn't hitting the bag with authority with hands until about 12 months. Pad work I didn't do as much, but it's no problem now at almost three years.

You know your power for boxing comes from the hips, so they have to not only be strong, limber but also have to support the impact. If you're at that level, you'll be generating a respectable amount of power from your hips, you want not only the hip device but aso the smaller supporting muscles that are cut or moved to support the movement.

All of that needs to recoup. I wasn't hitting the bag with authority until fourteen months, basic kicks - front, round and eventually the side kicks.

That was me. Others may have different experiences, but the process is not really muscular at first (except for the smaller muscles), but structural. Your device has to set, get the bone grown into it, the bone grown strong and the lost blood flow to the femoral neck restored before you can push the muscles to get back.

You also will need to retrain the muscles to do actions that are now instinctual. Once they're trained they get back fast, but you'll find some unusual lack of coordination that needs to be overcome.

[Dannywayoflife]

As ever an excellent reply from hern

[surratt]

wow thanks for the information guys...this is devastating to hear.... one years is a hell of a long time.  From this information i will likely try to push this surgery off as long as humanly possible.  Im so stubborn i refuse to stop training so im doing damage faster and faster.  Id be surprised if i wasnt fully crippled after a year.  Im going to talk to Dr. Gross after he looks at my xrays and see what the pros and cons are of waiting.  I hait to take anti-inflammatories but id be willing to take them if it buys me a year before surgery.  Maybe see if getting a few steroid or cortisone shots throughout the year will help.

If not I guess ill have to find some way mentally of dealing with this while watching all my friends pursue their jiu jitsu careers and traveling and competing and such.  This is going to be terribly difficult when the time comes for sure.

[hernanu]

Just want to be straight with you on what you're looking at. 

Getting back to the kind of fitness you need for where you want to be is doable. We have people here who have gotten back to high achievement in many fields, just check some of the stories.

But they also went through the recuperation and dealt with the disappointment of waiting and the elation of returning to full fitness.

It doesn't mean an end to your career, but it does mean an interval. Here in the Boston area, our quarterback had a fairly serious ACL tear, put him out for a year, he worked hard and returned to full function. 

Talk to Dr. Gross, or whoever you settle on and cover your goals. Ask them what a good schedule would be for return to training, see what their thoughts are and go from there. Use them, they are part of your team.

[surratt]

thank you so much for your straight foward advice.  Im reading as much as i can on this sight and im sure ill become obsessed with it as time passes.

[surratt]

Do you think that my age will benefit the speed of my recovery.  I am 31 years old and in peak physical condition.  Eat very clean and have excercised all my life.  Im am reading some people saying they are back to running at 3 months which sounds early and others waiting longer.  The best i could hope for is at the 3 month mark to be able to get back to drilling technique in the gym and maybe light sparring at the 6 month mark, start going full bore at 9.  Ha im just venting ill just have to wait to talk to Dr. Gross im just need to know so i can mentally prepare.

[Dannywayoflife]

Personally I think running or doing any high impact at 3 months is just stupid. That's when your femoral neck is at its weakest.

Healing is funny and everyone is different. I was 3 years younger than yourself when I had surgery had a similar back ground and it took me the full 12 months to get back to rolling on the mat.

[chuckm]

Jeremy, you have mentally tough road ahead in my opinion and it sounds like a road you should definitely take if you have severe hip arthritis. But, your circumstance is a bit unique. Most of us here (I’ve learned from reading posts over the last six months) had lost so much range of motion in our hips that we could no longer do the things we wanted.

I enjoyed playing soccer and could still play despite the pain, but then the joint became so tight there was nothing I could do. And then I was forced to accept that I would not be playing sports ever again. So after being out for a couple of years the thought of being able to return to sport in 6 months or a year was absolutely fantastic.

You on the other hand are still right in the middle of your game. The surgery will actually be disrupting your training - and your only 31. So you will have to channel all that energy into mental toughness. Can you actually get a resurfacing without screwing it up? Even three months post op when your new hip is feeling fantastic can you keep from blowing it by trying to kick the bag? You only get one shot and if you can dedicate yourself to adhering to the proper healing timetable, this device could last the rest of your life.
 
Great surgeon + excellent device + excellent patient = 100% chance for great new functioning hip.
Great surgeon + excellent device + mediocre patient = somewhere less than 100% chance.

I went back to playing soccer just a bit before six months and am now close to eight months. It’s just a normal hip now so go visit a top surgeon and then mark your calendar if you think you can do it.
Chuckm

[Dannywayoflife]

Some good points chuckm. Only thing I'd say is arthritis effects everyone differently. I was able to train prior to my op, I just had to adapt how I trained. Bjj/mma is good like that though!;)

[chuckm]

Yes Dannywayoflife, somehow you young ones tend to stay more flexible than us older folks. But 46 is not that old though