I'm a competitive masters swimmer (mid 40s) with an osteoarthritic hip. It's a question of when not whether I'll need to get a replacement. Are there any swimmers out there who have personal experience, advice, insight which would help with the making the choices of what to do and when to do it? It would also help to hear where the best sources of research information are which might help answer questions like - "will I have difficulty with racing dive starts, tumble turns or breaststroke kick (ie actions which place high stress forces on the hips)?"
Thanks and happy swimming.
Guy
Parents
Former Member
Guy,
Given a good surgeon and a little time, a hip replacement should not have much effect on your swimming.
This opinion is based on my own experience with a hip replacement at 58 and yet, at age 61, still managing a 27.80 for a Long Course Meters 50 free and 30.15 for fly.
A short course meters time of 27.18 at 62 would seem to indicate that turns are not too much of a problem either. (nevertheless, every flip turn remains an adventure as before)
Breaststroke does not hurt my hip (just my knees - as before) but not being a breaststroker, I’m probably not doing it right anyway.
The only advice I can offer is that your orthopaedic surgeon has some adjustment capability with the replacement hardware. Knowing I swam and did tumble turns, my guy adjusted the joint so I could bring my knee closer to my chest than he usually allows.
Any slowdown on my part in starts and turns is just due to becoming old and feeble; the hip is no excuse (I have plenty of other normal excuses available for use). If your hip gives you pain, don’t wait; it is a quality of life improvement all round.
Ian.
Guy,
Given a good surgeon and a little time, a hip replacement should not have much effect on your swimming.
This opinion is based on my own experience with a hip replacement at 58 and yet, at age 61, still managing a 27.80 for a Long Course Meters 50 free and 30.15 for fly.
A short course meters time of 27.18 at 62 would seem to indicate that turns are not too much of a problem either. (nevertheless, every flip turn remains an adventure as before)
Breaststroke does not hurt my hip (just my knees - as before) but not being a breaststroker, I’m probably not doing it right anyway.
The only advice I can offer is that your orthopaedic surgeon has some adjustment capability with the replacement hardware. Knowing I swam and did tumble turns, my guy adjusted the joint so I could bring my knee closer to my chest than he usually allows.
Any slowdown on my part in starts and turns is just due to becoming old and feeble; the hip is no excuse (I have plenty of other normal excuses available for use). If your hip gives you pain, don’t wait; it is a quality of life improvement all round.
Ian.
