Walking without a hip joint

@dzoneill, thank you for telling us more about your hip issue. You have overcome so much already and I have no doubt your perseverance will be empowering to some of our other members.

While my initial search has not found anyone who has experienced something exactly as you, but I will keep looking. I would like to invite some members who have had hip replacements and hip issues who will have some shared experiences with you in the meantime. @amber67, @beatricefay, @mnpat @grandmacheryl @popolopo @bobg10, @tallteri, and @sma1952 have all discussed hip replacements

Well here is my story. I had 5 different tries with a hip replacement each one resulting in infe tons. After many rounds of antibiotics and PICC lines and 6 months with NO hip they decided it was enough and would not go back in. Mayo Clinic said I was too young to live without a hip so they said they would attempt it one more time. The day before the surgery they called and said - for no particular rhyme or reason- that they would not be doing the surgery after all. I went 6 years with no hip and a 3 inch length discrepancy and shoe lifts. I too did not use a cane or walker. My gait was all messed up. I decided - after 6 years - to ask my doctor if he would consider one more try since we did a knee replacement and I had no complications from that. Well he agreed and I just passed the 4 week mark for my new hip. While I love that I am now even with both legs - I am in I so much pain from nerve endings that I cry most of the time. I am in Physical therapy three times a week and on Robaxin but let me tell you the pain can be unbearable. I see my doctor on Wednesday and I sure hope he reassures me that it will just take longer this time and that there is no permanent damage. I so cant use this leg - years of walking the way I did really messed up the muscles in this leg and I am unable to lift it up when I am lying on my back. and I am starting to worry. My doctor said they really had to pull and stretch to get the 3" length back so...... At this moment I would give back the hip and go without it again if I was told this pain wouldnt t go away!!!

@dzoneill I am sorry to hear of your situation and I can totally relate to your situation however mine came in a different form. In 2005 I was in a head on collision with a semi which caused my left hip to dislocate (along with numerous other traumatic injuries) they were able to put my hip back into place without surgery however a couple weeks later when doing physical therapy it became dislocated again. So the decision was made to put hardware in to try and stabilize it from dislocation, which worked until my femoral head became necrotic a year later . At that point they decided to do the first THR ...it was great ...but it only lasted two weeks and then I got Staph infection and it had to be removed. So then they put in a concrete hip spacer.. Needless to say we went back and forth like this 4 times over the course of 7 years ...everytime they put in a new hip I would eventually get MRSA/staph and they would remove it. Finally when hip replacement 4 became infected I was referred to Mayo Clinic .
Their recommendation was to take everything out and leave it out for at least a year. If I could go at least one year without infection they would try one last hip relplacement .
It was a long recovery process plus learning how to walk with a hanging hip but i actually stunned doctors a year later when i was walking without any assistive devices (i probably shouldve been using my cane at least lol) of course I had a major limp since my left leg was so much shorter but i made it work not only for one year but for 4 years!
Finally last year I went back and told them it was time, my lower back had been killing me so bad from my uneven gait.
June 6th I recieved my "Hail Mary" 5th total hip lol and I am so happy to say that so far (fingers crossed) i havent had any problems with infection. Im only 34 years old so I know its a life long battle but at this point in time thing are looking up!!

I am SO interested in walking w/out a hip….I would like to take mine out, but not sure how to walk w/out hip! 😳

Hello...I am so sorry you are going through all this pain and hope that with time and therapy it gets better and better. I had Girdlestone Resection (no hip) a year ago due to infection and was told I could never have another hip implant due to the extent of damage and infection. I do have a friend I met online that has had a Girdlestone for past 9 years and will be attempting a new hip implant next week. I pray all goes well for her and you as well. I would love to hear from you via private message maybe how you are doing? This long thread gets a little confusing for me at times. I'm 70 years old and live in Michigan.........Cindy

How much mobility do you have with that Girdlestone? I just saw my doctor today and guess I have to make friends with my cane bc I wi never walk normal again. I even feel a length dis repancy lately and he said yes possibly a 1/2" could occur. My pain is really easing up I went yesterday with no cane but still on Robaxin round the clock. How much pain are you in? And what part of Michigan?

