Problems diagnosed as Osteoarthritis CAN be cured in some cases.

That's exactly how it was for me. So many times I'd think 'if I just get this one muscle loosened off I think I'm fixed' - only to find the problem shift somewhere else.

That is the nature of the beast. Layers of dysfunction have built up over decades. You need to peel them back one by one. The risk is that you lose faith in the process and give up.

The good news is the book went to Amazon today. Apparantly they take about 5 - 8 working days to process it before it's available.

The book deals with all this stuff. What I've tried to achieve is to explain exactly what's wrong, the process of putting it right and all problems you're likey to run into. (As well as a detailed treatment plan). I think the only way you can beat this is if you understand it. That way you can make sense of how your body responds and adapts and can dynamically adapt your rehab accordingly.

Once you've worked through the book let me know what you don't understand, what you struggle with etc and I'll keep adding articles, videos etc to my website.

The most important thing here is that YOU understand it and YOU take control. If you just rely on trust and blind faith in what I say I think you'll give up before you get there. Progress IS slow at first.

An analogy. Do you remember rubix cube puzzles? Like a rubix cube your body (most of the joints) are out of alignment in 3 planes of motion. A lot of the moves you make in the early stages are simply setting you up for what comes later. It seems that you're moving no further from the solution - sometimes you have to move away. But eventually it's just a few clicks and it all comes together.

I honestly think you'll understand it a lot better when you get the book. Or at least - you'll understand exactly what you don't understand! And that's a step in the right direction. I can help you from there.

Can I buy it on amazon??

What is the name.of the book???

Please let me know when available

Thanks again

In my martial arts class now...when we Donnie kicks and I can't and one of the student teachers says oh damn you don't have that flexibility ...yet 5 years ago i could have kicked him in the face with either leg...makes me want to cry....I'd just like to be able.to tie my left shoe or sit comfortably with my left foot on my right knee....

I'll be 50 in January...you have helped a lot

But im still in pain everyday ...I'd be so thankful for the pain to stop....

I will probably buy several copies....

My girlfriends dad loves in Scotland... Maybe we could get together

It might take a while, but you've got a LOT of years ahead of you. This could turn out to be a blessing in disguise.

The longer we've been alive, the longer we've had to develop imbalances. It happens to everyone. It's put down to the inevitable consequence of aging. When it creeps up on us slowly we accept it as normal. What we have is essentially the same thing, but there's been an extreme clamp down that's caused more severe symptoms.

It's ALL reversible. However, it's damn hard work and most people - unless given extreme motivation - will never do it. They'll just go into decline as they get old and accept it.

We have the motivation to learn how to turn it around. We want our active life back and in this state we feel useless. That gives us the incentive to put in the hard work, the physical work but also the mental effort into figuring it all out.

Eventually, things click and things start to return to normal. You now have the skills and physical awareness to go beyond normal - to better than you've ever been in your life.

That's the stage I'm at now. I was talking about my goals - increased muscle mass, excellent movement / biomechanics, lean, strong, perfect posture - someone said to me "Awesome - a total physical badass after 50". I like that goal. I'm confident I can do it. Once you unravel the imbalance then unless you were in great shape in your twenties you CAN feel better than you've ever felt (with better performance) in your fifties.

Don't think it's all downhill from here. You'll make a plan - find a way to train that keeps you fit and sane, but doesn't interfere with your rehab. It's a long haul - not a quick fix. But you can be happy, fulfilled and moving forward various aspects of your fitness while you work on fixing this. One day you'll be able to shoot for the stars again - and reach them!

 

Very sweet for you to say all of that....

I'm even or slightly better than in was last year half assing this so with the book...I'm probably a year away....

I will enjoy the process

It is fantastic news that you’ve completed the book Susan. It must have been a long haul and you are to be congratulated. It’s one thing to cure yourself but another to try and explain to others how to do it. Whatever the outcome, I think everyone who has been inspired by you on this forum owes you a huge debt of gratitude either way. Frankly I’m not surprised the professionals don’t want to comment because in my experience they have never known quite how to deal with this problem anyway. I weakened about ten months ago and went back to the doctor with the pain – she didn’t even examine me.

