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,
I’m not exactly sure what “hip resurfacing” is. My surgeon did not offer any option other than strongly recommending a “metal-on-metal” load-bearing surface (as opposed to ceramic or polyethylene?). He felt all these added surfaces break down over time and cause the bone to migrate to the detritus caused by the break down with the result that the part attaching to the thighbone gets loose. (I remember seeing this on the web somewhere at the time)
He did look at possibly rotating the ball of the femur to see if there might be a position in the socket that caused no interference. This turned out to be not possible in my case.
The concept that looked interesting after I had the replacement was putting a steel cap on the ball of the femur which would go in a steel socket attached to the pelvis. This saves cutting the femur and the need for a long insert into the thighbone. Apparently this method is used in Europe and now also in Montreal but I have no idea of the success rates, risks, etc.
Whichever way you go, I recommend getting into the pool as early as your MD permits, get in a slower lane and work on technique until you are up to speed; it pays off.
BTW, I just remembered there are a couple of excellent articles in the Nov/Dec 2003 Swim Magazine (p.12) on the ins and outs of hip replacements and swimming - well worth reading. Nadine Day's article on 'Returning to Swimming' (after a hip replacement) is quite comprehensive and informative.
Ian.
Guy,
I’m not exactly sure what “hip resurfacing” is. My surgeon did not offer any option other than strongly recommending a “metal-on-metal” load-bearing surface (as opposed to ceramic or polyethylene?). He felt all these added surfaces break down over time and cause the bone to migrate to the detritus caused by the break down with the result that the part attaching to the thighbone gets loose. (I remember seeing this on the web somewhere at the time)
He did look at possibly rotating the ball of the femur to see if there might be a position in the socket that caused no interference. This turned out to be not possible in my case.
The concept that looked interesting after I had the replacement was putting a steel cap on the ball of the femur which would go in a steel socket attached to the pelvis. This saves cutting the femur and the need for a long insert into the thighbone. Apparently this method is used in Europe and now also in Montreal but I have no idea of the success rates, risks, etc.
Whichever way you go, I recommend getting into the pool as early as your MD permits, get in a slower lane and work on technique until you are up to speed; it pays off.
BTW, I just remembered there are a couple of excellent articles in the Nov/Dec 2003 Swim Magazine (p.12) on the ins and outs of hip replacements and swimming - well worth reading. Nadine Day's article on 'Returning to Swimming' (after a hip replacement) is quite comprehensive and informative.
Ian.
