Hello gang,

This topic was discussed back in 2006, I would like to rekindle it again 18 years later.

I am 55 yo, and my right hip has gone from a mild discomfort to light pain to bad pain in 10 years.
It has deteriorated very quickly during last 1.5 years.

Due to the pain, I can't beach start, I can't uphaul, but I can water start using my left leg only (on both tacks).
Also, putting my right foot into the back strap is painful, which makes me miss the strap often.
Carrying a rig to/from the beach (about 40m) is very painful.

I am going to see an orthopedic surgeon to hear my options.

I am concerned that after the replacement windsurfing will never be the same for me due to limited joint mobility and the danger of dislocation.

Would be grateful to hear anything (encouraging or otherwise) from your personal experience.

Cheers,
Kesha S.

If people wavesail after replacements I think your concerns are ill founded. get the rehab strengthening done and i dunno why it could dislocate etc

Luckily I can't speak from personal experience here, but I've seen people run, cycle, ski (including my father with one hip replacement in addition to both knees replaced), row, windsurf, play beachvolleyball and become very good kitesurfers starting after the surgery, so I agree, that these are ill-founded concerns.
The hip mobility that you can achieve are easily sufficient for a beachstart.
From your description it sounds as if after having your hip replaced windsurfing will certainly not be the same again, but much better than anything you can currently dream of. See a very experienced surgeon, train hard before surgery to build muscle and general fitness, then do a badass rehab. It won't be long until you have the fun windsurfing that you only faintly remember now.
Post a video of yourself blasting and whooping with your right foot in the strap in less than a year to make us happy!

I had a hip replacement May 2023. Back surfing after 10 - 12 weeks. I'm an ex sailboarder thinking of getting back into it. I don't expect any probs. My advice is to see a good Physio / exercise physiologist to put a pre op exercise program together asap and strengthen hips as much as possible. You'll be thankful for it during post op rehab. Also don't go too hard too fast with rehab. Slow and steady is best bet. You'll be back sailboarding pain free before you know it. Good luck.

I don't know if dislocation is even a risk with the surgical techniques used nowadays? Certainly much lower than in the past, and doing plenty of rehab will improve your results.
I can also suggest that getting it done before you become totally crippled is a good thing, as its really hard to get muscles working again once they've wasted away.
Apart from being pain-free and more mobile than I'd been in ages; it's also nice not to have people regularly asking whether I'd crashed and hurt myself, as I hobbled up the beach after a kite session!

I wouldn't expect any problems at all. Maybe light wind water starting could be an issue. My friends who have had a replacement don't even thing about it any longer.

Hello, KeshaS,

You need to catch up to Flinty at Green Point or Ricketts to discuss, because he's had both hips replaced and is a little bit older than you. Currently wing dings, is extremely good and stays on the water for 2 to 3 hours. Can't remember if he had the first replacement when he was windsurfing.

There is a local windsurfing group that a Vicco might point you to (I'm not in it) and he might be contacted through that.

Hope this helps.

Hey Kesha S when you see your orthopaedic surgeon ask him if he does anterior minimally invasive surgery, I had 2 hips done this way I was home the next day the only rehab I had to do was walking, after 2 weeks, walking in a pool, no muscles were cut so no major rehab, I was back windsurfing in 8 weeks not going hard just cruising . The last one was done in Apr this year highly recommended this method.

read this about Scott Mckercher at Severnesails:
Windsurf MagazineMARK OF A CHAMPION: SCOTTY MCKERCHER

But of course,
You have to prepair for it, before and after surgery,
good luck,
with regards,
John

Read this about Scott Mckercher at Severnesails:
12/09/2022 Windsurf MagazineMARK OF A CHAMPION: SCOTTY MCKERCHER

But of course,
You have to prepair for it, before and after surgery,
good luck,
with regards,
John

Like Conan, I had anterior minimally invasive surgery nearly a decade ago when I was 51. I was windsurfing (without pushing it) again 5 weeks after surgery, and racing full on again in about 8-10 weeks. Never had a problem. It's better if you don't wait too long. If it gets too chronic, you lose fitness and recovery time.