 

 A few months later I was given a few minutes with specialists who told me what they had told me before – that I would need a hip replacement. The last time they said that it was ten years ago and I didn’t believe them then and I still don’t have confidence in their diagnostic approach now. For example in describing my various symptoms I have told every doctor that I cannot squat straight and one specialist – the only one -  did ask to see me stand and bend and told me I have scoliosis too apparently. News to me, but not relevant it seems.

 

I was then referred to physios. Again the same tatty sheet of badly printed exercises from one practitioner, who spent more time asking me to fill out forms than she did trying to treat me. I had to listen yet again to a lecture about what osteoarthritis is and that it is  ‘incurable.’ And I’m sitting there thinking how come we have cartilage at every joint in the body and all the cells can regenerate there but when it comes to my hip you tell me it won’t. You try and say you think the wear and tear might not be the cause but a symptom and they smile benignly like you’re stupid. My latest X-Rays still say I need a hip replacement she says. Fair enough. But I say but that’s like saying the tyre on your car is worn so we’ll cut the wheel off – but really it is because the tracking is out. I know I’m twisted up I can feel it. She wasn’t impressed. I tried her exercises again which seem to just stretch what was already aching.

 

Another physio I was referred to in a hospital then tried physical manipulation, using his whole upper body weight to try and get the joint to move. In the end I made noises and he stopped. It hurt so much that afterwards I felt sick walking to my car. Put it this way -  after an accident with an axe on my hand once I needed stitches and anesthetic wasn’t available – if the pain from that was a 4  what he did to me was an 8. I could hardly move for days and weeks later I haven’t sleep due to sciatic pains which I had before but never as badly. I can’t sit down to work now so have built myself a standing up desk where I’m writing this. I can’t think that’s a coincidence that I have this pain now after what he did – and you go and see them to make you feel better.

 

Personally I never should have gone back to the medical profession – it seems even when they don’t know what they are doing they will still do it anyway. What has helped me the most – and I say this hand on heart to anyone reading this are the exercises you gave me and the correspondence we’ve had. Your approach has been forensic and I have a folder full of it and go back each time to re-read what you’ve said. You’ve done more trying to diagnose things over the internet for me than all the other medical professionals put together. Again a tough ask – like trying to teach someone choreography over the phone but you’ve managed to convey your message so many people. Many of the doctors seem to have such closed  minds  - maybe your book at least will open one or two of them. Well done Susan, well, well done. 

I'll flip that right back at you - where's the research leading to your beliefs? I'm sure it will surprise you to know that there is none. In fact, the research is leading experts to think otherwise. I recommend starting with the NICE guidelines for OA - that lists all the research articles that it bases it's conclusions on.

The reality is, many people with completely trashed joints have zero symptoms. Many people with no evidence of degenerative changes have bad symptoms. So much so, that the guidelines now recommend that x-rays aren't used when making a diagnosis - because research shows that there is no correlation between radiographic findings and symptoms. The state of that precious cartilage really isn't particularly relevant to symptoms.

You are taking as gospel an outdated assumption. You believe it because an 'expert' told you it was so. But that expert was making a guess based upon incomplete evidence and passing it off as fact. It was an opinion that is not backed by research.

OA is no longer considered to be a wear and tear problem. It is perfectly normal for wear to occur and the repair process to result in what shows on xray as degenerative changes. It's completely harmless. Provided repair is keeping up with wear there's nothing much to worry about.

If you can find what's causing the wear and tip the body back towards repair then damage to the joints can begin to repair. According to the NICE guidelines, in hip joints it's even possible for x-ray films to show improvement. However, as there is no correlation between x-ray evidence and symptoms - who cares?

