My artificial hip

[jorvik]

A question for Ian and Bill
What can I do? , and what can't I do?
but first a little history. 6 years ago I had a Birmingham hip resurfacing operation .....which according to all the blurb meant that I could function in pretty much the same way that I had done before. e.g. IF I was a marathon runner I could still run and if I was a high kicking karateka then I could still do that...now I didn't do that I was quite restrained, BUT sadly I was told that the Acertabulum ( SP) had crumbled and my hip was dangerously unstable

So I have had another hip replacement.....and there is good and bad, to be honest I thought that it was time to hang up my Gi for good and I was thinking about doing other stuff...but I have had conflicting information from the folks that treated me, so I would like some honest advice from you fine gentlemen

I now have a "revision" of my original hip resurfacing.........I have a total hip replacement made of Chromium and Cobalt........so my question is what can I do?
What can't I do?..................specifically I want to do some Yoga and I would really like to get back out on the mats and either do Aikido or grappling...also kendo, although that poses less of a problem I'm thinking.
Would that be wise? ...or should I just stick with the stuff I am doiing i.e. Wing-Chun...I packed in the Escrima fairly recently, although I would go back.if it was safe ..was even thinking of giving Uechi another go....I know a better club than the one I tried originally, bit of travelling but WTF

thanks in advance

[Bill Glasheen]

Ray

The first thing I would recommend is to get yourself a "jock doc." Find someone who specializes in keeping athletes on their feet. Doctors who themselves were once athletes are a good start.

As for what you can do... I say start slowly and find out what your body likes. This is a time strongly to consider taiji. That's what this martial art is for.

You want to stay away from the high impact stuff. Joint replacement is a godsend, but these things don't last forever. You don't want to go under the knife again any sooner than you have to.

Consider picking up weight training to strengthen the muscles that support the joint. Find out from a physical therapist what they think you can do, and do it. Don't be afraid to push the envelope a little. But no high impact stuff such as plyometrics.

Wing Chun may not be a bad choice. Uechi may be fine as well, but modify the Seisan jump. (FWIW, the original Seisan didn't have a "jump." That's just flash added on later.) It's worth mentioning that I know of two highly ranked Uechi practitioners who have one or both artificial hips. They manage to do fine, and still instruct.

- Bill

[Josann]

I am not Ian or Bill but I can speak to your question. I had a total hip replacement in 2006 and have returned to karate. I was back in a limited way at 7 weeks and have been as good as before for approximately 2 years. I stopped doing small circle jujitsu since the surgery but have returned to uechi, appreciating it even more than ever.
Running is out of the question or at least for me. Since the surgery I have biked, doing two 50 milers last year. I ride an exercise bike 3 days per week, use a total gym 3 days per week, stretch twice a day in addition to karate. I am sure you could work back into yoga. For a time I was walking an hour per day and have done considerable hiking in the mountains with minimal pain. This past six months or so my flexibility is back to what it was pre-surgery or slightly better.

Jujitsu as I paracticed doesn't seem an option for me as the falls make me nervous. Grappling is ok with limits, be careful if thrown and tap quickly if you have anydoubts that the hip is safe. I have done some grappling since the surgery with my 19 year old son who has trained in BJJ and it felt ok. You can continue to work locks and throws from a standup (great transition from uechi techniques). Sweeps need to be done with caution.

I did go through a brief period of discomfort approximately a year ago that came and went, then finally stopped. I can only call them "zingers' that felt like an electric shock but these pass.

I understand you are from the UK so I am not sure what kind of surgery they have for hips there. I had mine done by a great surgeon at New England Baptist Hospital by the name of Daniel Ward that I'd recommend to anybody. My hip joint is titaneum with a ceramic cup nailed into my pelvis. I've been told I can expect a minimum of 15 years from this setup and the second, if needed may not require all the hardware to be replaced.

My advice/suggestion would be to find the best MD that you can find that specializes in hip replacement, tell him how you want to live your life, what activities you want to do, and just do what you can. Rehabing the injury has to be thought of as exercise and part of a new lifestyle. after a certain age working around injuries is part of the deal.

I am 55 and the goal is to be that old dude in the dojo who is still pretty good when I am 80+. From what I've read from your posts, Jorvik, is that you truly love all things martial arts. Don't give them up, find out what you can do and focus on getting more back from there. I am biased toward uechi ryu. With the low kicks, close in style and way that it transitions to standing grappling it can be a great style for all of us as we age.

Good luck with things and know that I am rooting for you.

