Hip Pain when playing the steel

Walter Hamlin · From: Talladega, Alabama, USA

I can play steel about an hour and then I have to push myself up off the stool because of stiff pain in my hip. I've changed pedal height, stool height and shoe heel height but it does not help a lot.
Now, I was told last Thursday I was going to have to have hip surgery to aleviate the problem. I am looking to have minimal invasive hip resurfacing done, soon. I want this over total hip replacement for many reasons.
My question to any of you who have had hip surgery is - what is your opinion of the resurfacing and how do you feel now.
I gotta get it fixed so I can keep playing the steel.

Gene Jones · From: Oklahoma City, OK USA, (deceased)

I wonder if that has any reference to the shoulder pain that keeps me from playing these days!

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www.genejones.com

Barry Blackwood · Posted 6 Sep 2005 11:32 am

Walter, are you inferring that playing steel is a pain in the ar$e?

Earnest Bovine · From: Los Angeles CA USA

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[This message was edited by Earnest Bovine on 06 September 2005 at 12:55 PM.]

Roy Ayres · From: Riverview, Florida, USA, R.I.P.

Gene,

That is just old age.

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Charlie McDonald · From: out of the blue

Walter,
You may notice a lack of responses to the question. I imagine most of us don't want to get involved where doctors go--fools rush in and all that.
Hip resurfacing appears to be better than joint replacement; but I'm not sure that's the problem.

Actually, Gene made a good funny: referred pain. Not that that's what it is. But it could be seeking out chiropractic or some other modality would be useful. It sounds like a typical situation for sciatica, where the nerve on one side of the spine is impinged by a postural thing--leaning one way or another. If you're reaching to the right to the upper fretboard, the left hip will act up.
Muscle relaxers, or better yet anti-inflammatories, may work better than surgery. Surgery doesn't guarantee a solution to the problem.

Just offering some other alternatives here, before you take the leap. Not a doctor; I'm a massage therapist, I see these problems frequently, and have had bouts with sciatica myself.
Try icing the joint; those frozen gel pads on the hip and lower back really help calm inflammation.

Rick Alexander · From: Florida, USA, R.I.P.

They always want to cut into you. That should be a last resort, not a ready solution. Surgery can often just make matters worse. It might be better and safer just to get a cortisone shot every couple of months - or maybe see a good chiropracter. Sometimes a pinched nerve in one of the vertebrae can cause the exact symptoms you describe, and a few adjustments may remedy the problem at the source.

[This message was edited by Rick Alexander on 06 September 2005 at 02:05 PM.]

Walter Hamlin · From: Talladega, Alabama, USA

I've been told for several years by at least 3 doctors that my r/hip was very bad and I can see for myself on the xrays. You talking about hurting it does sometimes. I don't have a problem with accepting the diagnosis whatsoever I just wondered if anyone else out there has had to have a hip replacement/resurfacing and what was your opinion of it. I think sitting on the stool while playing the steel causes the problem. I noticed this coming on back when I was in the Army during the late 60's. Never got hurt or anything but it was there. I've heard others say surgery was the best thing they have done because all the pain has gone away.
I don't guess there are many old codgers out there who have this problem.

David Doggett · Posted 6 Sep 2005 2:39 pm

There are probably a lot of old and not-so-old codgers with this problem. I had my right hip replaced three years ago, when I was 56. I'm a biologist and medical research analyst by profession; so I looked into the technology a little bit. The minimally invasive resurfacing is a new technology that I know about, but not a lot of details. I'll try to look into it. If you have to have a total replacement, and are active with more than 10 years life expectancy, then you want to get a ceramic-on-ceramic or metal-on-metal joint, rather than the polyethylene-on-metal they use for older patients (those may wear out in 10 or 15 years of active use). Once the cushioning material in your joint goes completely (which shows on an x-ray), resurfacing or replacement is the only remedy to end the pain and get you walking normal again.

When their hip starts hurting, many people make the mistake of trying to stay off it and becoming too sedentary. Sitting for long stretches at a desk job does not help. It's use it or loose it. The best thing is to walk some every day, and stretch and flex it, and even do weight training. An eliptical exercise machine is good, and also good for your heart. Also take glucosamine and omega-3 fish oil. Losing excess weight and keeping it down can help a little.

But in spite of all that, at some point you may need to resurface or replace. Don't be afraid of this procedure. Hip replacement is one of the most successful of modern surgeries. It can be a miracle. I could only walk on crutches going into the hospital. The day after surgery, my hip was totally pain free (except for the entry wound of course). They start you taking steps the next day, and it just gets better every day after that. I couldn't use my knee levers on steel with that leg for a month or two, but after that it was okay. I'm still a little weak hitting the outside lever with that leg, but it's not that big a deal.

The younger and stronger you are going into the surgery, the quicker your recovery will be. Within a couple of months you can walk anywhere pretty well, and by a year you are in great shape. No one would ever guess I have an artificial hip. Hip surgery can make your life normal again. Knee surgery is more difficult, and takes longer for rehabilitation, but it can also be a miracle.

Gene Jones · From: Oklahoma City, OK USA, (deceased)

Touche Roy.....

Actually, I've had shoulder pain since I was a teen-ager and worked in the oil fields "wrenching" pipe, but it has always been the right shoulder.....now it's both!

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www.genejones.com

Jim Ives · From: Los Angeles, California, USA

I have had both hips replaced 6 months apart, about one year ago. I am 54. It is rare in medicine to be able to use the word "cure", but that is exactly how I and my wife would describe the results. Of course I had it done at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center here in Los Angeles (where I work) because bigger medical Centers attract more world-class physicians. Mine are alloy with a HDPE liner as the cartilage, and I have near perfect range of motion, no pain, all gain. I just have to get wanded and patted down when going through airport security. So what!
A word of wisdom: interview and select your anesthesiologist with great care, more than with your surgeon. Your surgeon can't kill you but the anesthesiologist sure can.
Surgery is always the last thing one should do, but when all other options are exhausted, like swimming, losing weight, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs,etc, then go for it.
You can email me for more questions if you like.
-Jim

Jim Bob Sedgwick · From: Clinton, Missouri USA

In 1997, my right hip hurt so bad, I could not press on an accelerator, stand, sit or lie down without excruciating pain. The only relief I could obtain was to stand on one leg and let the right leg hang with no pressure. When you get to that point, hip replacement was the only remedy at that time. It was painful surgery. At that time, there were two options. One ( the one I had) was to drill out the femur and drive the replacement joint into the femur. I could put no weight on the hip for 6 weeks. Elizabeth Taylor had both hips done and was walking the next day with a walker. Her surgery used a glue to "set" the prosthesis immediately. The draw back is that one can not be removed and replaced when necessary. They only did the glue type on older persons. What I am getting at is I eventually may have to have the surgery again, as the prosthesis may wear out in about 10 more years. Bottom line, if the pain becomes severe enough, GO FOR THE SURGERY, YOU WON'T REGRET IT. JMO. BTW, I was 55 years old at the time.

[This message was edited by Jim Bob Sedgwick on 06 September 2005 at 08:09 PM.]

[This message was edited by Jim Bob Sedgwick on 06 September 2005 at 08:10 PM.]

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