Hello...It has been 1 year since my Girdlestone surgery in Feb 2022. I was in hospital for 3 weeks and when I left hospital, I could walk a short distance with a standard walker. At about 2 months I could get around with crutches some and learned to go up and down a few steps with them. It was probably 5 months before I could use a Rollator Walker at a more normal pace. I do a lot of exercises daily to build up my Quadricep muscles although I lost part of one Quadricep, IT Band and part of Gluteal Muscle in surgery due to severe infection. I can take a few steps by myself the past few weeks, but it's not pretty. I can get around good with crutches and forearm crutches and working on using just a cane these past few months, but haven't mastered that yet. I mostly use the rollator in the house and crutches when I go out. I do ride an upright exercise bike daily the past 2 months. I'm up to 10 miles a day and I've walked on treadmill a little bit holding onto to the bars. Scar tissue will fill in the empty space where there is no joint. My leg is 2-3 inches shorter on that side and my husband has glued old soles on my shoes to bring the height even. A lift inside your shoe is not enough. I really don't have much pain at all anymore. Just take Tylenol Arthritis pain med once or twice daily. I'm 70 years old. If your Mom didn't lose any muscle like I did, she may do even better than me when it comes to walking. It's a slow process and takes dedication, but it will continue to get better so tell her not to give up! Wishing your Mom all the best......Cindy

Hi Cindy - I've just joined this site from the UK and found your story helpful. I'm 76 and had to have my 1989 hip replacement removed when it half fell out taking some pelvic bone with it. Spent 8 weeks in hospital and am now walking with a tall walker on one good leg and the toes of the bad one. Consultant wary of inserting new hip replacement as my pelvic density is poor. Am awaiting shoe heightener to move onto crutches plus intensive physio. Thankfully no pain just aches if I've walked for too long around the house. Does your leg still feel as though you're walking on sponge / trampoline even with your built up shoe? Were you given specific exercises to do before you moved onto crutches?
All I have are post hip op ones for people who've actually had a new hip but I need to keep my muscle tone up so do them twice a day. Any advice gratefully received for moving forward. Thanks

Hello Jenny....I'm sorry to hear about your situation and wishing you a great recovery. I was also told never to attempt a revision with another implant as it was too risky for infection and fractures. I am actually doing very well and pleased with how far I've come in a year with my mobility. I do not have pain unless I overdo it, like when I rode my tricycle for the first time 2.5 miles with 35mph wind gusts! It was a warm sunny day out and I wanted to try my new trike. I took Tylenol and iced my leg the next day and was fine by the following day. My infection was so bad that the surgeon had to also remove part of my quadricep muscle (the vastus lateralis), my illiotibial band and part of my gluteal muscle due to necrotic dead tissue. After 8 weeks, the surgeon said I could start putting some weight on that leg, and gently increase amount as tolerated. Therapist told me 25%, then 50% etc, but it's hard to tell at that time how much you are doing. I just backed off if I was hurting too much. In the beginning, I just had shoe on y good foot and barefoot on my bad leg which evened me out pretty good for walking. Now my leg is 2.5-3 inches shorter so my husband has been glueing extra soles of shoes onto my existing shoe and he's getting very good at it! I have a lot of scar tissue built up now so that my leg feels pretty normal now when I walk. I still do daily exercises to keep my legs and thigh muscles strong. I ride upright exercise bike 8-10 miles a day, do squats, leg raises, bridges, glute exercises, etc. I always use ice on the area if I overdo it, never heat. I hope this info helps you and if you'd like to communicate in private, there is a way you can do it under the email envelope in your profile. I'd love to hear how your progress is going. Wishing you all the best in your recovery! Cindy

Thank you Cindy. I have to wait until August for my next appointment with the consultant when I'll have more x-rays and CT scans. Thankfully I escaped any infection though I did manage to catch Covid in hospital but mildly with no lasting after affects. I'm really hoping that my scar tissue will heal into a mass which is secure enough for a new implant. Its encouraging to read that it all feels pretty normal for you when you walk - do you use a stick or crutch? It sounds as though you're going from strength to strength which is a great motivation for me. Jenny