I'm worried I'm going to need a hip replacement in the future

[bobbilly]

I had perthes disease as a young child and spent 13 weeks in hospital getting it fixed aged 5. Since then no problems with my hip but I’m approaching 40 and I sometimes get a little pain in my hip. I’m worried I’m going to need a hip replacement in the future. I can still walk 10 miles everyday pain-free so don’t know if I’m feeling a little pain because I’m getting old or if my hip is giving in. Maybe these are catastrophic thoughts and their is nothing wrong with my hip?

I read on the internet people who had perthes as children have had worse outcomes then me at a younger age, not being able to walk and in pain all the time, hip replacements and arthritis in their late 20s and 30s etc.

I am lucky I think. Is this just catastrophic thoughts?

[iconoclast_01]

Hip replacement is not as daunting as you might think. I had a total hip replacement myself, the recovery time was fairly short, and I have full range of motion and no pain. If a procedure could be called ‘easy’, hip replacement would be it.

[Charles_Foster]

@bobbilly

Since then no problems with my hip but I’m approaching 40 and I sometimes get a little pain in my hip. I’m worried I’m going to need a hip replacement in the future. I can still walk 10 miles everyday pain-free so don’t know if I’m feeling a little pain because I’m getting old or if my hip is giving in.

You’re fine.

If you can walk that much you don’t need hip surgery.

Not now, possibly much later down the line.

Being real honest,

If you go to the doctor complaining of hip pain,

They’re going to just tell you to lose weight.

I have a wonky leg pain and they basically told me the same thing.

[ozymandias]

@iconoclast_01

If a procedure could be called ‘easy’, hip replacement would be it.

The hard part here is getting the surgery.

[Ninjastar]

Everyone I know who had a hip replacement has had an easy recovery. If you’re walking 10 miles a day, I would guess you don’t need it yet, but you should bring up the pain with your doc. Like @Charles_Foster says, they will probably say to lose weight, but they might have some other recommendations based on your medical history.

[firemonkey]

I’m glad you have no pain. I wish it was true for me. I had two falls in October 2021. Due to the stigmatising behaviour of medical professionals, and difficulty getting help to have an x ray, it took 48 days for it to be found I’d broken my femur. I had a replacement 2 days later. Nearly 2 years later and although my mobility has improved it’s not back to pre fall level. I still get pain if I’m standing upright for too long, or do too much walking at any one time. Walking outside, for all but a very short distance holding onto someone, is a big NO! The psychological fear of being in an open space with nothing to cling onto for safety being high.Not helping by knowing I have premature osteoporosis, and that another fall would very likely leave me totally wheelchair bound.

It’s been years since I’ve been able to go to the cafe I used to have a cooked breakfast at, by myself. First there was awful back pain,then Covid, then the falls. It may sound silly but things like that,things that some might dismiss as small and trivial, are the polar opposite to a mood enhancer.