For runners who have had knee/hip replacements..what did you do wrong?

Chose the wrong parents

You might avoid it if you don't do any vigorous sport. But then you might get something else worse. Like a heart attack. No one escapes aging. I've had both hips done. Best possible thing. Activity without pain or impediment.

Wow...bilateral hip replacements.

How far apart did you get them done?

Result of improper form (ex. heel striking).

Squats for the knees are a must for me now, 95% hiking and running trails. I also do indoor cycling (dry eye issues) didn’t even know hips could be a problem. 73 candles

Old people with non-runner bodies who train/run marathons seem to get these. I know so many.

Running has the potential to be protective and destructive for the joints. The poison is in the dose, and that dose depends on the individual.

The joints will “toughen” and adapt as long as you gradually build up your exposure. The trouble is, many starting a running regime usually start too late in life and want to do WAY too much, too soon. The cardiovascular system adapts and flourishes far quicker than the body’s connective tissues. We don’t realise this until it’s too late.

Years of overreaching will lead to joint issues down the line for many, especially those who’s bodies are not as well designed for distance running as their slimmer more ectomorphic counterparts.
Obviously running mechanics plays a part also. Running is a skill, so we are told. But distance runners practicing that skill is an oxymoron of sorts. You are not supposed to practice a skill while fatigued. Yet that is what runners aim for. Practicing while fatigued leads to sloppy performance which is ingrained over time.

I'm mid fifties. Two arthritic knees and arthritis in my lower back. But no replacements as of yet. I have no desire to go down that route, so I’ve severely modified my approach to exercise to be far less aggressive and hopefully more joint friendly.

I damaged my hip sprinting in spikes in my late forties (had only taken up running a couple of years before). Went for a scan and revealed I had stage two osteoarthritis in that hip.

I still run and even sprint occasionally, but never in spikes again. If you can't break 15 seconds for 100m, you may as well be in a wheelchair anyway. I believe in another 10 years there will be some form of hip cartilage regeneration treatment available, so hoping to avoid a hip transplant.

3 years. The first at 65 the next at 68. I jog and play tennis. No probs. I feel nothing.

That's hilarious. A positive outcome is down-voted.

Hi guys, can I draw on your knowledge

Like all runners I've probably overdone it and trained to hard at times

One of my knees after hard work it sort of loose, clicks, clunky, sore.

The pain changes from behind the kneecap, medial joint and back of knee.

If that likely arthritis? I guess it is....

Running on grass helps.

*too

I have seen commercials here for the Arthritis Treatment Center where they inject a self-lubricating and shock-absorbing gel into and around your knee. I would certainly give this a go before replacing the knee.

You replace them if just getting around is painful and it's getting worse. You have nothing to lose then.

This one is big. I had microfracture surgery on my knee. At my first appointment with the orthopedic surgeon, he asked if either of my parents had knee problems. Yes, both, I told him. He nodded knowingly and preceded with the diagnosis.

Sounds unpleasant.

How many years did your knees ache while running before you changed them?

well, here goes...

Armstronglivs, i would like to ask your advice....

I had my right hip replaced 15 months ago. i thought i had sciatica for years but one 5 mile race, as i crossed the line, it just hurt a lot a lot, i could hardly walk. Xray showed bad oa in my right hip and signs of oa in my left. over next few months, right leg went downhill fast, soon could only walk with a stick.

Right hip replaced. it took a long time to recover; 4 weeks of codeine and morphine, and months before i was 'normal' and it still affects me. i clearly had a worse expereince than most, but nothing wrong per se, just wrong end of the bell curve.

the quacks all say i cant do two sports; running and skiing. the two sports i do (did). anyhow, managed a good bit of very scary but ok skiing over christmas. I mainly ski one legged as much as possible and i am very smooth and try to stay on the fluffy stuff and away from pistes anyhow.

BUT, is running going to be okay? How far do you run each day? do yuo run marathons?

My main worries are - my left leg, which seems fine so far. I hope to give it abuot 5 years. and of course shortening the life of the right implant. im mid fifties, so some remediation is expected but i would like to avoid it.

since you jog on two replacements, i would be very grateful if you shared your exoereince. can you really not feel them? i am permenently aware of mine. i can feel it all the time. not painful, just present and weird.

It was my hips, not my knees. The symptoms of arthritis came on quite quickly. I was in my mid-sixties. The first time I was out running - and then, boom, I started to seize up in the groin and hips area. The second hip suddenly packed up similarly after a vigorous game of tennis a couple of years later. The deterioration was rapid. I got my operations about a year from the onset of those episodes. Recovery was fast. Now, I would never have known I had had arthritis and have two metal hips. I can jog and play tennis without any problems.