As for the pain and symptoms - I know that in my case when I eliminated the very definite, diagnosable and treatable muscle imbalance the symptoms went away. My symptoms were said to be classic - I was assured the problems were coming from my joint. Others are demonstrating the same patterns of dysfunction as me. If they treat that dysfunction - which DOES exist -  there is no certainty that their outcome will be the same as mine. However, only good can come from trying.

OA is a diagnosis of exclusion. It cannot be diagnosed until all other possibilities are ruled out. Muscle imbalance is most definitely a possibility. Beyound question. Why would you accept a diagnosis of an incurable disease that will restrict your life and quite possibly condemn you to a life of drugs and possibly even surgery - WITHOUT first ruling out an incurable muscle imbalance? Especially when evidence based guidelines tell us that the primary treatment for OA is exercise. Doesn't it make sense to really delve deeply into how to get the best out of that exercise? To figure out WHY research shows it to be effective and to create a highly targetted treatment plan?

Here's another question for you. Which is worse in your opinion -

1) Advising someone to go under potentially life-threatening surgery to remove a joint, replace it with plastic (that won't last more than 15 years or so), with no guarantee of success. WITHOUT first ensuring that the joint is the cause of their symptoms? Remember, you cannot assume the joint is the cause of the symptoms until you have ruled out other causes. Muscle imbalance is a possible cause. How many people have muscle imbalance ruled out prior to undergoing surgery?

2) Advising someone to work diligently on what is known to be the best treatment for OA - EXERCISE. To really try to understand WHY their body is behaving the way it is and to take logical steps to rectify matters? Even if the joint truly is the cause of your symptoms this can only help.

Correcting muscle imbalance (i.e. targetted exercise) worked for me. It may not work for everyone. But research shows that it should help most people.

If you're wondering WHY doctors don't take this approach. Well, I was told it's because 99% of patients are too lazy and inactive to even begin to address a complex muscle imbalance. It therefore makes no sense to invest money and resources on a treatment that is guaranteed to have a low success rate. However, for the forgotten 1% that will move heaven and earth to get their lives back it is a very promising avenue to explore.

""WITHOUT first ruling out an incurable muscle imbalance? ""

WITHOUT first ruling out a CURABLE muscle imbalance !

Yikes all the muscle balance was ruled out???  I ask you why you made that assumption that the issue in my case was not within your belief systems. You have no information of my life or how my hips became bone on bone . Although many attempts were taken seriously for almost 8 years to improve the joint areas and try to establish better balance in the joint tissue and stregthen the joint and I had strong leg muscles I was a athlete all my life, and my immediate concern became to continue on to a better quality of life all the exercises and surgeries to improve the ball joint was short lived. 

My only option was to improve my quality of life, and yes that simple thing called mobility without canes or wheelchairs & I never became dependent on pain meds. My issue is that the statements you make are very opinionated and balanced toward your belief system with very little evidence to what my experience is or how I gained my belief that cartheledge cannot be restored once it is gone in Hip ball joint. There is NO CURE for OA THERE ARE STAGES to soften the stages or correcting the areas for a short time period. I did many including surgery to remove extra bone from bone growth from the tissue surrounding the femur and interrupting areas of the ball by removing bone damage. Resurfacing the circumference of the ball joint. The imbalance not only due to muscle or tendons but also bone growth on the ball joint and femur causing imbalance while movement carries the pain and tissue to wear over time. If the ball joint is not inline then the area is unbalanced . And where does the necrosis come in with your theory.

Surgery can help in some cases without THR depending on how soon the damage is seen or detected on the hip joint. I waited many years hoping all the PT and surgeries could help control OA. That's the bottom line.....with many years of fighting to retain my joints and all eventually failed . My best alternative in my case was hip joint replacement. And usually in many cases when the damage from OA in the hip joint is seen on XRAY it's far to lateto save the joint from THR. I tried many temporary solutions.

I'm not a doctor I'm a living patient who had OA in my thirties and went for many years to find the path to resolve OA in both hips and maintain a athletic lifestyle in order to compete in my field. I eventually had no choice but a compromise to establish a pain free life and contine my lifestyle with restrictions to certain movements. It was the only choice, it was a decision to become healthy again fighting this disease for me in my experience I had no more time left to consider any other option other than THR.

