Hello all,
Some of you may remember me from my postings back in 2015 - I had a total right hip replacement at the age of 44 following a neck of femur break 10 years previous and the development of osteoarthritis.
Well here we are 4 years post op so I thought I would give a brief update.
Overall extremely positive - the vast majority of the time I do not even remember that my hip is artificial. Flexibility and rotation returned to almost match those in my natural remaining hip. Have been pain free for the past 4 years. Amazing.
One thing I have found is that if I sit for an extended period of time I find the hip to be a little stiff upon rising - only lasts for a short time and it doesn’t concern me but just thought I would mention it.
I do however have a slight concern with something that has just started happening recently - when I have my leg in certain positions, and sat at a certain height from the floor, then when i rotate the hip back into a legs together position I feel a sharp ‘click’. No actual noise but its a very strange feeling and it does feel like something popping back into position. Not been back to the doctors as of yet as I just wanted to see if it went away on its own accord but as of yet it hasn’t. Anyone got any ideas?
So overall - very positive and would definitely recommend the op to anyone struggling with pain. The post op recovery is awful (in my experience) but doesn’t take that long to start rapidly improving.
Having had my hip replaced in 1997 and it revised in 2017 due to the poly cup disintergrating due to wear IMO this could well simply be due to wear that has allowed the joint to become a little bit worn. Just make sure that your muscles are well recovered and as strong as possible so as to maintain the integrity of the joint. I’m not a doctor just an observant long time forum member.
Cheers, Richard
hi richard, i really hope its not worn after just 4 years in place. I do a lot of sitting in my job as an IT consultant which is not great for building the muscles I’m afraid. It feels like a little click - very strange feeling indeed. Due to my young age(well relatively for this op anyway) i was given a titanium/ceramic combination that should last 25 years. Maybe it’s time to visit the doctors.
Hi mark. Have only been on this site for a few months. You mentioned you had a break in your femurol head. Did the bone die and is that why you needed a hip replacement??? Just asking,as I recovering from a femurol break myself,only 4 mths ago. Regards lunda
hi Linda, yes i fractured my neck of femur which was pinned successfully. unfortunately, as is fairly common with femoral neck fractures due to damage to the blood vessels, I developed osteoarthritis about 7 years post break. This is not always the case though as each fracture is different.
Have you had it pinned?
I have a click too!! I am wondering what it is. I noticed it right after surgery doing the basic exercises that they give you but thought I just needed time to heal and regain muscle. Now when I exercise and lift my leg it does this weird click movement and I feel a slight pain or sensation, nothing to crazy. I also wonder what it is… hmmm!
Yes. I have had three screws put in. I cant sleep on the op side as I can feel the head of the screws. My doctor did say their was a chance the bone may die from loss of blood circulation in the bones. I googled this as well,as I didnt know their were tiny veins in our bones. I always thought they were made of calcium!!! Ha Ha. Anyway, I do hope Im ok for a few years yet. I did read that drinking too much alchohol prevents the formation of new blood vessels,so I have cut back on that. Anyway take care mate.
thats the main reason i had mine unpinned after a number of years as i found it uncomfortable to lay on that side. wish i hadnt bothered mind as it was just another op and recovery i had to go through only to have the hip replaced a few years after pin removal. three major ops is more than enough
mine is when i am sat with the leg in a certain position, or on certain chairs, when i go to move the leg i feel a very slight resistance and then a little click - no noise or anything but feels very strange. it does seem to happen more when a level of rotation is involved.
The things we do to ourselves. I had elective surgery on my right ankle as the tendon and ligaments were only just holding on near my knuckle bone on the ankle. I had no pain what so ever, but it did swell up if I walked around for a long time. I would fall over at least twice a month when my ankle would roll over. So I was an accident waiting to happen. Had tendon surgery last Dec,I was just 3mths post op and getting around with one crutch when I fell in the kitchen and broke the neck of my femur. Phew!!! Now I just wonder if I should of just put up with falling over instead.Ha Ha.