Total Hip Replacement

[Pipmahoe]

Hello fellow pilgrims,

I am reaching out to all pilgrims that have walked the camino after a total hip replacement.
On Monday night I had a fall and broke my hip requiring a total replacement of the said hip, this happened on wednesday and I am now being discharged home from hospital (Monday).

As I lay shivering on the pavement, having stumbled on an uneven pavement, all I could think about, apart from letting my employers down, WILL I BE READY FOR MY CAMINO IN APRIL!!!

I have booked to walk the camino portugues from Porto to Santiago from the 10-22 April and I am now wondering if I’ll be fit enough, will my hip be strong enough, will I be able to carry my rucksack etc etc etc.......

If anyone has ANY information or experience that you feel would be informative or helpful to me I will be really interested in hearing from you. By the way I am not your average age of the regular hip replacement patient, I am 56 years old, and last year I walked the CF in t 32 days
Penelope

 

[Roland49]

Hello Penelope,

one of my collegues get her hips (both) replaced end of february.
At the moment she is heavily medicated and is on sick leave.
She will be in hospital for 5 days after the surgery and will be released from rehab (3 weeks) end of March.

That's as fast as it is possible, I think. But she will not be done with recovery after the rehab. Her doctor said you need up to 5-6 month to recover totally from a replacement of both hips and to get your strength back, if everything went well in the surgery. She is planning to get back to work in April but she will be cutting her working hours by half.

Hope you get well soon and you can walk your Camino as planned.

 

[JamesVT]

I had one hip replaced a few years ago, and my recollection is that one needs quite a few months of healing, physical therapy, and general rehab to recover. See Roland’s observation above. Sad to say, I think your plans for a walk in April will have to be reset, for the good of your own health. Talk to your doctors about this. However, after your recovery period I expect you will find that your replaced hip will support whatever hiking you want to undertake. Buen Camino!

 

[Shakespearshakes]

I have a hip replacement. Since then I have walked the CF and the CP. I plan on starting the VDLP in April. So yes you will be able to walk the camino after proper Reha and care. It may take you a little longer and you will have to be careful and avoid falling on that hip as it will always be weaker than the other. An April camino in my opinion is probably too short a time frame. Better to postpone until Sept if you can. Consult with your Doctors and heed thier advice, I found they were very supportive of my plans to walk the camino.

 

[Penny Kingma]

I had my right hip replaced in July 2018. Both knees Feb/18 and Nov/18. Limitations on hip replacements issued by surgeons are for a longer period and more extensive ( at least here in Ontario Canada). Yet I found that my hip healed faster with far less pain....to the point I’d forget and do too much....then your hip can remind you it’s there. I think it will be a little too soon .... and risky . If you can cancel and get a refund do so. Then plan next year....you’ll have a better time...sending healing thoughts, prayers and hugs.....Buen Camino ❤
P.S. I’m 54 and have had 3 joint replacements in a 9 month period my last will be on March 7 th being my left hip. The result of a waterskiing accident one week after returning from my walk of the Frances in 34 days in 2016.
The problem with being younger then the average.....according to my surgeon...we think we can push faster then the norm...unfortunately we still need to take the time to heal....I’ve warned mine that I’ll be returning to walk the Frances ....Portuguese...or both in May 2020.

 

[robproct]

Having had bilateral hop replacements ten years ago I strongly recommend giving yourself sufficient time for recovery.You will find gradual improvement for many months even up to a couple of years although as Penny says there will be temptation to overdo it. I asked my surgeon what would be the best rehab and he replied "Walking!" I recently completed the CP from Lisbon. My new hips are wonderful although I developed bursitis along the CP which became quite painful towards the end of the walk. I am now 78yo and would love to press on and do the Primitivo but will have to sort out the bursitis first. I am otherwise fit and well and itching to do another Camino but for now wisdom must prevail as I am not willing to risk foundering along the way because of exacerbating the bursitis. Incidentally I found it hard going at times along the CP where there are about a couple of hundred kilometres at least of walking on cobblestone and the relief of just walking on lovely softer bitumen.