Theories are great under certain clinical conditions not every one fits your explinations , we are wrong to not believe that your conclusions are not always and correct under certain conditions could help for short periods of time.  I don't agree with and cartheledge cannot be regrown in the ball joint. Until you have walked a mile in my shoes then you can disagree with my life experiences regarding tissue growth once the tissue has become compromised to a point of no return then only new joints are a realistic option and far better option than what I had been thru for 10 years trying to resolve and save my OA joints. 

I believe that for a few your theory could help if OA is caught in it infancy. And there is where the problem lays ....there usually is very little signs of joint imbalance before the joint is too damaged. 

BTW I have not commented on this post since your first discussion a couple of years ago for a reason but could no longer leave that as a option...... Let's just  agree to disagree..... 

 

The fact of the matter is that OA is a diagnosis of exclusion. There isn't even any agreed definition of what it is. Nowadays it's known that xray findings simply aren't relevant so in practice, OA now simply means 'undiagnosed joint pain'.

I know nothing about your case so I don't really know what you're talking about here. I'm not wanting to browbeat anyone into believing anything. I'm simply providing info for people to take on board or ignore.  All I can tell you for certain is that the only way to rule out muscle imbalance as being the root cause is to eliminate muscle imbalance and see what you're left with. The thing is, my years of intense pain and disability were described over and over as 'classic OA symptoms' yet they were all down to muscle imbalance.

The catch when it comes to ruling out muscle imbalance is that health pros aren't trained to do this as it's deemed to be too complicated. I spent thousands on professional help and they got nowhere. So, you're left with the situation where you become your own expert and figure it out for yourself - or accept the conventional root of pain relief and perhaps surgery. Each person is free to make their own choice. 

You are wrong when you say that it can only help in the early stages. This is simply not true. I personally was told several years ago that I was at most a year away from hip replacement surgery. I have had numerous people contact me to say that by addressing their muscle imbalance they have resolved their symptoms despite being on waiting lists for surgery or having diagnosis of bone on bone or advanced hip OA.

I am absolutely NOT saying that everyone can be cured by treating the imbalances (although equally, I can't say that this isn't the case ). What I'm saying is that you can't possibly predict which cases are 100% down to muscle imbalance. The thing is, as stiff, painful hip will CAUSE an identical imbalance to the imbalance that CAUSES a stiff, painful hip!  Cases caused by muscle imbalance present as being IDENTICAL as cases that are considered to be caused by joint degeneration. 

Of the hundreds of people I have been in contact with over this almost all have a clearly identifiable whole body muscle imbalance - actually, there are two patterns of imbalance, each resulting in slightly different pattern of symptoms. It's a whole body imbalance that's guaranteed to be present in everyone with hip OA (a stiff, degenerated hip can be the cause or the result of an imbalance). What you can't predict is whether the imbalance is the cause or the result of the symptoms. However, what I can say with certainty is that this particular imbalance CAUSES symptoms not only around the hip, but in other joints in the body. So, it would seem highly likely that addressing the complex muscle imbalance will help everyone - even those for whom joint disease IS the root cause. If nothing else it will stop other joints from being damaged by abnormal wear.

Essentially, it's a step up from what research shows to be the best form of treatment for OA - exercise! All I'm suggesting is to identify the underlying muscle imbalance and make your exercise highly targeted in order to eliminate it completely. 

Research clearly shows that there is no correlation between joint degeneration and symptoms. Very many people are known to have trashed joints and zero symptoms. So, you simply cannot make the assumption than any individual's joints are too far gone. No matter how bad the joints look on xray you can't assume that's the cause of the pain. The only way to find out is to treat all other possible causes - which includes muscle imbalance. 

Now this is significant. I'm getting the impression you don't like me saying this. Well, I was told in no uncertain terms that I could not be cured and that muscle imbalance wasn't the cause of my symptoms. I was urged to take toxic drugs and consider surgery. Yet here I am - symptom free. Many, many others have reported the same outcome. You see how dangerous it is to label people as incurable without solid evidence that this is the case? It becomes a self-fulfillig prophecy as they give up and don't bother to try and help themselves.

