Can I avoid a hip replacement?

by Bernadette Fallon

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 I’m only 44 and I hadn’t expected to hear the words ‘hip replacement’ anytime soon.

 

Basically it’s the pain I can’t stand, the grinding, awful relentlessness of it. And the fact I’ve 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 – it’s been trying very hard recently.

So I’ve put a plan together to see if I can avert ‘operation hip’ for a little while longer. Here’s 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 – I’ve 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

 

I’ll let you know how I get on

 

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Carla  Griscti

Carla Griscti

Editorial assistant on allaboutyou; Music lover, travel bee and food fanatic.

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Emma Marsden

Emma Marsden

Food consultant of All About You, loves creating something out of nothing and decluttering.

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Bernadette  Fallon

Bernadette Fallon

Editor of All About You; an online journalist with a fetish for glossy magazines.

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Adrienne  Wyper

Adrienne Wyper

Deputy editor of All About You. I love cycling, cooking and creating

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Carol  Muskoron

Carol Muskoron

Associate editor of All About You, loves life (mostly) and one-pan recipes (always).

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