Hip Replacements and Shooting?

vtmarmot

vtmarmot

P Magoon, Livin' Free NH
I have been a position shooter for about 10 years. I'm 61 years old. About 3 years ago I noticed my hips burning when I still-hunted for deer, and my left hip and knee bothered after walking very much. Two years ago I could still sit cross-legged in the sitting position, but had to give up golf. 18 months ago I got hip x-rays and still had about a 3/8 inch gap, with a few bone spurs. My left hip caught a lot and walking hurt. A year ago I got a steroid shot in that hip and was pretty good for about 6 months. Then I had to buy a folding cart to get my benchrest gear to the line. This deer season I gave up half way through. Now I can only walk short distances without sitting. Last week I got new x-rays. I am bone-on-bone on both sides. My first hip replacement is in two weeks. For others that have been through this, could you return to a normal life and can you shoot from a cross-legged sitting position again?
 
Myself, I've not been through it, however two folks I know pretty well have and one that plays racquettball with us still plays tournaments. The other has had 3[first one failed], still skiis 3 days a week including racing NASTAR.
 
Check what prosthesis you are going to be fitted with & Google the performance of that brand of device on the net.
 
My wife had hip replacement surgery maybe 10 years ago, and that hip is still doing well. Unfortunately the other one is going now, and I've urged her to have surgery now if she can because it's likely that in a year or two it will be considered to be a waste for her to have the surgery since she's 76 now. Anyway after she'd had the first one done and had recovered from the surgery for the most part (6 months I believe) the surgeon told her she could resume normal activities although skiing and football were off limits, and she had to sleep with a "knee pillow" to keep from crossing her legs and dislocating the artificial hip. I can't see that a cross legged sitting position would be a problem, but assuming that position from the ready position might be too much for it. Talk to the surgeon and show or explain what needs to be done, they'll be able to tell you what you can and can't do safely. If the artificial hip is dislocated they have to open you back up and put it back in place which is probably as much fun as it sounds like.
 
I'm into my eighth year following total hip replacement. I do a lot of mountain hunting/climbing and before the replacement it became quite painful. Since then, I have no issues whatever. My recommendation is to select a surgeon which has many surgeries of this type under his/her belt. Important to get it done right the first time!!!
 
vtmarmot,
I too am at the 8 year point with a total hip replacement, The first 2 years were fine, but I started to have some pain in my groin area, and over the last 3 years it has become increasingly worse and I have been to the doctor several times and they have taken pictures of it and tell me that it is still in the position and there is no indication there is any thing wrong! the Hip is a Depuy articulation metal on metal. When I go to the mall or anyplace that requires a lot of walking my hip cramps up with quite a bit of pain, then I sit down for about 5 minutes and then its ok for a while.
I used to shoot highpower and I can honestly tell you after the surgery I tried a number of times to get into the sitting position(cross legged) and I find it impossible to cross my legs and sit down! I did not try an open leg position but I suppose that would be possible but its not as stable as the cross legged method. I am going back to the doctor after the new year and I am not leaving until they come up with a plan to fix this thing even if it requires revision surgery! My original surgey and recovery was really amazing, the day after surgery I walked without a walker around the top floor of the hospital, and 3 weeks after physical therapy started they tossed me out and said you don't need us anymore. The other thing I will say is I do play at least 2 rounds of golf every week( except in winter) and as long as I use a cart I am fine, but if I walk I can get through 18 but I am exhausted and need 3 extra strength bayer asprin and a nap! I hope this helps, initially my doctor said I was young enough that he did not want to use a prostetic device with a teflon style cup because the cup has to be replaced every 10-12 years based on your level of physical activity and thats why he went to the metal on metal!
 
For stability of the hip in its socket a larger head (ball) 36-40mm is better than a smaller one of >32mm. There is with the larger head a lower dislocation rate.
that being said there is the tradeoff of a thinner liner (cup) which may wear more quickly. Also with the larger head there may be MACC (mechanifally assisted crevice corrosion)( at tthe Morse neck taper/head junction. this may result in debris which could have adverse local tissue responses similar to those encountered in MOM (metal on metal ) hips that have been recalled.
Frictional torque and flexion moments at the femoral head-neck junction are greater also with increased head size which predisposes this junction to MACC which is initiated by relative motion between the hadn and nec, (fretting).

Thus the failure mechanism of dislocation is weighed against the corrosive problem inherent in the added stability afforded by the larger head.
U have to decide based on your age and activities desired whether to go small head thick liner or large head thinner liner...
FWIW discuss with your specialist. He/ she shuld perform over 100 cases /year or find someone else.
 
I'm feel more fortunate by the minute! On my 5 year follow-up visit my doctor did mention that I was one of the lucky ones as prior to and following my procedure, the replacements used were effective and recalled for different reasons. Another possible issue with less than satisfactory results is body weight. It is my understanding excess weight can cause a number of problems, not the least of which is pain similar to that experienced before THR.
 
Good thing I lost those 25 pounds. I eat mostly nuts, fruits and vegetables now. Lots of kale and and quinoa. I read "Eat to Live" by Dr. Joel Fuhrman and took it to heart. Good diet advice.
 
New hip doing fine

Got the right hip done two weeks ago tomorrow. Went very smooth. They had me out of bed and walking a few hours after I woke up. They had me do stairs the next morning. Then I went home that afternoon. Tried a crutch and then a cane for about three days and gave up on that as unnecessary. I took Oxycodone for sleeping the first couple of nights, then just went on Tylenol three times a day. I stopped all pain meds two days ago except that I take coated aspirin twice a day as a blood thinner. I still have a little pain, but the bad hip hurts worse. I have physical therapy twice a week and that is going great. They did an anterior surgery, where they go through the front, separate the muscle without cutting it and replace the hip. The incision is about 5 inches. I don't have any antibiotics and I didn't have to cover it after the first week. I see the surgeon in two weeks and he said he'll do the other one about two weeks after that. He expects that I can ski, play golf and hockey, and sit Indian-style for service rifle when I'm healed up. I asked him how many he does a year. He said between hips and knees about 400. He said the cutoff is about 50. Below that, you might want to shop around. He said that 80 percent of the hips in the U.S. are done by surgeons who do 20 or less per year. It's really worth looking around for someone who has a lot of experience and does the anterior surgery. I've been working from home on my laptop. I'm going to drive myself to work Friday, a one-hour commute, two weeks after surgery. :)
 
Hip Replacement

Interesting that this thread should appear because I'll be having a total hip replacement in about three weeks. Thanks for all the info guys. Hope this replacement will get me back to the Super Shoot that I enjoyed going to each spring.
 
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