July 21, 2018 – Back on the Mats, my hip resurfacing story

Highs and lows of getting both hips resurfaced at 35

June 6, 2013

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).

November 23, 2017

wow reading this post 4 years later, im scheduled for bilateral with Dr. Gross in 3 weeks.  Training got to be too painful a few years after this post and i settled into 2-3 days a week and focused on other stuff.  i guess im ready to get it done now.  not looking forward to recovery but ill find other things to focus on until im fully healed.  Although im a little nervous as to how long this will keep me out of work, I planned for 8-10 weeks financially but i am a Auto tech for lexus and im on my feet all day so any longer than that will hurt me financially

December 21, 2017

im almost 1 week out from my second hip surgery and man im going through an emotional roller coaster.  Depression already nipping at my heals, Im having issues with my appetite at the moment and its very difficult for me to walk on my walker very far without getting exhausted.

I dont have much to go off of but they say i should be able to walk a mile at 6 weeks, man it just doesnt seem possible at this time, i cant walk a single step without my walker at this point, hell its hard to stand for more than a minute on my own weight, the thought of walking is so far away.  I guess i need to have faith.

December 25, 2018

bilateral done!  Im almost on week two.  At this point im planning to go back to work at week 10, i may have to push it to week 12 though depending on how i feel.  No way to know at this point, but that job requires me to be on my feet 8-10 hours a day.  Plus im lifting tires, to be fair I roll the tire up my leg and use momentum so its not like im lifting dead weight.  I dont have much of a choice, I simply cannot take 6 months off of work, I will do my best to guard my hip but at the 12 week mark ill have to get back to work.

was able to take my first steps today without the use of a walker!  only a few lol but it wasnt possible up until this point.  Walking with the walker is much smoother as well.  I can feel my hip clunking or shifting as im standing but i was told that was normal.  Im getting excited about recovery and time is passing quickly.  The 6 week mark will be fun when i can start swimming and hitting the exercise bike etc.  Im almost at 2 weeks so time is flying.

January 2, 2018

little update…tomorrow will be the three week mark for my first hip.  Man Im feeling great, i just got done crutching outside about .6 mile.  Im putting less and less weight on the crutches at this point…i could have walked alot further than .6 but im trying to not go crazy and gradually build up.  Not really experiencing a ton of soreness afterwords either.

My exercises they gave me are boring as hell at this point.  Im doing lots of pullups dips and forearms exercises to try to keep my upper body in decent shape.  Im breaking that 90 degree rule wayyyyyyy too much lol.  Not terrible but sometimes my feet itch or something and i reach past.  I cant wait for the 90 degree thing to be over.  What is the danger of that anyway?  Is it dislocation or just tearing muscles?

Im walking alot around the house not using my crutches…its a super gimpy and very slow walk but its nice to be able to carry stuff without making 50 trips.

Similar to blinky i think at about the 5 week mark ill head to the gym and start trying to swim and hitting the sauna that I miss so much.  My 6 week check up Im going to drive up to see Dr.Gross ,  man i cant wait for that.

Also I know im not suppose to and my girl gets pissed but i drive to the store and do small trips.  the way my pedals are setup i dont have to lift my leg to change pedals i can just pivot on my heal or drive with 2 feet.
probably not the best idea but i dont feel my driving ability is hampered, but i do keep driving to a minimum.

Im eating good food but im simply eating too much!  Sitting around the house all day i just munch too often.  I was 182 before surgery… 3-4 days post surgery i was 200 pounds from all the swelling and now 3 weeks later im at 185-186 and its hard to keep my weight under control.  At the 6 week mark with swimming and using the elliptical and bike it will be easier to keep the weight down.

January 13, 2018

.im 4 weeks out from a bilateral with dr.gross.  Im 35 and I was put on the rapid recovery so if you end up on the slow recovery then thats a whole different ball game that Im not familiar with.  I was in a very similar spot with you, worried about how i could manage after, how do i take care of errands, how will I manage mentally with all the down time etc.

I can tell you that I had someone stay with me for 5 days after the surgery….could i have made things work on my own?  Yes but it would have been extremely difficult.  You will not have the energy to cook meals so you will need your fridge stocked the hell up with easy simple foods to grab.  After that you can use things like instacart which is so easy to use, its an app where you can get your groceries delivered to you and its like 5 -10 bucks for delivery.  Have everything you need though for at least 2 weeks so you dont have to worry.

Have a walker for around the house getting around… if you are doing stuff for yourself crutches wont cut it, you will need a walker it is a game changer.  I thought i could get by without a raised toilet seat…I was wrong you will need that as well.  Have water jugs set up beside your bed and wherever you sit, you will find it very hard to carry things the first week so have the water already where you are so you can pour it easy.