People seem to think it's OK for doctors to give people this devastating diagnosis and prognosis WITHOUT A SCRAP OF EVIDENCE TO BACK IT UP!!, yet people that WANT to go the extra mile to help themselves (using self administered EXERCISE - which research shows to be the best treatment for OA) should be denied the info they need to move forwards with a constructive plan? People are free to take on board whatever info they choose. Read through the comments here from people that have been delighted to receive this info - if you don't like it move on and ignore it? 

 

Here's a small selection of feedback. Now, as I say - I'm not saying it will work for everyone; not least because for most people it's a steep learning curve and many cases (such as mine was) are deeply ingrained and take years to put right. However, here's some feedback that I've had. THESE are the people that I give up hours on end of my time to help. When I first started this thread it was to help myself - I was angry and frustrated at my treatment at the hands of the health pros and wanted to vent. I didn't get that support - instead I was inundated with people asking for my help. So I gave up my time to provide what they wanted, and years later I'm STILL putting all my spare time into freely helping and supporting others. The website and book came about because people here ASKED for it. Forums and facebook groups because people ASKED for it. I don't share my info to irritate people like you that don't want it. Instead of complaining about what is clearly helpful for others why not start a thread about what is helpful to you? You never know, you might be a great help to people that like to approach things in the same way as you.

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"Susan, I just want to thank you for your book. I have been struggling with hip pain since 2013 and, a bit like you describe, although initial diagnoses were torn muscle etc etc, the repeated failure of physiotherapists (5 different in total - both NHS and private) to provide any lasting relief, led a gradual escalation in investigations until MRI showed worn cartilage and hip impingement. At that stage, all the physio effort became focussed on the arthritis diagnosis. 

 

Over the last six months or so, I had been struggling to sleep because of the hip pain and was walking with a noticeable limp - I was resigned to daily Naproxin and despite being terrified of hip surgery, was seriously considering a return visit to the orthopaedic surgeon.  In desperation, I turned to the internet; bought a few stretch videos/subscribed to some You Tube channels without much success and then I found your book.

 

Your story struck a chord with me and I started week 1 exercises on 10 July and began  to feel some improvement within a few days!  In week 3, I went to New York and over 4 days, walked 70km. By this stage I was weaning myself off the Naproxin. In week 4 - I was in Scotland (near your beck of the woods, in Largs!). I was able to hill walk over on Argyll (albeit with one Naproxin - the last I took); and then managed to walk around Edinburgh old town without any pain relief!! 

 

I am now pain free!  There is some residual tightness in my thigh and hip but nothing worth mention.  Your guide has been life changing for me"

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"

A great book thanks that literally has changed my life as I had been diagnosed with Hip OA last September, had received private physio, but my daily life was being turned from an active individual into an ‘old man’ who could not move my leg without pain. I was pretty reliant on pain killers whenever I had to do any activity. I am also a keen skier but had to pass on it this season which was very disheartening. When I read your book, I immediately discovered the issue that I had a Right on Left Sacral Torsion. Just by doing the week 1 muscle exercises for 2 days I found that by engaging my inner core,( the physio had me engaging my outer core but that just hurt more) the pain would disappear. At first I thought it was a fluke but when I concentrated with each step relaxing all my major muscles and just ‘pushing down’ on my inner core, the pain would disappear. I am now half way through week 2 and am much more mobile and no longer on any pain killers.“

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“You don't have to respond. I just want you to know what a difference you're making for me.

 

I've been looking for what you have to offer since 2014. Now that I've found it, I'm about a week in to self-treatment and have nearly eliminated my limp. I sent my best friend a video I had taken of myself walking yesterday, with no limp, and it made her cry.

 

I'm 48 and fit, was 'diagnosed' wth OA in one hip 'probably from an old injury' when I was 43 or 44. I've been advised to take NSAIDs and then have surgery when it becomes debilitating. Um, no thanks.