I windsurf on Maui every day from May through November and then ski every day in the Rockies during the winters. I had one hip replaced about 17 years ago and the other one 10 years ago. I am now 73 and both hips are strong and pain-free. Windsurfing in strong winds and surf is going great; the only thing I can't do is uphaul a small board but I think that is true for many people over 70. Skiing is strong as ever except I avoid big icy moguls which again is true for most people over 70.
My type of replacement is a 'resurfacing', the same as Andy Murray the world-class tennis player. 99% of surgeons cannot perform this surgery and will bad mouth it so do your own research and consider talking to a resurfacing specialist to learn both sides of the story and the tradeoffs such as a much longer wait after resurfacing before returning to impact sports. Resurfacing can have a high failure rate if not performed by one of the few top specialists in the world. I chose resurfacing for a few reasons. After a standard THR (total hip replacement) the bone density of the femur will gradually decrease by up to 15% which can lead to fractures whereas after a resurfacing the bone density of the femur usually increases by 5-10%. I have seen a few dislocations in skiers with a THR which is directly related to the smaller size of the replaced femoral head. Many believe that the anterior surgical approach can reduce the risk of THR dislocations but can rarely lead to some nerve or muscle damage so that is something for you to research. Dislocations are not an issue with resurfacing because the replaced head size is the same as your original hip.
I had a friend on Maui who was a serious slalom racer. He had two THRs fail in three years and each had to be redone. After the third replacement, he had to give up windsurfing. You might want to ask the surgeons whether they use cement to anchor the parts or whether they use bone ingrowth where your bone grows into the prostheses and becomes a part of it. Many believe that cement can break down over time when exposed to high-impact sports (like sailing across wind chop at full speed.)
My main advice is to do your own research, talk to a few different surgeons, and have the surgery done by a top specialist who only does hip replacements and can show you statistics of all his results. I traveled 5000 miles from Hawaii all the way to the East Coast of the US to have my surgeries and could not be happier.

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obijohn said..
My type of replacement is a 'resurfacing'
After a standard THR (total hip replacement) the bone density of the femur will gradually decrease by up to 15% which can lead to fractures whereas after a resurfacing the bone density of the femur usually increases by 5-10%. I have seen a few dislocations in skiers with a THR which is directly related to the smaller size of the replaced femoral head.
Many believe that the anterior surgical approach can reduce the risk of THR dislocations but can rarely lead to some nerve or muscle damage so that is something for you to research. Dislocations are not an issue with resurfacing because the replaced head size is the same as your original hip.
You might want to ask the surgeons whether they use cement to anchor the parts or whether they use bone ingrowth where your bone grows into the prostheses and becomes a part of it. Many believe that cement can break down over time when exposed to high-impact sports (like sailing across wind chop at full speed.)

Hi obijohn,
Thank you for sharing your story, and important points to think of:
resurfacing vs total replacement
anterior cut
cement vs bone in-growth

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Mark _australia said..
If people wavesail after replacements I think your concerns are ill founded. get the rehab strengthening done and i dunno why it could dislocate etc

Thank you for the encouragement, Mark _australia!

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ZeeGerman said..
I've seen people run, cycle, ski (including my father with one hip replacement in addition to both knees replaced), row, windsurf, play beach volleyball and become very good kitesurfers starting after the surgery, so I agree, that these are ill-founded concerns.
The hip mobility that you can achieve are easily sufficient for a beachstart.
From your description it sounds as if after having your hip replaced windsurfing will certainly not be the same again, but much better than anything you can currently dream of.

That sounds wonderful, ZeeGerman !

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keenagain said..
Back surfing after 10 - 12 weeks.
Also don't go too hard too fast with rehab. Slow and steady is best bet. You'll be back sailboarding pain free before you know it. Good luck.

Hi keenagain,
Yes, it's easy to go too hard too fast with rehab, done this when recovering after a hand fracture.
Very good point.
Surfing after 10 -12 weeks sounds amazing!

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Sandee said..
I can also suggest that getting it done before you become totally crippled is a good thing, as its really hard to get muscles working again once they've wasted away.
Apart from being pain-free and more mobile than I'd been in ages; it's also nice not to have people regularly asking whether I'd crashed and hurt myself, as I hobbled up the beach after a kite session!

Hi Sandee,
Some people say "defer hip replacement until you crawl".
Having heard your and other people's happy stories, I realised that to keep suffering is absolutely pointless.
"it's also nice not to have people regularly asking whether I'd crashed and hurt myself," - that is so true!

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remery said..
I wouldn't expect any problems at all. Maybe light wind water starting could be an issue.
My friends who have had a replacement don't even think about it any longer.

