Diving after hip replacement

[Damselfish]

My husband had a hip replaced almost 2 years ago when he was 50ish. He had a pretty quick recovery, one of the quickest his PT had seen, doubtless helped along by his being much younger than typical for this. We squeezed in a dive trip a couple weeks before surgery, and it's thought that was actually good therapy.

He was back on a plane for a business trip he was determined to make in less than 2 months. (I went along on that first trip since he was still on one crutch and wasn't supposed to be lifting luggage yet.) Our next dive trip was about 9 months - could have been sooner, but that's just how the schedule worked out. We've spent about 8 weeks diving since and I don't think it's affected his diving at all, no trouble with tanks/gear. He's a tall/big guy, so that may help there - we're just talking rec gear, which isn't much to him anyway. In his case, his surgeon seemed to have no concerns about his being able to get back to diving and other activities afterwards, and was delighted to hear he was back in the water.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

My husband had a hip replaced almost 2 years ago when he was 50ish. He had a pretty quick recovery, one of the quickest his PT had seen, doubtless helped along by his being much younger than typical for this. We squeezed in a dive trip a couple weeks before surgery, and it's thought that was actually good therapy.

He was back on a plane for a business trip he was determined to make in less than 2 months. (I went along on that first trip since he was still on one crutch and wasn't supposed to be lifting luggage yet.) Our next dive trip was about 9 months - could have been sooner, but that's just how the schedule worked out. We've spent about 8 weeks diving since and I don't think it's affected his diving at all, no trouble with tanks/gear. He's a tall/big guy, so that may help there - we're just talking rec gear, which isn't much to him anyway. In his case, his surgeon seemed to have no concerns about his being able to get back to diving and other activities afterwards, and was delighted to hear he was back in the water.

That's great to hear!

BTW, just out of curiosity, does he know what might have been the original cause of the degeneration?
Heredity, sports injury, long term overuse?

 

[Rhone Man]

Resurfacing of Hip Michigan
Hip replacement has quite beneficial for people who have reduced mobility. One thing I can't get is how this is so prevalent in the States and other places.

My wife is American and she had a full hip replacement at 43. I'd love to think that is because the hips of American girls are subjected to a greater range of motion so get worn out faster, but sadly after 20 years of marriage I am not sure that is true... :-(

 

[donacole]

It may affect your hobby, but maybe you still have the chance to dive, I suggest you take proper rehabilitation and try to take sometime to heal. You'll be in shape in to dive again, just don't push yourself too hard to prevent device failure.


Good luck!