My recliner saved me, if i didnt have the recliner Im not sure what I would have done, my couch was too low, i would have had to be in the bed all day.  The recliner allows you to keep your feet elevated.  You will find lifting your legs impossible the first couple of weeks without someones help or using the tool the give you, the recliner eliminates that bc it lifts your legs up.  If you dont have one go get one.

pissing in the middle of the night.  Huge pain in the ass, i couldnt do it the first week, so difficult to get in and out of bed so  i brought the little urinal bottle from the hospital and pissed in that during the night and emptied it in the morning.

I made a terrible mistake and at a burger and milkshake after leaving the hospital.  From all the drugs i was constipated for 4 days so that on top of my stopped up system made me ill and throwing up with a fever for a day.  dont make my mistake!  Eat sensible until you move your bowels again.

You could do it on your own but it will suck, you just have to make it past that first week.  You will have no energy to do anything, just a walk to the kitchen will exhaust you and you will want to take a nap, on your own it will seem scary but just know that gets better with every day.  I highly recommend the walker bc its safer, you do not want to fall.

As far as boredom, Im a pretty busy guy so i was concerned with how i would handle this downtime mentally.  Let me tell you Im at week 4 and Im loving it lol!  Im spending lots of time learning guitar, Im reading books, binge watching netflix etc.  I journal write alot so i spend an hour or two a day doing that and thinking about my future and goals and things i want to do etc.   Have some type of thing you want to get better at like my guitar and time will pass, look at it as an opportunity to focus on things your busy life wouldnt allow before.  I was dreading the time off now I know i will actually miss it when its gone.

As far as the painkillers, I hated them, they made me feel like a zombie and I didnt want to do anything but sit there.  I recommend getting off them as soon as you can manage.  Also when i came off them i had cold sweats and felt sick, this was days after my naseau problem from the eating so im not sure if it was from stopping cold turkey on the painkillers or just my system getting back to normal.  My appetite didnt return until 1 week after the surgery.

Driving….I was told not to drive for 6 weeks, I can see why bc your ability to lift your leg and switch pedals is severely compromised if you can even do it at all.  Buuuuuut, if you use both feet it really isnt an issue, your ability to push the pedal is good with those muscles.  I drove at week 2 although I probably shouldnt have.  I had to get a prescription so i kept the trip very short with no traffic.  Ultimately i would drive as little as possible but sitting here at week 4 I feel like my driving is completely normal.

Thats about all I can think of but good luck, i hope you arent on the slow recovery, that will change things, you would have to get some outside help or pay someone to come in I would think.

Also as far as crutches I just got done walking .5 mile with no crutches and 1.5 on crutches so by week 6 im hoping to be off crutches completely but we will see.

January 21, 2018

I am no longer using the crutches or walker around the house at all.  My right hip muscle is weaker than the left and i limp still as im walking compensating but i can walk at a fairly normal speed.  Lol Im still cheating at the grocery store with the scooter bc its fun but Ill likely quit that this week.

Im driving every day now going to the gym and even though you are suppose to wait 6 weeks I feel fine.  Im not the best swimmer so i get tired after just a few laps but it feels great to push my heart rate for the first time in 5 weeks.  I sauna 15-20 minutes a day and do side walks and stuff in the pool.  Im also lifting weights again but I avoid any exercise where im placing extra weight on my hips, so mainly machines and stuff but it feels great.  Also they tell you not to do sit ups but im doing crunches on the crunch machine bc it doesnt stress my hip area.  Also Im doing 20 minutes of the bicycle a day making sure to set it so I dont break 90 degrees and at no resistance, just to move my joint around and legs.

Ive gained  5-7 pounds just sitting around, ive been eating healthy food just too much, around 2200 plus calories a day so i cut back and now the exercise is helping me check it.

Im doing my 6 week check up driving back to SC soon and Im excited so I can start stretching more and try to see if I can do the ellipitcal but im guessing that will be hard at this point.

Im ecstatic with my progress although I was anxious in the beginning but things are going great an Im ready for the next stage

January 31, 2018

Drove up to Columbia to see Dr. Gross for my 6 week check up.  Everything is good and Im cleared to start the second phase of recovery which is exciting.   I had a huge list of questions of things i can and cant do and as always he was more than willing to just chat with me for like 20 minutes. To sum it up he basically said use common sense and listen to your body and push it at a rate you are comfortable with.  I told him about my inversion table and he said just wait until the 6 month mark.  Honestly I think it would be fine to go half way down which still gets a good stretch, I may try that and just wait 6 months to go fully inverted.

