Hip replacement surgery is one of the hardest surgeries I have ever had to go through, which is saying a lot because I have had dozens of surgeries, but sometimes it is necessary for less pain. When you have a surgery that causes you to lose a significant amount of mobility, it is easier to focus on the negatives because you lose a lot of independence for a long period of time, and life gets harder before it gets easier. Hip replacement surgery is frustrating, and I hope I never need a second one, but not everything about hip replacement surgery is bad and there are some good things that have come from it. There are more negatives than positives that come from hip replacement surgery, and it is frustrating to have less mobility and to lose independence, but you shouldn’t only focus on the negatives because it will make hard experiences even harder to get through. What are the positives of hip replacement surgery? In this post, I am going to share a few positives that have come from hip replacement surgery.
My cardio workouts don’t have to be as long- When I strength train, I sometimes have to lift longer because I am not able to do a lot of the advanced moves I used to do, and I have to do more reps at a higher weight to get the same burn. Cardio workouts are different because when I walk, it requires me to use a little more energy since I have less mobility, and I don’t have to do hours of cardio to get a good workout. I can burn a decent number of calories in ten minutes or less, which is a good thing because walking workouts are not my favorite way to train, and I only do it because it’s good for heart health. Walking is so much harder after hip replacement, but one of the positives of it is that it’s more rewarding when you reach a certain milestone because you know that you had to train harder to get to that point. Obviously, over time, I have to increase the distance of my walks to continue to gain strength, but right now I am loving the shorter workouts!
My arms are stronger than they have ever been- I have had many surgeries that have required bed rest for a few weeks and relied on my arms to do transfers, but I have never gained more strength in my arms like I did after hip replacement surgery. When I first started to walk after hip replacement surgery, my entire body would shake because I was not able to do any kind of exercise for a few months, and my body was weak. During the first couple of months of my recovery, my arms got so strong because I had to rely on them more just to stand. Over time, I have gotten stronger and become less dependent on my arms, but because of hip replacement, my arms are the strongest they have ever been. I can lift heavier weights than I could before hip replacement surgery, and could probably do more reps of most upper-body exercises than my non-disabled friends. I couldn’t be more grateful for my significant increase in arm strength because it has made my life so much easier.
I have less pain– I have hip dysplasia, and for those of you who don’t know, it’s a medical condition where your hip socket does not cover the ball portion of your upper thigh, which often leads to partial or full dislocation of your hip. Hip dysplasia can happen to anyone, and it’s not just for people with Spina Bifida, because I know a lot of people who have it that do not have Spina Bifida, and it’s completely harmless, and you don’t need to do anything about it unless it starts to give you pain. I have had hip dysplasia and was born with both of my hips completely dislocated, but didn’t have any problems until a few years ago. Hip replacement is something that I hoped I would never need, but when my pain got so bad that I was not able to move without severe pain and was falling more often, I knew it was time. It is frustrating to have less mobility, but because of hip replacement, I have less pain, and I would rather have less mobility than more pain. Mobility loss is something you can accommodate, but when you have severe pain, sometimes your only choice is to stop doing things you love, and I was not willing to give things up if I didn’t have to. Pain after surgery that lasts months is frustrating, but I am grateful that my pain has improved, and I barely have any now, which would have never happened without hip replacement surgery.
I have gained some mobility- When you have hip dysplasia, and your hips are completely dislocated, there are going to be some things that are impossible unless your hips are in the right position. Surgery helps you have less pain and walk straighter, but it does not cure hip dysplasia, and there are still a lot of exercises I couldn’t do before surgery and still can’t do. Hip replacement surgery did give me some mobility, and I can do exercises such as lying on my side and kicking my leg behind me that were impossible before surgery. I don’t regularly practice doing moves I can only do on one side because I don’t want one leg significantly stronger than the other, and it’s not to the extent a non-disabled person can do, but I will take what I can get, even if it’s not much.
Hip replacement is frustrating and is the most painful surgery that I have ever had, and would not repeat it unnecessarily. Mobility loss is frustrating, and there are a lot of things that I could do before hip replacement surgery, such as Pilates, that are not the same experience if it’s even possible at all. I have grown so much because, despite the struggles, I have been forced to look at things in a different way to accommodate my mobility loss. Hip replacement surgery is not something I would ever recommend to anyone that didn’t need it, but it can help improve the lives of people with hip pain. It is important to acknowledge the negatives because you don’t need to find the positives of every struggle, but at the same time, you don’t only want to focus on the bad things. I am not as happy after major surgeries, but I try not to focus on the negatives because, in most cases it does get better. If you have had hip replacement surgery, what positives have you gotten from it? If you liked this post, please leave a comment below and share it with your friends.
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