Pain-Free and Loving It

Frances Webb had always enjoyed an active lifestyle — until chronic hip pain gradually limited her movement.

It hurt to walk. It hurt to bend over. Even housework became a painful struggle.

Only hip replacement surgery could restore an active, pain-free life.

“But I put off surgery as long as I could,” recalls Webb, a resident of Fancy Gap, in southwestern Virginia.

That’s because she dreaded a long and painful recovery.

And for good reason: traditional hip replacement surgery requires a large, 10- to 12-inch incision that cuts through layers of muscle and tendons.

Many patients need extensive physical therapy afterward, with full recovery taking three to six months. Her sister had the surgery on both hips, so Webb saw firsthand the grueling recovery that lay ahead.

Her outlook changed, however, after learning of a new technique, which requires a 4-inch cut instead of the standard foot-long incision.

There is less trauma to the muscles and ligaments around the hip, and patients can usually leave the hospital after a few days compared to five days for the traditional operation. Most patients are out of bed and walking with crutches or a walker within 24 hours of surgery, returning to normal activities in a matter of weeks rather than months.

Orthopaedic surgeon Khaled Saleh, M.D., head of joint replacement surgery at UVA, performed her small-incision hip replacement surgery in early 2005.

Just as Webb expected, the pain was minimal.

“I didn’t have any pain in the hospital,” she says. “They gave me a couple of pain pills the first night, but I didn’t have to take any.”

Just six weeks after the surgery, Webb was walking two miles. She quickly returned to an active lifestyle that includes gardening and bowling.

“Everybody tells me they can’t believe I had a hip replacement,” she says.

Her only regret? Waiting so long to have the surgery.

“No one should put off surgery because it’s so much easier than living with the pain,” she offers.

First Steps for the Hip

Before major surgery becomes your only choice, consider these alternatives to hip replacement:

While you’re still healthy and mobile:

• Engage in regular physical activity to keep joints lubricated and strengthen surrounding muscles. Avoid high-impact exercises that overstress the joints, and wear recommended protective gear when playing sports.
• Consider nutritional supplements such as glucosamine or chondroitin sulfate—both are substances found naturally in the body. They help build and repair joint cartilage as well as relieve any existing arthritis pain.
• Control your weight to limit joint stress. For every pound lost, the force on your hips will be reduced by 3 to 4 pounds.

Treatment Alternatives
Your doctor will recommend hip replacement surgery only after options such as the ones above, and those below, have been tried and failed:

• Prescription or over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medications, such as ibuprofen, acetaminophen or naproxen sodium. These drugs are an initial treatment for most patients.
• Steroid injection (as hip problems progress)
• Use of a cane or walker