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Is a Hip Replacement Advisable at my Age when my Main Issue is Lack of Mobility/Range of Motion

Posted , 18 users are following.

AdamCurtis
AdamCurtis

HI all,

I'm a 27-year-old male suffering with hip issues. I don't have a diagnosis of arthritis but an x-ray of my hip has shown that the ball of the joint is greatly misshapen and enlarged on the left-hand side and that there is virtually no space between the bone.

Most of the pain I experience is from standing for too long or from resting on it in an inappropriate position. However, at rest pain isn't really an issue. The pain is located in the groin area and at the bottom of my kneecap. however, the pain is by no means unbearable, I do not take medication for the most part (other than the occasional ibuprofen when it gets bad) and I wouldn't say the pain interferes with my day to day activities.

The main issue is that I have a serious lack of mobility and range of motion in that leg. I cant squat or lunge to save my life and when I try to bring my knee up towards my torso the leg externally rotates and can only get up to about parallel with my hip. I also walk with a limp which i am quite self-conscious about. The limp is worse on some days than others but I am still able to walk without assistance. I cannot run without pain or at least discomfort. 

My doctor has told me my condition is only going to get worse, which really bothers me because I enjoy going to the gym and want to remain as active as I can (I enjoy weightlifting and cycling). My doctor has also said I am inevitably going to need a hip replacement, however, I live in Britain and have heard that the NHS will only consider hip replacements "for those in so much pain they can't sleep". 

I really don't want to wait for my health to deteriorate that much and till I become essentially crippled and in chronic pain before having the hip replacement. So, I have been considering starting to save money so that, providing a doctor thinks it is appropriate, I could have the procedure done privately sometime in my 30's.

I was wondering whether people think it is a good idea to have the procedure done at that sort of age and whether doing it despite a major lack of pain is a wise choice?

 

1 like, 30 replies

30 Replies

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  • carol21327
    carol21327 AdamCurtis

    Posted

    Hip replacements last a great deal longer now. I have a ceramic one and apparently it will out live me! 

    Find yourself a good consultant who can do the super path hip replacement when you have it done as recovery is much quicker and you should get back to the gym quite quickly as opposed to the more traditional method 

    • AdamCurtis
      AdamCurtis carol21327

      Posted

      Thanks, Carol.

      How long replacements last is my main concern when considering the procedure at my age. The NHS website says 15 years but I have heard some people say modern replacements can last as long as 35.

    • carol21327
      carol21327 AdamCurtis

      Posted

      Yes this is true but actually no one has had to have this type replaced yet so they are guessing st 35 years but could be a lot longer 
  • millie37185
    millie37185 AdamCurtis

    Posted

    I’m sorry to hear about your hip problem, Adam, for one so young.  Your symptoms were my symptoms before I started having pain on my joint and groin.  By the way, I am 61, female and started having pain because of arthritis caused by hip dysplasia in February last year.  The pain eventually was interrupting my daily regimen.  I was very active before the pain started.  

    Yes, eventually you will need hip replacement but I don’t how it works for one so young. You probably have to lessen your activities.  Weight lifting must be quite a burden for your joints.  Your doctor knows best.  Good luck, young man !

    • AdamCurtis
      AdamCurtis millie37185

      Posted

      Thanks, Millie.

      I have stopped any hard-hitting sports such as running, but my doctor said weightlifting and cycling should be fine providing there's no pain. He actually said any leg exercises which strengthen the glutes and quads should be beneficial as those are the muscles which play the largest role in supporting the hip.

  • Marilyn1212
    Marilyn1212 AdamCurtis

    Posted

    I agree with Carol. I am 3 weeks post op thr and I didn't have arthritis but a piece of bone had chipped off the ball and had formed spurs causing pain in my groin. I have a ceramic replacement which should outlast me. You are young and have your whole life ahead of you and a life you want to live to the full. I'd say go for it as soon as you can while you're otherwise fit and healthy. Good luck

  • connie53617
    connie53617 AdamCurtis

    Posted

    Hi Adam

    I live in the USA so I don't know if things are different here..but I do know there is a young woman I know who is 29 and she had A bilateral hip replacement..I'm not up on health insurance in britain...

    Secondly...did you ever consider stem cell? I looked into it but and did alot of research and talked to alot of people..I decided and my surgeon thought my hip was too far gone..sorry I couldn't help you any further..good luck.

    • AdamCurtis
      AdamCurtis connie53617

      Posted

      Thanks, Connie.

      Yeah from the research I've done online it does seem to be becoming more common for young people to have the procedure. 

      To be honest I've never heard of using stem cells for such a problem I will have to look into it smile.

    • RichardKen
      RichardKen connie53617

      Posted

      I think that stem cell treatment does not work at present.

      Cheers Richard

  • jen86183
    jen86183 AdamCurtis

    Posted

    Hello Adam,

    I would continue to exercise as it will help you with any hip pain. I did not get night pain that stopped me sleeping and never took anything stronger than paracetamol when I did have pain. I think because I continued with pilates, aerobics and using my elliptical walker it controlled the pain a great deal..

