best shoes for thr (total hip replacement) (Read 73 times)

Hi everyone. I am spanish and I´m new here, too. I had been in this world of running for about a year, at my own pace, without much inquiries or advice, when I had to leave it for tremendous pain in the hip, which resulted in a total prosthetic implant operation in the right hip (THR).

The doctor who operated on me recommends that I do not do sports with impact (running, basketball ... just the ones I like most are the worst) because the durability of the prosthesis decreases greatly with that activity and, due to my age (43), it will be much more likely to have to be replaced in the future. It is impossible to quantify this, he tells me.

So, I tried to adapt my life to these recommendations ... but it has been impossible for me. Without running I´m suffering, I have increased my weight and every tests with other sports have not gone well. So I'm going to "take a chance" and try to get back on track.

The question now is that: I´m looking for footwear, and I need that it will be the best for my current situation.

I guess that I should seek maximum cushioning, but I don't know if there is one type/brand/model better than another in this situation... and I am completely lost. The next thing I´ll do is going to a doctor who would advise me on those shoes that best suit me, but I don't know which medical specialty is the best for these doubts.

In addition, a clerk in a shop I asked about it told me that the damping was based on the weight of the runner, so if it did not weigh much (now I am at 75 kg), although I had a lot of damping capacity in the shoe, it is not It was going to work at full capacity, which is what I need ... This was the last thing to raising my doubts.

If anyone can give me some advice about it, I would be greatly grateful. Thanks a lot to everyone.

Most physicians will not know much about running shoes unless they are runners or invested in the running community. You also will likely not get any supporters from physicians around running with a hip replacement. With this being said, it is your body to choose to do what you wish with. I also don't think there is a huge population who runs with hip/knee replacement parts so in theory it may make sense to say a replacement part may not last as long. However, do we know this definitively??? No shoe will eliminate the impact of running even the the most cushioned shoes. You get what you pay for and your best bet is to go to a running store and be fit with a cushioned trainer that feels good to YOU. If you choose to run, I would certainly recommend a 6 month gradual ramp up to allow bones and soft tissue a chance to adapt....... it would probably wise to always incorporate walk breaks within all your runs. Think long and hard about this. Good luck.

I had a meniscectomy with micro-fracture surgery to repair cartilage damage in my right knee over 20 years ago.  At the time my orthopedist told me no impact sports. He said if I cut out impact sports my knee would last 20 years and if I didn't 10. I tried running a few times after that and found it extremely painful in the repaired knee and mostly took off the next 12 years.  Read "Born to run" in late 2009 and started running again 2010 in Vibram VFFs.  I spent the next two years dealing with pulled/strained calf muscles, morton's neuroma and other tweaks, but I was running without knee pain.  Eventually, I stopped injuring my self and am now consistently running 2000 miles a year.

It is counter intuitive, but more padding in shoes actually increases ground impact forces - (google "Lieberman Harvard running" for studies on the phenomenon).  Running with little or no shoes forced me to run with a forefoot strike and increased cadence.  This redistributes the impact forces from knees, hips and back to include the foot and ankle. You can make the form changes with regular shoes, but I've found I have to think about my form and concentrate on that.  The less shoe on my feet, the less I think about it and more 'natural" I run.

There are several people on these lists that run in VFFs (or other minimalist shoes). AFAIK we're mostly older runners (I will turn 61 in a week) When I first started, there were more people running in VFFs and or running sandals. It takes time to make the transition, most (like me) will suffer from "Too Much Too Soon."  It takes time to develop the bone, ligament, tendon and muscle strength needed in areas that have frequently been neglected. I know I'm only anecdotal evidence and YMMV, but taking the time to make the transition is well worth it.

I think it's been 3 years since I've purchased new VFFs, but I believe the closest model currently to what I'm using is the V-Run.

Thank you everybody.

As I supposed, there is no single answer, and doubts still persist, but every data you provide helps me.

I still don't know what shoes to buy or what doctor to visit, so I still have to think about it.

Thank you very much.

In my undergrad knowledge of physics, it would be impossible for the cumulative impact of maximum cushioned shoes to be less than the cumulative impact of running barefoot. And vice versa, it would be impossible for barefoot to have less impact than shoes of any cushioning.

Here's a simplified analogy: The cumulative force and impact of jumping on a trampoline is exactly the same as jumping on cement. One just spreads the impact out over a longer time.

It's the same amount of force to land and push off regardless of what's on your feet; or not on your feet. Recent studies claiming that barefoot or minimal shoes have the same impact as max cushioned shoes are correct. But what they often leave out of the short explanation is that cushioned shoes modulate the impact over a greater period of time and thus reduce jolting impacts that can damage tissues not able to adapt as fast due to injury or age. Graphing of impact rate does show that there is a high peak with max cushioned shoes, but that it occurs later in the cycle than barefoot; I suspect right at the point of beginning toe-off. Barefoot is almost immediate and mostly tapers until toe-off.

*the "trampoline" analogy also applies to some race shoes. You know that there is a correct time to push-off when you're on a trampoline to get max height, and if you push off too soon or too late it won't be as good or even counter the spring of the trampoline. Go-fast racing shoes with carbon plates are the same. If you have too slow a cadence, the carbon plate (spring) is beyond it's peak efficiency of upward propulsion via released stored energy. Too fast a cadence and you're toeing off before the plate (spring) reaches max efficiency. There's a reason why these carbon plate shoes have such thick soles; it allows more energy to be stored and returned, like a longer lever. Also the extra cushioning reduces muscle fatigue, but "luckily" the plate(spring) makes up for most energy loss taken by the sole absorbing force.