12-18-2013, 04:10 PM
He says I have arthritis in both hips. The x-ray actually covered both of them. I wasn't aware of that.
As for the right hip, he says the arthritis is not mild, not medium, not serious, but severe.
He showed me the x-ray. The top of the ball is against the socket. Bone on bone.
As for what I'm going through right now, it's a flare-up of the outer bursa.
He could give me a shot, but does not recommend it, as it puts steroid directly into tissue and will cause some scarring.
So I opted to follow his advice and not get one.
He asked how far I could walk -- before this flare-up. I told him I was walking a couple miles.
He asked how I was sleeping. I said fine, except maybe an occasional need to shift my hip.
He asked what I knew about hip replacement. I told him that all my friends who have had it have commented, "Why did I wait so long?"
He said I needed more friends with hip replacement, because then I'd hear the dissatisfied patients -- maybe 20%. In other words, it should be viewed as a last recourse, because it is a major surgery, and things can go wrong, and it limits you. Too many patients think it will make them good as new, and that's not true.
He says that people who are candidates for hip replacement can only walk a couple blocks, and they are having a terrible time sleeping because of the discomfort. He says that my degenerative hip condition did not happen overnight, not even in the past year; rather, it has existed for several years. My high level of fitness has allowed me to function on an almost normal level while those less fit and less active would be much more severely affected with my condition. I should view myself as a jalopy with four bald tires, and the goal is to make those tires last a lifetime.
He's glad I stopped running this year. Even a lot of walking is contraindicated, because it is jarring. I asked about my shoes (flat-soled, which is the new health fad), and he agreed that maybe I should shift back to ones with more cushion. In the martial arts, he says doing katas would be good, as long as it's nothing jarring. (That probably eliminates any aggressive xing yi.)
What would be best is stretching, yoga, water exercise (a pool), lifting weights, and biking. He says a lot of people do very well with biking.
I should be patient, give the bursitis maybe two months to go away on its own. If it doesn't, we'll have to consider other options.
Also, if I ever did want a shot, just call up ortho and it will be arranged pronto.
As for the right hip, he says the arthritis is not mild, not medium, not serious, but severe.
He showed me the x-ray. The top of the ball is against the socket. Bone on bone.
As for what I'm going through right now, it's a flare-up of the outer bursa.
He could give me a shot, but does not recommend it, as it puts steroid directly into tissue and will cause some scarring.
So I opted to follow his advice and not get one.
He asked how far I could walk -- before this flare-up. I told him I was walking a couple miles.
He asked how I was sleeping. I said fine, except maybe an occasional need to shift my hip.
He asked what I knew about hip replacement. I told him that all my friends who have had it have commented, "Why did I wait so long?"
He said I needed more friends with hip replacement, because then I'd hear the dissatisfied patients -- maybe 20%. In other words, it should be viewed as a last recourse, because it is a major surgery, and things can go wrong, and it limits you. Too many patients think it will make them good as new, and that's not true.
He says that people who are candidates for hip replacement can only walk a couple blocks, and they are having a terrible time sleeping because of the discomfort. He says that my degenerative hip condition did not happen overnight, not even in the past year; rather, it has existed for several years. My high level of fitness has allowed me to function on an almost normal level while those less fit and less active would be much more severely affected with my condition. I should view myself as a jalopy with four bald tires, and the goal is to make those tires last a lifetime.
He's glad I stopped running this year. Even a lot of walking is contraindicated, because it is jarring. I asked about my shoes (flat-soled, which is the new health fad), and he agreed that maybe I should shift back to ones with more cushion. In the martial arts, he says doing katas would be good, as long as it's nothing jarring. (That probably eliminates any aggressive xing yi.)
What would be best is stretching, yoga, water exercise (a pool), lifting weights, and biking. He says a lot of people do very well with biking.
I should be patient, give the bursitis maybe two months to go away on its own. If it doesn't, we'll have to consider other options.
Also, if I ever did want a shot, just call up ortho and it will be arranged pronto.