I was pretty surprised to be told I needed a hip replacement a few weeks ago. Yes, there is a history of arthritis in the family, yes I had put the hip under a lot of pressure growing up practicing dance steps for hours every night in the run up to competitions. (I was Riverdance in the pre-Riverdance days.) Plus I have a chronic condition that causes my bones to grow too big I know, crazy which meant that last year I had to have part of my hipbone removed. It had literally grown too big for its socket. But Im only 44 and I hadnt expected to hear the words hip replacement anytime soon.
Basically its the pain I cant stand, the grinding, awful relentlessness of it. And the fact Ive had to use a crutch to walk for the last nine months.
But if I could conquer the pain and throw away the crutch, I could buy myself some time before I partner up with an artificial hip. And, as me and the artificial hip will have to part company in about 15 years when it wears out and I get another one, it makes sense to delay our partnership for as long as possible. Anyway, I like my current hip its been trying very hard recently.
So Ive put a plan together to see if I can avert operation hip for a little while longer. Heres what it consists of:
Supplements am currently taking Glucosamine, cod liver oil tablets, calcium supplements, iron tablets and a prescribed course of Ayurvedic herbs
Acupuncture this has always worked very well for me to relieve pain and reduce stress
Mindful meditation Ive just started reading Mindfulness for Health: A practical guide to relieving pain, reducing stress and restoring welling by Vidyamala Burch and Dr Danny Penman
Regular exercise tricky on crutches, but I do have a routine of hip exercises to do, prescribed by a physiotherapist
Yoga am trying to work up the courage to go back to my weekly Scaravelli yoga classes. Scaravelli yoga is particularly suitable for people with back and joint issues and was developed by Vanda Scaravelli, an Italian teacher who suffered from scoliosis and was originally trained by the famous Iyengar
Healthy eating again, this one is in progress as I try to wean myself off the post-Christmas/cold winter chocolate diet. Now I need to start following the advice in this article about eating to beat arthritis
Ill let you know how I get on
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