    I did have a bad limp and if you allow it to continue as I did (8 years) it can damage your other hip and back. You could ask the doctor for some stronger painkillers and play on it a bit if it does start impacting on your life. I had my op 6 weeks after seeing the consultant. Some health authorities do not take too long to operate my longest wait was to see the consultant initially, about 6/7 months then it was very fast.

    • AdamCurtis
      AdamCurtis jen86183

      Posted

      Thanks, Jen.

      to be honest I kind of want to avoid years of taking strong painkillers if possible and thankfully the pain hasn't reached that point yet.

      I never considered that lack of mobility in one leg might have negative impacts on my healthy leg so thanks for bringing that to my attention.

    • denise79180
      denise79180 AdamCurtis

      Posted

      Hi Adam. I had hip dysplasia and have just had my second hip replaced. Age 53. My first one, done 2 years ago was much more painful beforehand but the 2nd 1 had more problems during operation. We just don't know till the operation what's really going on in there. 

      My son had leg Perthes disease when he was 8. He had both hips reconstructed at 9. He is now 26. He will need a hip replacement in his 30s. He doesn't run but he does snowboard and rock climb. He only takes pain killers when absolutely necessary. He, like you is trying to decide how long to wait. It's a personal decision I think. Once you find a good surgeon and can discuss all the pros and cons. Quality of life/activities etc it will help you decide.  

      Having a limp is certainly a big factor in my opinion. Speaking from personal experience. A limp cad definitely wreck yr other hip and back without realising. 

      Good luck with yr quest. 

  • steve_30629
    steve_30629 AdamCurtis

    Posted

    Morning Adam, I am 38 and 3 weeks post THR. I was diagnosed at 31 with arthritis. At the time I didn’t accept it, I was still playing semi professional football, am a PE teacher so just didn’t want to accept this. I had groin pain during sport which would flare up after but after rest settled down. I too had minimal pain. I then  had arthroscopic surgery in 2012 to reshape femur head, smooth surfaces down so I could still be active and carry on playing football at the level I wanted too. From the surgery my consultant told my my arthritis was severe and a replacement would be inevitable. Despondent but not put off I rehabbed and was back playing in 4 months and continued to play football, ski and be active in my job. 

    5 years on I would say I managed but just that managed.. , recovery from exercise took longer I developed an awful limp in which everyone commented, sitting down in a car for more than 15mins became uncomfortable  and my mobility got worse and worse to the point where I could barely put socks on and shoes I needed an extra long shoe horn. I simply adapted and made things I wanted to do easier for me as to flex my hip (would not squat, never bend on left side etc)

    Still however I had minimal pain so believed I didn’t need the replacement. I was fortunate that I have a mate who is an excellent Physio who helped me throughout the 5 years and every time I saw my consultant he would ask are you managing? I would say yes. Eventually however it was impacting me too much not the pain as I had minimal but in my job, doing simple things like shoes etc and I now find skiing difficult (I had stopped playing football too because I had no mobility to play )  went back to my surgeon and said all this and he said fine let’s replace the hip.  Never once had he referred to the pain it was all about ‘quality of life’ and mine was now being affected everyday by my hip(I have 2 young children too) as I said I’m 3 weeks post surgery... on 1 crutch, walking 15-20mins a day with no limp and making good progress. I hope to ski in February. 

    I guess what I’m saying is pain is irrelevant if you quality of life is impacted on... you are 28 and do not want to miss out not doing stuff you should take for granted. Maybe there is an alternative surgery arthroscopic like I had which may help initially but don’t believe all the ‘only old and in pain ‘ people have replacements... I was neither and did and my surgeon never stopped me. I was and am under Stanmore Royal Orthopeadic hospital in London and I was referrred there to the Young Hip specialist team, maybe try them depending on your location- they have been excellent for me. 

    Hope this has helped, be positive and if you want any further advice just ask. 

    Steve

    • AdamCurtis
      AdamCurtis steve_30629

      Posted

      Thanks, Steve.

      Everything you have described sounds very similar to what I'm experiencing. I get pain when I use my leg too much but it settles down when I rest. And the lack of range of motion make things like tying my shoelaces or picking things off the ground difficult.  

      I've been told surgery is the only real option so it's good to know it should be possible to get this done while I'm still young and before my health has to deteriorate too much. thanks again smile

    • AlexandriaGizmo
      AlexandriaGizmo AdamCurtis

      Posted

      Hi Adam your Dr is wrong, their is definitely a need to get you as mobile as possible and a new hip will do that, him saying you can't have one on NHS because you are sleeping ok is rubbish, get him to refer you to an orthopedic surgeon and he I'm sure will give the go ahead to have it done, I have read recently of a surgical procedure to reshape the ball, am I dreaming LOL some one Will pute right I'm sure

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