Chard, being 52 and a huge skeptic, I went searching for different alternatives to joint replacements, especially after seeing what happened to my father in law's partner. She now has a straight leg, because two knee replacements failed due to infection.

Remember too, most surgeons are now in medicine for the money, not just to give you a better quality of life.

I personally took up surfing 9 months ago to help with my knees and shoulders. I also went back to playing squash and took up Pilates. What most gym trainers forget, are the small support muscles that are required to position and strengthen joints. So you can have amazing biceps, but weak shoulders or poor posture because the shoulder muscles aren't the focus of the exercise.

Be aware though that going to any old Pilates class can also be just as bad. You need about three personal sessions to understand where you need work.

So, the results so far for me are that I've tossed the possibility of a shoulder re-construction due to rotator cuff problems and my left knee will now support all my weight into a half squat, plus I can walk without pain.

Hopefully your problems aren't too far gone and you can find a good method of strengthening your knees, sorry I don't know anyone on the Central Coast that can help.

Cheers.
Michael

Seems to be a lot of luck with this replacement business. My sister had a knee replacement at the sports medicine centre in Adelaide, nick named the Porsche medical centre because the surgeon is big in Porsche cup racing. Before the op she could hardly walk. 3 days after the op she was walking perfectly, no pain and this continued for several months. Then she had problems with it jamming up and had to go back and have a part replaced. Seems there was a bad batch of joints. It seems that this place in Adelaide usually has excellent results.
Locally a mate of mine just had the job done in Sydney about a month ago. He is still in pain and regrets having the job done. He can just get around with the aid of a stick.
No idea on hip joints.

The Razor said...

There's no way I would be going near a squash court if I had dodgy knees or hips. My mate had to have a hip replacement at 45 yrs and the surgeon said squash is bad for the body.

Squash, like any other sport IS bad for the body, ONLY if you don't stretch before and after as well as do other excercise to support the body so that you can play the sport. Squash is no different to the thrust and parry of sword fighting in battle and soldiers spent many hours training for battle, just as you need to for squash. Once you have trained sufficiently to play correctly, squash is brilliant for core strength and cardio. However, if you work in an office 5 days a week and do nothing except play squash once a week, it will kill you, quite slowly from the ankles up.

My physio, chiro and doctor all said I should give up squash, surfing and riding dirt bikes..... they were all bad for knees, back, arms, neck..... the list goes on. If I had listened to them, I would be reduced to moderat walking and Pilates and still having to see them on a regular basis and pay their fees, on a regular basis. I don't see any of them any more.

One of "my mates" gave up squash at 45 too, because his knees were shot. In actual fact, he hated being beaten every game because he was too fat and lazy to keep on top of his game. Nothing wrong with his knees that a bit of weight loss and exercise wouldn't have cured.

Of course, this is my personal result, and other people may vary. I only offer my experience as part of the very careful research one should do before embarking on major surgery.

Michael

Im 54 have had both hips replaced about 3 years ago about 3 months apart been surfing and sailing for over 40 years before the replacements. Sill surf now and sail monos and multis. Ilive on the sunshine coast, if you want to chat contact me at [email protected] happy to answer any questions

Just found out yesterday that one of the locals with a yacht on a mooring near mine has had both hip joints replaced when he was 42! He is up the coast at Yamba at the moment cruising, preparing to head off to Lord Howe.

Meanwhile his next door neighbour, whom I mentioned earlier having problems after a knee job is now mobile and in much less pain. He is much more positive with his attitude which is good.