If you have been informed that you require a hip replacement at a young age, chances are that you want to remain as fit and active as possible. Dr Slattery sees many young people who are highly active, playing sports, having highly physical jobs, and running around after young families. Expectations following hip replacement are quite different to 15-20 years ago, when hip replacements were traditionally thought of as only being for older, less mobile patients. These days, most patients after hip replacement are able to get back into most of their pre-replacement activities.
Commonly I get asked: “Can I run after hip replacement?”.
Well, firstly this depends if you were running, or trying to run before your hip replacement. Jogging and running are important physical outlets for many people and the endorphins released and positive psychological effects of running is highly beneficial, as is the physical nature of the exercise.
Many patients can continue running after they have undergone a hip replacement or a hip resurfacing procedure. There have been traditionally concerns regarding the risk of ‘wearing out’ the implants over time, but this has not been shown in the literature, and recent studies do not show any higher failure rates in patients who return to sports and activities. Most of the studies done on hip replacement procedures and running have been in older patients, and using older techniques and implant designs. There were historically concerns regarding posterior hip replacements dislocations, and old types of plastic hip replacement components (LMWPE) wearing out with excess use. With modern implant designs, materials and methods of implantation (such as robotic and anterior hip replacement), there is not the same level of concern regarding implants ‘wearing out’, and hip replacements are more stable, therefore more patients are able to run on their hips.
Some studies have even shown that up to 100% of patients can return to sports after hip replacement surgery, however, other studies have only shown 40% of patients can return to sport, therefore this requires careful analysis of your circumstances and the activities you wish to perform. Generally, high intensity physical activities where there is high risk of injury – eg AFL, mixed martial arts, and similar sports should generally be avoided. However, most patients should be able to jog, swim, have a casual kick of football, soccer, play tennis or ski on a hip replacement without difficulty and without risk of prematurely wearing out their hip replacement. Remaining physically active is highly important for mental health and preventing weight gain and for maintenance of cardiovascular fitness.
In most studies on this topic, on average the time taken to return to sport is approximately 4-6 months after surgery.
Therefore if jogging or running is a key part of your fitness routine, and you are holding off a hip replacement because of this concern, contact us today to discuss your options.
References:
- Meek, R. M., Treacy, R., Manktelow, A., Timperley, J. A., & Haddad, F. S. (2020). Sport after total hip Arthroplasty: Undoubted progress but still some unknowns. The Bone & Joint Journal, 102-B(6), 661–663. https://doi.org/10.1302/0301-620x.102b6.bjj-2020-0208 https://online.boneandjoint.org.uk/doi/epub/10.1302/0301-620X.102B6.BJJ-2020-0208
- Hoorntje, A., Janssen, K.Y., Bolder, S.B.T. et al. The Effect of Total Hip Arthroplasty on Sports and Work Participation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports Med 48, 1695–1726 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-018-0924-2
- Huch K, Muller KAC, Sturmer T, Brenner H, Puhl W, Gu¨nther KP. Sports activities 5 years after total knee or hip arthroplasty: the Ulm Osteoarthritis Study. Ann Rheum Dis. 2005;64:1715–20.
- Schmidutz F, Grote S, Pietschmann M, Weber P, Mazoochian F, Fottner A, et al. Sports activity after short-stem hip arthroplasty. Am J Sports Med. 2012;40:425–32.
Make an appointment with Dr. David Slattery today
If you’re looking for an orthopaedic surgeon in Melbourne who can tick all your boxes, then please book your appointment with Dr David Slattery today.