Originally Posted by
TrojanHorse
Is your hip painful? Achy is one thing but debilitating pain is another. My wife had hip issues for years and was told to delay hip replacement till she was 60+, but it got to the point where she wasn't getting a full night's sleep from the pain (her joint was bone on bone). It really limited her ability to do a lot of things. She really had trouble getting on her bike - she just couldn't get her leg up over the seat, even with the bike tilted at an extreme angle.
Anyway, long story short - she had hip replacement a year ago when she was 47 and I think she'd tell you it was the best decision for her. Apparently they can replace the joint sleeves now, so it's not the same situation that it used to be where you're stuck with just one replacement. Everything seems to be peachy, and she's even taken up jogging again. I wouldn't assume that you can't do anything about your hip at 46, that's for sure.
Pain level depends on a few things.
Most of the time, day to day, it only hurts a little. About a level 2 out of 10.
If I try to walk long distances, or carry heavy things or stand in one spot, then it can go up to about a 6 out of 10 depending on the level of effort.
When it's all warmed up and I'm riding, no it doesn't hurt then, but I still have very limited range of motion.
After I've cooled down, then sometimes it will hurt a fair bit. Sometimes it will wake me up in the night if I am laying on that side and I will have to flip to the other side.
Lots of ibuprofen can mitigate things to some degree, but I try to avoid overdoing it with that.
So, I guess it isn't debilitating pain if I don't overdo things. But it is affecting my quality of life. If I were a sedentary person who didn't care about not being able to do the activities I enjoy then it would matter less. But not being able to do those things is having a pretty profound effect on my sense of well being.
I have health insurance that will pay for 90% of a repair / replacement (provided, I suppose, they deem it medically necessary, which I assume most insurers will fight tooth an nail against).
It's hard to know what to do.