 

I had a stem cell treatment in 2015 and that was helpful but it was the PT following it that helped me the most so far. The thing is, I have been stymied in my fitness, in my exercise, because I didn't know what would hurt and what would help, and because I knew I was often just reinforcing bad habits even when I felt better.

 

I started the exercises in your book last Sunday, along with working on my trigger points with the Davies book. On Tuesday, I was cooking, and turned around to put something away. In that moment, I recalled the exact movement that caused me to 'throw out' my back (twist my sacrum) in 2009, which is a big part of what started this OA crap.

 

I have aways believe that I had the ability to heal this, but I had no idea how. Thank you for lighting the way. You're an inspiration AND a practical help. Thank you thank you thank you forever.“

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"“After a year of increasing pain, a short right leg (due I was told to the wear on the joint), regular private physiotherapy and finally being told that a right hip op was inevitable, My wife told me about this book. I am not a sporty person but enjoy diy and brisk long dog walks each day. So this was a major blow to me. At 55 I didn't think I was old enough for this! As an IT person, the whole writing style appealed as it gave me facts that specialists "avoided ( or just wouldn't) give me. I didn't just want to know I had cartilage reduction and that resulted in pain, I wanted to understand how the pain occurred, what really was happening, and why could I not walk "normally" when dosed up with pain killers? Reading the book solidly on day one resulted in me diagnosing a Right on Left sacral torsion. That slightly "spooked" me as Susan does advise "I don't understand this imbalance as well as my own". However, I started the week one core alignment and discovered after running through it that a) I had an inner core (didn't know that as my physio just concentrated on the outer core) b) my inner core didn't do anything on the right side and so I was using all my major muscles for stability and simple things such as standing. When I gently engaged the inner core and relaxed the major muscles, immediately the pain went! For a few days everytime I moved and had pain, I would consciously engage the inner core and relax the major muscles and could move much more easily and pain free. I am just starting week 2 and have found muscles that are seriously atrophied but 2 days ago I spent 3 solid hours on my feet doing diy and going up and down a step ladder - a task that a week ago I couldn't seriously have dreamed off doing. I know I have a long way to go to sort out the imbalance permanently but so far I have two legs now the "same length", can walk pain free around the house, am now starting my usual dog walks again, and can stand without pain. I don't take any medication any more. Looking forward to my check up with the surgeon at the end of the month as he is now one patient down for a hip op Great book, thank you Susan, you really have changed my life”"

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Additionally, many people are like me and want a POSITIVE message. They don't want to hear that they're incurable. They want to fight....even if they know they might ultimately lose that fight. Again, would you deny these people the info they want because you've chosen a different route?

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"“Susan, you are truly a life saver. I feel like I have been treading water and going under most of my life. I have even thought about having DNR tattooed on my chest.. I use to walk and hike every day. I miss that with every cell in my being. I think it's close to breathing. Like how do you live without being able to walk. So, what you are offering me is having my life back. My Self back. A reason to get back in my body. This is huge for me!!!! I have been afraid to exercise because I know I'm out of whack literally from head to toe. So, I knew I needed the right place to start and get that very established. Thank you so much for helping me today, Susan. My over all energy has changed so much from this”"

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“It felt good to read the book and particularly about how it feels to receive an OA diagnosis. It describes so well how I felt as well. I believe many people do not understand how devastating it feels to receive such a diagnosis when being "young" and living an active life. It was like my life ended, I experienced a crisis, wondering whether my life was worth living. After a couple of days I was however able to reach the correct decision to raise up and start fighting. I believe in my body and its ability to work properly, so I could not accept the fact I was told that there is nothing to be done about the diagnosis and prognosis that may ruin my life. I was googling for a few days before I found your web site, which reflected my thoughts so well. “

 

If damage to the hip ball joint is OA the fact still remains one that you cannot accept that in many hundreds of thousands of cases where THR surgery is done around the world that all the exercises,and books designed to treat hip joint OA and to save the ball joint where carthlegdge IS WORN DOWN ( which is what causes the imbalance ) is not a cure for every case. There are many stages of OA and certain stages can be repaired without THR and is only a short term fix. 