At week 5 I started doing the stairmaster and bike at the gym as well as swimming, Ill also be adding the elliptical.  Today i did 15 minute low resistance on the bike and 6 minutes on the stairmaster and 6 on elliptical. Im also swimming, so ill be doing a combination of these for the next 4 months or so for cardio and increasing resistance as I go.

I specifically wanted to know about body weight squats which he said were fine just dont go deep.  He also said its fine to do box squats with light weight and gradually work the weight up.  Leg press the same, just dont go deep.  Dont go deep is the running theme, but its exciting that I can slowly start building leg strength back.  Also he I wanted to know about hyper extension and low back raises, he said that was fine.

He said there is no risk of hip dislocation as long as the legs are straight so hamsring stretching is fine, ill be trying to get my flexibility back in my ham strings which also helps with lower back stiffness. My goal is to be able to touch my head to my knees again, Im a long ways off from that so Ill just keep stretching every day.

Doing those leg lifts to the side are the hardest, those muscles are very weak.  I feel those muscles the most when walking, I can physically walk a mile at this point but its hard on those muscles so they need a ton of work.

Im excited to see where I am 6 weeks from now being able to work on those weak leg and hip muscles, also working on my flexibility.  People weren’t lying when they say the time flies, Im sure the next 6 weeks will go even faster.

February 18, 2018

The tailbone pain came from my recliner for sure and putting pressure on one spot.  I did some exercises and stretches as well as iced it alot and took hot epsom salt baths.  I also bought a donut pillow to sit on so after a week of treating it aggressively with those things its getting a lot better.

Im at week 10 almost, Im able to do body weight squats but Im still feeling a consistent clunking so im not going to add weight yet, im just sticking with side steps with bands, leg extensions, curls and lower back lifts.  Hopefully in the next month i can but a little weight on the smith machine and do some box squats. Ive been working on my flexibility so i can touch my toes now and put on my shoes pretty easy thank god, but bending down still feels odd.  Im concerned about the clunking and shifting, i guess its getting a bit better but it prolly does it 100 times a day moving around and stuff so that makes me anxious.

lol and i weigh 193, i went into surgery 183, i havent been eating bad but never the less i put on weight so Im going strict keto until i get my weight back down bc im starting to look chubby.

April 1, 2018

This is about 3.5 months or so after surgery an Im a technician for lexus so its around 5-7 miles of walking a day and lifting heavy things like tires and batteries.  I feel incredible, everyone comments on how smooth I walk now and how i look taller!  I guess my posture is better or something.  I almost had to bend over slightly to reduce pain when my hips were bad.  Its quite incredible to have come all this way considering how helpless I was in the beginning but the time passed so quickly.  I feel great at work though, way better than i did before the surgery, my body quickly adapted to all that walking and lifting is not an issue.

I ordered a program on stretching and mobility of the psoas and it helped bigtime, im still stretching and strengthening everything religiously and enjoying the improvements.  I feel like at 6 months ill almost all the way there as far as recovery.  Its only 3.5 months so Im not suppose to run bc my femur is still healing but it feels like I could at this point.  I tried it out for just 20 feet and it made me so happy bc there was no pain at all vs before the surgery I couldnt run period.  Im excited as hell for the 6 month mark to start jogging a few times a week again.

I almost postponed this surgery until next year and I thank god I didnt bc now the worst is over and at 3 months im better off than I was before the surgery and I still have alot of healing and improving left to do.  I will say that my hip is still clunking around mainly when i do a certain squat or hamstring stretch but its getting better.  I was able to do my first unnasisted parallel body weight squat a few weeks ago so im getting stronger, lunges are still difficult but im building strength.  The weighted leg lifts are fairly easy for me now but I still do them along with other things.

I know Dr. Gross says PT isnt nescessary but I think a measured approach is beneficial, strengthening, stretching and mobility emphasis will only improve healing in a conservative way IMO.  I ran everything i was doing by the nurse and they said its fine just listen to your body if there is any pain which I did.  My psoas and groin area had issues alot of it from before the surgery but after working hard on it for a month i noticed real results.  Id recommend everyone work that area consistently.

Ive also lost all the fat I gained, went on a keto style diet just ate more protein than is usual on a keto.  Took lots of collagen and gelatin as well to hopefully aid my bone healing.

July 1, 2018

Well its been 6 months since I had bilateral hip resurface with Dr. Gross, its been a long road but time actually flew by and here I am back on the mats like I never left.  Thank god people like Dr. Gross exist