When A Good Hip Goes Bad

I am not sure when it started but one day I noticed pain in my left hip as my weight shifted to that leg when swinging the other leg over the bike. Sometimes while riding I would occasionally feel sharp, shooting pains from my left hip. I was pretty active running, biking, and kayaking and figured this was just another pain that would go away. It didn't, but I was not about to stop riding.

One dark winter day I slipped on a wet tile floor and landed squarely on my left hip joint. That hurt a lot and the pain changed from slightly annoying to very troublesome. Now, I had shooting hip pains while sitting and watching TV. I tried to jog, but after a few blocks of severe hip pain, I limped home feeling like a wounded animal. People started to notice that I walked with a limp. I tried to hide it but sooner or later someone would again ask, "Why are you limping?" I knew I should see a doctor, but I kept telling myself this would soon pass.

Swinging my leg over the bike became a painful chore and I groaned out loud from just getting on the bike. Standing on the pegs while riding loose gravel was very painful and jarring over rough areas was much worse. Even shifting became difficult and I twisted my body while riding to lessen the pain. This was affecting my balance and I knew something needed to be done. Despite my vehement denials, I was forced to admit the hip pain was clearly getting worse.

I decided physical therapy was the answer and went to a very good sports clinic. They quickly realized I had an arthritic hip and referred me to a bone and joint specialist. The expert, Dr. Daines saw my x-ray and confirmed osteoarthritis in my left hip. My femur bone was actually rubbing/grinding against my pelvic bone. The normal cartilage in this joint was gone.

The doctor cheerfully told me, "The good news is, a hip replacement will fix it." I was shocked and blurted, "I am too young for hip replacement." Being kind, he smiled and said, "You are...young-ish. It means you will get more use out of the new hip." He made clear I had two options, 1) hip replacement surgery or 2}a "pain management plan" involving injections and pills. I chose surgery.

My hip surgery was yesterday and everything went perfectly. Afterwords in the recovery room Dr. Daines told my hip was in worse shape than he had expected. Today I am limping behind a walker and will continue limping for the next few days. The good news is this pain is different and less severe than before. I can look forward to riding again and without the pain, in another 4-6 weeks.

Looking on the bright side, this forced break from riding will not be all bad. I have time to catch up on blogging, to clean up the old girl and take care of some delayed maintenance. When we hit the road again the KLR and I will both be in prime shape in spite of being only "young-ish."