That's great!
For light wind water starting I can use the other leg

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WindmanV said..
Hello, KeshaS,

You need to catch up to Flinty at Green Point or Ricketts to discuss, because he's had both hips replaced and is a little bit older than you. Currently wing dings, is extremely good and stays on the water for 2 to 3 hours. Can't remember if he had the first replacement when he was windsurfing.

There is a local windsurfing group that a Vicco might point you to (I'm not in it) and he might be contacted through that.

Hope this helps.

Hi WindmanV,
I'll talk to Flinty. As a matter of fact, I sailed today in Green point, and might have seen the guy!

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conan said..
Hey Kesha S when you see your orthopaedic surgeon ask him if he does anterior minimally invasive surgery, I had 2 hips done this way I was home the next day the only rehab I had to do was walking, after 2 weeks, walking in a pool, no muscles were cut so no major rehab, I was back windsurfing in 8 weeks not going hard just cruising . The last one was done in Apr this year highly recommended this method.

Hi conan,
Yes, I am going for the anterior cut, for all the reasons you mentioned.
Being on the water after 8 weeks sounds amazing!

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LissaAUS443 said..
Like Conan, I had anterior minimally invasive surgery nearly a decade ago when I was 51. I was windsurfing (without pushing it) again 5 weeks after surgery, and racing full on again in about 8-10 weeks. Never had a problem. It's better if you don't wait too long. If it gets too chronic, you lose fitness and recovery time.

Hi LissaAUS443,

Yes, after hearing your and other people's stories I realised that waiting is pointless.
Windsurfing 5 weeks after surgery sounds like a miracle!

More than pointless, waiting is harmful. I waited until I crawled and as a result a literal cavity has formed into my femur head, which has prevented me from doing the hip resurfacing operation I had originally planned. I ended up doing the classical THR with a posterior approach and a large head (36 mm) which should avoid dislocations. I've been windsurfing a few times with no issues.

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Brienno said..
More than pointless, waiting is harmful. I waited until I crawled and as a result a literal cavity has formed into my femur head, which has prevented me from doing the hip resurfacing operation I had originally planned.

True, that!
Apparently having joint fluid forced into the bone when the cartilage is gone actually kills the bone; which will then become brittle and unfit for purpose, as well as painful!

Had total hip replaced 15 yrs ago, all good windsurfing. l avoid jumps going out and do not over do it.

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obijohn said..
I windsurf on Maui every day from May through November and then ski every day in the Rockies during the winters. I had one hip replaced about 17 years ago and the other one 10 years ago. I am now 73 and both hips are strong and pain-free. Windsurfing in strong winds and surf is going great; the only thing I can't do is uphaul a small board but I think that is true for many people over 70. Skiing is strong as ever except I avoid big icy moguls which again is true for most people over 70.
My type of replacement is a 'resurfacing', the same as Andy Murray the world-class tennis player. 99% of surgeons cannot perform this surgery and will bad mouth it so do your own research and consider talking to a resurfacing specialist to learn both sides of the story and the tradeoffs such as a much longer wait after resurfacing before returning to impact sports. Resurfacing can have a high failure rate if not performed by one of the few top specialists in the world. I chose resurfacing for a few reasons. After a standard THR (total hip replacement) the bone density of the femur will gradually decrease by up to 15% which can lead to fractures whereas after a resurfacing the bone density of the femur usually increases by 5-10%. I have seen a few dislocations in skiers with a THR which is directly related to the smaller size of the replaced femoral head. Many believe that the anterior surgical approach can reduce the risk of THR dislocations but can rarely lead to some nerve or muscle damage so that is something for you to research. Dislocations are not an issue with resurfacing because the replaced head size is the same as your original hip.
I had a friend on Maui who was a serious slalom racer. He had two THRs fail in three years and each had to be redone. After the third replacement, he had to give up windsurfing. You might want to ask the surgeons whether they use cement to anchor the parts or whether they use bone ingrowth where your bone grows into the prostheses and becomes a part of it. Many believe that cement can break down over time when exposed to high-impact sports (like sailing across wind chop at full speed.)
My main advice is to do your own research, talk to a few different surgeons, and have the surgery done by a top specialist who only does hip replacements and can show you statistics of all his results. I traveled 5000 miles from Hawaii all the way to the East Coast of the US to have my surgeries and could not be happier.

Hi obijohn,
I have done my research, and I am going for the resurfacing.
How soon after the surgery were you able to drive a car?
And go for a sail the first time?