Many have experienced this joint pain and ALL THE EXERCISES IN THE WORLD is a short a term fix in most cases with "CARTHLEDE" damage "IN THE BALL JOINT" and in my case did not cure my OA but only put off THR surgery for a few years. "OA is CARTHLEDGE damage period" . NOT MUSCLE IMBALANCE its root cause for OA . MUSCLE damage/imbalance  is the result of carthledge tears and loss of cushioning to area around 

the ball joint which has uneven spaces around the ball in the joint. MRI's, CAT scans and X-rays show this to be the case and is a progressive disease. How can anyone argue with the test results.

In your case scenario many of the explanations are the reverse , muscle damage causing CARTHLEDGE damage . OK .. Either way once CARTHLEDGE is worn or torn cannot replaced the lost cartheledge creates uneven wear and tear to the ball joint. Not to mention the lack of mobility and extreme pain from OA.

The break down of CARTHLEDGE causing the imbalance and pain I repaired by THR . Until science can grow CARTHLEDGE , THR is the best way to save the hip and femural bones by replacing the damaged joint with a prothesis that has been used for OA of the hip joint since the 1940's and the newer joints designed today have improved the quality of replacement components to last longer up to 25 years or more and I have one now for 22 years and still ticking.  

Really wouldn't anyone think that THR be the last thing to do once all other techniques have been tried and failed . I tried it all message and pressure points, acupressure points  and needling and many of the other techniques mentioned in previous posts. 

 If waiting too long for joint replacement the patient risks the chance of loss of bone and tissue and necrosis. Saving the hip joint is THR and restoring muscle balance is THR. All due to loss of CARTHLEDGE. The hip replacement components are designed to replace the cup in the acetablar and the liner is designed to replace the damaged CARTHLEDGE and the femural component to balance the hip joint to the new joint in the leg. Then exercises and all your wonderful techniques to improve strength and IT band,  psoas, weak glutes  tighten the core and greater tochanter balance all improves the quality of life because the stability in the joint has been repaired with THR. 

Many thousands around the world will testify to THR giving them a back a better quality of life. Considering the alternatives becoming crippled and loss of mobility.

Whatever the cause of OA .....from injury or muscle imbalance or not cartheledge is lost or damaged causing misalignment in the body and OA cannot be cured in the stage where the ball joint has worn or no support in the acetablar joint and the femural joint which have become misaligned . And there is lies problem and the ONLY solution to align the hip and repair the joint misalignment also caused by hip OA..... Depending on the advancement of the disease. Even joints below the hip are effected the IT BAND is also enfluenced from ball joint OA. THR is the only and the best alternative to treat OA in the hip joint.  I cannot imagine not having that choice.

Thru time without THR the joint will deteriorate and the hip will become severly effected and pain does usually convince even the most resistant patient requiring THR .Only then can exercises build muscles and the brain rebuild muscles memory and alignment return with appropiate rehab. The imbalance in this case is the damage in the joint the erosion causing the imbalance in the hip and the body. This is not muscle imbalance. One joint has lost the cushion and this cushion is CARTHLEDGE which in turn causes the hip to rotate become out of balance causing more back, knee and leg pain. 

After THR the exercises to stregthen gluteus, core muscles takes several months and walking was the best exercise, there are specific exercises for all joints regaining mobility strength and return to normal life and NO PAIIN.

 

I don't want to mislead anyone there is no CURE for OA. perhaps a different analogy could be used to stregthen the area thru rehab. And OA is CARTHLEDGE DAMAGE. Once that has entered the picture we can do exercises to strengthen areas of the body to balance the damage already in the joint only for a short period of time. THR can treat the joint damage and move on to a better quality of life.

