A year and a half ago Clay, 65, was getting ready to take to the slopes for his annual ski trip after a successful knee replacement surgery and a speedy recovery. Clay said that his doctor attributed part of his rapid recovery to both his pre-surgery and post-surgery strength conditioning. So when Clay found out that he would be having surgery to fix his long-ailing hip condition, he ramped-up his strength conditioning program in the hopes of replicating the success he had with his knee.
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“My hip has hurt for years,” Clay said. “I actually had surgery in both of my hips, to repair the condition, in 2008. However, the right hip continued to deteriorate even after that surgery, and over this past year it has gotten much worse.”
Clay’s hip issues are the result of something called Osteonecrosis (ONJ). ONJ happens when there is a temporary or permanent loss of blood supply to the bone. When bones are deprived of blood, the tissue dies and they can eventually collapse. If this happens to bones near a joint, this will often lead to the collapse of the joint surface.[i] This deterioration is what Clay was experiencing, and it was affecting his ability to maintain an active lifestyle.
“I kept trying to just work through it, but it began to impact my quality of life,” Clay said. “It prevented me from doing the things I wanted to do, like playing golf.”
In fact, the pain was becoming so severe that even walking was difficult. For someone who enjoys traveling, sightseeing, skiing and snorkeling, it was no longer just the physical pain that was hurting Clay, but the frustration he felt being unable to do the things that he loved the most. Clay knew he had to take action.
“I had a lot of difficulty walking while on a trip to Luxembourg in December, and I knew it was time to get it done (the surgery),” Clay said. “I thought I would tough it out through ski season and then have the surgery.”
Clay decided to talk to the doctor that performed his knee surgery to find out his best course of action. He was advised to consider a new procedure.
“I was so excited to have the surgery because this new procedure offered me quick recovery,” said Clay.
His surgery was a success, and his conditioning paid off. Like his knee surgery, under the advisement of his doctor, Clay was back in action sooner than later.
“I was playing golf in three weeks, and a week after that I was back in the gym working out again with my trainer, Brandon,” Clay said. “The surgeon wrote Brandon specific instructions (stretching and stability exercises), too, in order to help me regain strength and flexibility.”
So far, so good, but there is still work to do before Clay is able to do all the things he wants to do.
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[i] Information obtained from http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Osteonecrosis/