Karen's Story

Hip Replacement Helps Dancer Regain Movement and Flexibility

For Karen, 59, dancing is her passion and her profession. So it was particularly devastating for Karen when the pain in her hips forced her to retire early from dancing.

Karen first noticed a problem with her left hip several years ago when she was teaching dance classes. “Every once in a while, I would feel for a moment as though my left leg was going to buckle as it took my weight,” Karen says.

After about a year, Karen had an x-ray taken of her left hip, which showed some cartilage damage. Karen’s doctor at the time told her that she should consider dancing less but did not tell her to give it up completely, so Karen continued teaching and performing. When Karen began instructing students at a performing arts high school with a harder dance floor, she noticed that the pain became worse. “Every day after class I would be in considerable pain as I walked to the car,” Karen says.

To cope with the pain, Karen began seeing a physical therapist regularly. She also had custom orthotics created for her, and went to see an acupuncturist once a week. While these activities helped her feel and move better, Karen said the pain always returned.

Karen gave up dancing completely in January 2004. By this time, she says she had pain radiating down her neck and the right side of her back. Karen’s right hip had also begun to ache, and an x-ray showed cartilage damage in this hip as well. “I gradually became more and more limited,” Karen says. “Eventually my life felt like it was centered around stretching and going to physical therapy and acupuncture appointments.”

By 2006, she was ready to consider surgery, and x-rays of both of Karen’s hips showed no cartilage at all. “Athletes are of the mindset that if you just work harder or make your muscles stronger you can accomplish anything,” Karen says. “I finally realized that I wouldn’t be able to make this better on my own.”

Karen’s surgeon, Joel Matta, MD, recommended replacing both hips at the same time using an alternative surgical technique called the Anterior Approach. The Anterior Approach is a tissue-sparing option for hip replacement surgery, and allows a surgeon to approach the hip joint from the front, as opposed to the side or back. Using this approach, a surgeon can work between the muscles without detaching them from the hip or thigh bones or cutting large muscles. As a result, these large and important muscles are left relatively undisturbed and are typically spared from a lengthy recovery process.

Karen says she was initially concerned about having both hips replaced at the same time, but was convinced that this was the best approach when she was told that rehabilitation may be easier on two new hips rather than trying to walk with one hip that still hurt. “Since much of my pain was due to muscles overcompensating, from my neck all the way down to my calf, this pain would most likely continue until the second surgery,” Karen explains. “The opportunity that my hip replacement with the Anterior Approach gave me, of fixing both hips at the same time and not aggravating my other muscles further, was very appealing.”

Karen underwent surgery on both hips in October 2006. The day after surgery, she was exercising in bed and staying mobile with the help of a walker. Within 3 days, Karen was able to leave the hospital using just a cane. “I had to be careful getting in and out of the car and could not do extreme stretches, but Dr. Matta told me that any other activities, within reason of course, were on a can-do basis,” Karen says.

“Surgery is always scary. The idea of losing my own hips, however dysfunctional, was unsettling,” Karen continues. “But here I was, just a few days later, alive and barely feeling at all that I had artificial parts. I was giddy with relief and excitement!”

Other than some post-operative swelling in her legs, Karen says her recovery period went quicker than expected and quite smoothly. Today, Karen can work out for 7 minutes on the elliptical machine and 30 minutes walking on the treadmill, which is twice the amount of time she could do before surgery.

Karen’s message for others who are suffering from hip pain is simple. “If it’s affecting your quality of life and not getting any better, then I would certainly recommend talking to your doctor about hip replacement with the Anterior Approach,” Karen says.

The performance of a hip replacement depends on your age, weight, activity level and other factors. There are potential risks, and recovery takes time. People with conditions limiting rehabilitation should not have this surgery. Only an orthopaedic surgeon can tell if hip replacement is right for you.

About the Anterior Approach
The Anterior Approach for total hip replacement allows surgeons to work between the muscles, without detaching them from the hip or thigh bones. Because there is less tissue disruption, the recovery process may be shorter and less painful. Surgeons performing the procedure like Karen’s use an advanced surgical table that allows them to position the patient to easily access the hip from the front, and to insert the implant in a way that helps to minimize soft tissue disruption. The Anterior Approach is not appropriate for all patients. More information on the Anterior Approach is available at the link below, or by speaking with your surgeon.

Click here for more information on Anterior Approach Surgery.

Register Now!
Register for a Free Hip Replacement Surgery Information Kit and an informational email series. These people have gotten back to the activities they enjoy, and you should too! Why not learn more about your options and what hip replacement could do for you? Click here to learn more.