This is my last post and will not follow this discussion as it is very misleading . My post is to help put facts out there that CARTHLEDGE cannot be repaired, regrown and exercises to balance the body cannot replace in the ball joint CARTHLEDGE or take the place of the THR surgery. 

The point I am trying to put out here is once CARTHLEDGE has been damaged in the ball joint it cannot be repaired and THR is the cure for mobility and a better quality of life. I spent many years doing all the recommended exercises,  water thrapy, surgery to repair bone and tissue.

in my case it only was a short term fix. 

After THR I can now do all the exercises in your post and blog you refer to is very helpful . And many of the exercises recommended are done in rehab after THR .

 

The point you are stubbornly refusing to accept is that research shows that most people with x-ray evidence of OA (radiographic OA) are symptom free. In other words - YOU DON'T NEED TO REPAIR OR REGROW THE CARTLEDGE in order to revert  from 'Symptomatic OA' (which is a problem) to 'Radiographic OA' (which most people over 50 have and is completely benign). 

Lets take my case. I was diagnosed with 'classic hip OA'. I had all of the symptoms specialist expected to see and x-rays showed 'radiographic OA'. They were 100% certain that I could not be cured. Yet I was certain it was all down to muscle imbalance and after years of research and hard work I figured out the exact mechanism and cured myself of symptoms. I am now like most of the population over 50 years old - I have radiographic OA, but I am able to engage in extreme sports at a high level without any symptoms or problems. I am cured of 'symptomatic OA'.

If I had believed the joint disease theory I would not have put time and effort into trying to treat and cure the muscle imbalance. As the muscle imbalance was the cause of all symptoms in my case I would have unnecessarily lived a life of pain and may well have allowed things to advance so far that I did indeed need to have my joints replaced. 

I am not a unique case. Many people have gone on to discover that there symptoms were also caused by muscle imbalance and they too have cured their symptomatic OA and joined the majority of the population that have benign, symptom free 'radiographic OA'.

HERE IS THE VERY IMPORTANT POINT. It is not possible to perform any test to establish which cases have symptoms due to muscle imbalance and which cases have symptoms due to joint degeneration. Research very clearly shows that there is no correlation between x-ray findings and symptoms - so much so that x-rays and MRI are no longer recommended in the diagnosis and management of OA. Research shows that it doesn't matter what your joints look like on film.

THE SECOND IMPORTANT POINT: Regardless of whether the root cause of your symptoms is muscle imbalance or joint degeneration, an identical muscle imbalance will be present. Everyone with OA has this imbalance - it's impossible to know whether it is the cause or the result of the joint degeneration. 

THE THIRD IMPORTANT POINT: Treating the muscle imbalance will do good no matter what the root cause of your symptoms is. In many cases it will cure symptoms completely, in many cases it will reduce them to the point where you can manage without surgery; certainly in some cases surgery will still be necessary. 

As I keep stressing, OA is a diagnosis of exclusion. The only way you can reasonably conclude that joint degeneration is the cause of symptoms is to rule out all other possible causes. Muscle Imbalance is a possible cause of symptoms so it makes sense to rule it out prior to assuming that there is nothing short of surgery that can be done for you.

FINAL IMPORTANT POINT: The muscle imbalance associated with hip OA is EXTREMELY difficult to treat. It is very stubborn. In some cases (as in the feedback I shared above) people get results very quickly. However, even these people have spent years doing the rounds of 'experts' and getting nowhere. My approach worked for them because I'd figured out the precise nature of the imbalance. However, even with my treatment plan, stubborn cases can take a long, long time. My case was extremely stubborn - it took years for me to put the imbalance right. 

Your are spreading very outdated information with your obsession over 'radiographic OA'. The latest expert findings are that it is not relevant. Radiographic OA is now considered a process of wear and REPAIR. What is seen on x-ray as radiographic OA is a normal part of the repair process. In most cases it is absolutely nothing to worry about - almost everyone over 50 has it!!! Many people function perfectly well with loss of cartledge. 

Anyone that doubts this should look at the NICE guidelines for themselves. They are freely available.