What Hip Replacement Rehab Means For the Athlete

Ballet dancers, football players, basketball players, and track stars all have the same concerns when it comes to having a hip replaced: will I still be able to perform?  Hip replacement surgery doesn't mean that suddenly life as you know it has changed or stopped.  Thanks to hip replacement rehab, life with a new hip can be just as good or even better than before.

A person that has an athletic lifestyle as a means of earning a living can come to a point in life when hip pain can virtually wipe out their desired movement.  When it's impossible to move any more, even to do normal things like stand or walk because of hip pain, then it's time to reconsider hip replacement surgery.

It's a known fact that no matter how strong our bodies are or how well trained, there will come a point in life when we realize it's fragility.  Over the past several years, hip replacement has developed into a time enduring solution.  With the earliest record of hip replacement surgery being recorded in 1891, the procedure has had plenty of time to advance. 

At first, the replaced hip was a metallic composition, progressing in some areas to an ivory replacement, and finally a combination of metal, a teflon acetabular, and an acrylic bone cement is used.  About 95% of  patients now can have up to 15 years or more with their replacement.  With the proper care and education, an athletic person will be able to enjoy their replacement hip and still be a semi-active individual.

There are things to consider though after having a hip replaced.  Hip replacement rehab is a good place to go over with your physical therapist the realities of your athletic career.  The suggestion may be to go from a full-time dancer to a part-time dancer and instructor, or from full-time runner to a coach. No one wants to give up their desired life passion because of an injury or severe pain, so educating yourself on how to do what you want to do the right way is the best way to maintain your athletic happiness. 

While there are several persons who have had a hip replaced and continued their livelihood, there's one person in particular that serves as a famous testimony.  In 1991, Bo Jackson had to face making the tough decision of having his hip replaced.  It took Bo Jackson two years to get his body back in "working" condition, but when he stepped back in the athletic realm in 1993, it was worth the wait. 

Fans around the country were amazed at how spectacularly he performed and by the time he retired in 1995, he had proven a point; with the proper education on how to rehabilitate a new replacement hip, an athlete can do anything they set their mind to.