Hip Replacement

Red_Arremer

Due to osteoarthritis in my hips, I'm probably going to be getting a hip replacement this year. Things have happened pretty suddenly, and despite the fact that I was jogging last year, now I can pretty much only walk a mile at a time before things start to suck. I'm only 21, and I'm really not looking forward to a lifetime of revisions. Kind of pissed it's 2013 and we can't regrow bone and cartilage.

If there is anybody on these forums who's had one, what's your range of motion like? Can you ride a regular upright bike? What can/can't you do during sex? (I'm male). Does anybody know of any treatments other than hip replacement that are being developed or are already available?

I'm not looking for medical advice, and I have an appointment with my doctor in a few days. I'm just asking what your experiences were and what you're now able to do. It is surprisingly hard for me to find a straight answer by just searching online, especially about sex for men with a hip replacement. Most of the pamphlet/internet sources just say "after 3 months you can do more things".

Pure Din

My mom had a hip replacement two years ago for the same reason. It's true that the range of motion is really limited for the firt few months. (I saw her the first time after the surgery at 3 weeks and she made me shave her legs for her because she still couldn't bend over). Before the surgery she went to a class where they taught people how to move around properly post-surgery and she bought a ton of devices to help do things like put on socks. She does ride a bicycle since the surgery. The positions to avoid are crossing your legs, and not to bend at the waist more than 90 degrees. Also sports like running and basketball which put impact on the hip. I'm not asking my mom about sex. But she seems much happier since the surgery, I think she's really glad she got it.

Red_Arremer

It's nice to hear your mom's doing well after the surgery. Does she walk normally now that she's healed up?

Mad Jazz

I haven't had one myself, but I'm around this kind of stuff all the time. Joint replacements nowadays are getting really, really sophisticated, and the outcomes tend to be extremely good. An ex-girlfriend's dad had a bilateral knee replacement and was up walking around nearly pain free after a few weeks. A hip is a bit more srs biz than knees, but after maybe a few months of rehab/pt, you can probably expect little to no limitations in your daily life. Your orthopod will be able to give you some solid info on this kind of thing, so ask him/her.

MHYoshimitzu

I'm a journalist with a background in orthopedics and medical writing. That said, I'm not a doctor.

You're very, very young to have your hip replaced. All in all, you should be fine. Total hip replacement is among one of the most successful surgical procedures in the world. They can last anywhere from 10-30 years, or longer, depending on how active you are. I know some surgeons who have their patients up and walking (with aid) within hours, if that gives you an idea on a timetable.

I searched PubMed and found one study about sexual activity that might help:

Male patients were statistically more likely to resume intercourse sooner than their female counterparts. Patients were also questioned about which coital positions they found comfortable after arthroplasty. The supine position (patient on bottom) was the most preferred. The next most comfortable position for males was prone (patient on top), yet for female it was sidelying on the nonoperative hip. In addition, 89% of patients desired more information regarding sexual function postarthroplasty, preferably in the form of a booklet. Therefore, a booklet was written specifically for postoperative patients and their sexual partners.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1864043

Another study cautioned against sex for three months after surgery, but this study says over half of patients were able to resume sexual activity. My guess as to the reason why these studies aren't prevalent is because people aren't necessarily willing to disclose their sexual activities with researchers, which makes it hard to publish about.

mts

MHYoshimitzu wrote: »

I'm a journalist with a background in orthopedics and medical writing. That said, I'm not a doctor.

You're very, very young to have your hip replaced. All in all, you should be fine. Total hip replacement is among one of the most successful surgical procedures in the world. They can last anywhere from 10-30 years, or longer, depending on how active you are. I know some surgeons who have their patients up and walking (with aid) within hours, if that gives you an idea on a timetable.

I searched PubMed and found one study about sexual activity that might help:

Male patients were statistically more likely to resume intercourse sooner than their female counterparts. Patients were also questioned about which coital positions they found comfortable after arthroplasty. The supine position (patient on bottom) was the most preferred. The next most comfortable position for males was prone (patient on top), yet for female it was sidelying on the nonoperative hip. In addition, 89% of patients desired more information regarding sexual function postarthroplasty, preferably in the form of a booklet. Therefore, a booklet was written specifically for postoperative patients and their sexual partners.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1864043

Another study cautioned against sex for three months after surgery, but this study says over half of patients were able to resume sexual activity. My guess as to the reason why these studies aren't prevalent is because people aren't necessarily willing to disclose their sexual activities with researchers, which makes it hard to publish about.

It's probably also that most people who get hip replacement surgery are old

Pure Din

Red_Arremer wrote: »

It's nice to hear your mom's doing well after the surgery. Does she walk normally now that she's healed up?

Yes. We don't live that close, so I don't know the full timeframe. She came to my graduation about five weeks post op and at that point she was still using a cane for much of the time, but it was like six months until I saw her again after that so I don't know when exactly she stopped.

Pure Din

MHYoshimitzu wrote: »

You're very, very young to have your hip replaced. All in all, you should be fine. Total hip replacement is among one of the most successful surgical procedures in the world. They can last anywhere from 10-30 years, or longer, depending on how active you are. I know some surgeons who have their patients up and walking (with aid) within hours, if that gives you an idea on a timetable.

In my mom's case she was walking (with a walker) the next morning the problem was more that the pain was bad so she could and was supposed to move around but she didn't want to. in hindsight I thnk she and my dad should have been more pushy about getting the appropriate pain management.

Dr. Frenchenstein

You are super young, and i assume in good health (minus the osteoarthritis) so you should recover a lot quicker than older patients. I just had surgery for ruptured discs and stenosis/pinched nerve, which my doctor said "typically doesn't happen at my age" (all the literature i was given had lovely pictures of senior citizens...) and i'm not that young. all the therapists and doctors were amazed at how quickly i recovered, and i was shuffling by all the old folks at warp speed for the day i was in the hospital.

I'm not sure about quality of life with the implant though, i bet you'll be able to get around normally once you are fully recovered, but i assume impact sports and stuff would be right out, just because of wear and tear. it's not like it's easy to swap out. Great questions for your doc though, as we all know what assuming does.

Red_Arremer

Wow, thanks for all the great comments guys. From what you guys are saying things sound pretty bearable. What I'm most worried about are the revisions after the replacement, as the more you're opening it up and messing around with it the worse off it is.

MHYoshimitzu: Thanks for the study. Looks like there's not a lot to worry about as far as sex goes.

Pure Din: Pain management is definitely important. I think it helps you heal faster as well.

Dr. Frenchenstein: Your avatar... It's just... great. That stenosis/ruptured disc sounds nasty. I think I'd heal up reasonably fast as well, because I am in good shape.

Just talked to my doctor on Thursday and received some bittersweet news: my hips are well enough and there's enough bone stock that it's not time to start planning a surgery. It's bitter because there's can still be some serious pain if I overdo it (I always overdo it). I'm thinking I just have to go all in with the stretches and small muscle exercises, and hope better treatments are being worked on. Maybe by the time it's absolutely necessary they'll have a regenerative method (a man can dream), or more likely, some new plastic or material. I'll be getting a second opinion with a specialist suggested by my doctor in a few months.

One of the interesting things the doctor told me was that for some patients, a hip replacement isn't feasible, and for those people they do something they've been doing for a century; they remove the ball of the femoral head and let the space fill with scar tissue (very long recovery time). He said a woman walked in to his office one time and he didn't even know she had had it done until she told him.