Athletes and Hip Pain - Health - Fitness

Do you know what bilateral means? I always just assumed that it was a different type of lens for your bifocals. But also, I didn't care to know. Put it this way, I was more than willing to go to the grave without ever having uttered, let alone discuss the implications of the word bilateral. For the two people out there who can relate to this ignorance? Bilateral means both sides.

In the world of hip replacements, otherwise known as THRs, bilateral means you've had two new hips installed. Often, once one hip deteriorates, the other soon follows. It makes sense. In my case I had hip dysplasia, a word every dog lover knows. And even though I am a bit further up the food chain, my hips were shallow in their sockets and lasted about the same length as a purebred German shepherd. Before I turned 44, my athletic lifestyle had pounded away all of the catelage in my right hip. Within six months I was limping. In two more months I couldn't sleep due to radiating pain. Hips are known to cause crippling pain. They are also known to come in twos. So, having such miraculous relief from my first hip pain made my second THR decision easy. Two years later, the hip that had always LOOKED worse on the x-rays but that had never caused me any problems (go figure. the mind deals with pain in mysterious ways) started to ache. WIthin six months I was back to my gimping ga it and sleepless nights. I waited until my one remaining hip started keeping me awake all night and the next day I booked my surgery. Some people agonize a lot more over whether to do it or not. Once you have one THR and feel the fabulous effects, it's easy to go bilateral, baby. Often my spinning students call me the Bionic Woman but I just smile and tell them my preferred name. I tell them that I'd rather be called the bilateral woman. So if you are under forty years old and your active lifestyle is being affected by hip pain, don't worry anymore. Just find the best doctor who does THRs every day all day long and go have a chat. Time to get back to your workout routine.