[jorvik]

Thanks Bill much appreciated
FWIW
My Wing chun sifu is very supportive....about what I can do, that really is a God send.because I know that I can still do it
Howvever, it is a bit harder to get good medical advice over here we have the National health service..which is great because it is free buuuuuuuuut different health authoritiesover here will tell you different things..I was told by one that I could carry on as before, and by another that I couldn't.....so I am in limbo

As to Tai Ji I've tried that last time , and frankly it doesn't work...too much flexibility required, but maybe we think of different things when we say this........as regards Uechi and Wing-Chin...and WC primarily I can do any upperbody stuff.....even boxing, personally I don't think that I have given you the right impression of me or what I can do........I guess it is kind of hard to explain..........the WC is cool, I'm still doing that and will continue, I just wondered about Aikido...........but I guess reading between the lines that is out ....for this lifetime at least

[jorvik]

Thanks Josann, I appreciate you taking the time to comment, it's nice to know what other people do in a similar situation.

[IJ]

Hi, I don't have much to add... doctors only know what they do, and we simply don't receive any instruction in hip replacement in med school nor is it an issue for me at work as an internist. So the best I could do is look something up for you or ask my mom what instructions she got when hers was done. The standard advice is to ask the person that put it in or another orthopedist (a clinic could probably fax you something), but their motivation will be risk reduction most of the time, not karate maximization. It's a bit like asking an obstetrician how much you can drink while pregnant; the formal answer is nothing, ever, at all, and the real answer if you press them is that you want to completely avoid the first 2-3 months and after that, an (actually) occasional drink is not a big deal, and all the fetal alcohol experience comes from heavy drinkers which is being extrapolated to "none is best" (which it may be).

Good luck!

[jorvik]

Thanks Ian
The reason that I asked this question was because in England the health service is a bit different, I got my original operation by asking for a second opinion. This meant that I had to travel out of my area for the operation and for the subsequent second operation 6 years later . After that operation I spoke to my physios at the hospital and they said that I could do anything that I had done before, I said " Run a marathon" and they said if I had done so before then yes ......when I left the hospital and went back to my own area I had to go to the local hospital for further physio.......and they told me no impact sports etc ...........so I don't know what to do the original hospital said that I should try and keep up my activities, when I last visited it I asked the doctor ( not the surgeon who performed the operation) if I could do Yoga.I mentioned that I used to be able to get into the lotus posture...........he said that I could but to leave the lotus posture for another 6 months...which totally surprised me

I do tend to be cautious, I was last time but kept up some activity and the hip still went bad too quickly ................I used to do Wing Chun and Escrima.so with the Escrima my hip felt sore after one of the workouts so I stopped doing it......the Wing-Chun seems to be ok.it's a lot softer than even the Tai-Chi that I did.the guy teaching me is real fanatic and regularly visits China for instruction.he's also heavily into Qi Kung, which is probably why he is so soft...............I guess I'll just see how I go

[IJ]

Well, they may also not know, right? When they started doing these, they told people to be extra cautious because they didn't know how long they would last or what they would tolerate. Their experience with hip replacements in karate is probably close to zero, so, you may have two people saying the same thing in different ways:

"That may increase your risk of failure and I would not do it."

"Your risk of joint failure probably isn't high so you can proceed cautiously."

That's just a matter of style. Perhaps the best thing is to ask them, not what they feel, but what the guidelines are and whether there's a reason not to follow them. Or get a real sense of what their experience is, by asking them. Sometimes you'll find a doctor who had one bad experience and s/he's not interested in risking it again. Another may have had good luck with all patients. A third may know something's unique about your hip. But, your answers may be vague because this isn't well known.

[jorvik]

Thanks again Ian...........I'll play it by ear for now, as it's still early days, but it does feel better than the Birmingham hip resurfacing that I had done originally.and my wife says that I don't limp as much as I did with the Birmingham.so I guess it's all positive for now

[Kuma-de]

Thanks again Ian...........I'll play it by ear for now, as it's still early days, but it does feel better than the Birmingham hip resurfacing that I had done originally.and my wife says that I don't limp as much as I did with the Birmingham.so I guess it's all positive for now

My friend in NYC had a double hip done last fall. He is back in the dojo 3 nights a week and back riding his Harley (Ray, thats an expensive American motorcycle!! ).

I know of at least 2 other karate-ka that had either 1 or 2 hips replaced and are back in the dojo. They didn't think recovery and rehab was fun.. ..but, after a little while they were back at it.

So, "Don't Let the Bastards Get You Down!!" Barry Goldwater, 1964 Republican Presidential Candidate

[jorvik]

Thanks Jim
..........I didn't know Triumph made a model called a " harley".bit of a daft name if you ask me

[Bill Glasheen]

Thanks Jim
..........I didn't know Triumph made a model called a " harley".bit of a daft name if you ask me

There's nothing like a Harley, Ray.



But if you've never ridden one, you just wouldn't understand.



potato potato potato potato...

- Bill

[jorvik]

I liked the images of Easy rider.that suddenly disapeared ........I watched that movie about 10 times.like other folks watched " the sound of music"...still love it now ...with those harley 74's...and that soundtrack.........http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJS8j9YYB9w

steppenwolf.......Yeah!!...even love the book...........wolf of the steppes

[Bill Glasheen]

Oh alright!

Born To Be Wild and Easy Rider (Slipshotfilms)

[jorvik]

Best film ever