Changing How You Work Out As You Get Older

Recently while practicing the standing poses from the Bikram Yoga series, I noticed that I was having a strange sensation in the backs of my thighs and buttocks after releasing from the poses. At first it just felt uncomfortable, and it would disappear quickly. I had never been aware of those muscles before, though. I wondered if it had to do with the titanium stem in my femur bones. I asked another professional dancer who also has had both of her hips replaced. I wondered  if she had ever felt that feeling. She told me that she did a lot of work to rebuild the muscles in the backs of her thighs and her buttocks after both of her surgeries. That is exactly where I felt it. Another dancer chimed in, telling me that he had done extensive physical therapy after having a surgery for a labral tear. As dancers, we are trained to do exercises or stretches to heal our discomfort.

I went over mentally when it felt this way. It was when I was bent over, digging fruit and vegetable scraps into my compost pile. I analyzed the position. Something about bending down and bending over at the same time caused intense discomfort in the backs of the thighs. I would reach back and put my hands on them. It was always when I stood up after forward bending poses in yoga, too. After reading about a man on the hip replacement forum who had the same issue, I decided to stop doing the movements that aggravated it. It seems obvious, but as dancers, many of us just continue to exercise through pain. And now, when I did those same yoga poses, the reaction was more severe, it hurt. It felt like a warning.

I did some of my own research on the Internet. One man said that's what had happened before he had dislocated his hip after total hip replacement surgery. "Oh my God," I thought. There's no point in even risking that. I had heard the horror stories. I went back to doing simpler yoga, basic Pilates, bike rides, and walks. I'd had an excellent recovery, and I didn't want to do anything now that would cause problems down the road. It has been almost two years since the surgery, and I can't put a price on being free from pain.

I started to think back to what I had been doing in the past month. I'd been adding things in ballet class that I probably shouldn't have: pique turns, pirouettes, balances in the center on releve on one leg, etc. I started to think about the construction of what was now inside my leg and hip joint. It's probably better to be conservative than to take chances, I thought. The music, the choreography, and the endorphins had been influencing me. I wanted to do more, but I really should be doing less.

I did some more on line research, and found that when people need revisions for implant failure, that is one of the signs. It usually happen with people who are young, very active, and who have uncemented stems.I fit the profile.  That was enough to scare the daylights out of me. Fortunately, I had caught what triggered it early, and could make changes. In the old days they wouldn't give a hip replacement to a patient until they were in their seventies. People had to wait, regardless of how much pain they were experiencing.

I decided to be grateful for all the things I can now do and enjoy them. Right after the surgery, I had confided to a friend of mine, "I'm really glad I had the operation, but I don't want to do it again." She was a principal dancer in a major ballet company. She agreed with me, and urged me to do things that were gentle. At the time I told her that I couldn't believe how many people went back to ballet class after having hips replaced. I thought they were crazy. Now I get it. It's such a part of your identity, and it feels good to look and feel in shape. But, at what cost? I realized. It was time to scale back, plan for the future, and to make wise choices.   


I decided to think long term. Where do I want to be in thirty years?  I could take advantage of the time I had now to read, write, hike in nature, run my soap making business, and take care of my home. I want these hips to last as long as possible. It's up to me to take care of them and not overdo.