A zillion questions!

[Guest guest]

I am 47, male, and have been a very active distance runner and racer

for the past 15 years (mostly 5Ks, but also 14 marathons including

Boston). I have been bothered with osteoarthritis in both hips for

all of that time, although it mainly restricted movement in my legs

other than that assosicated with running.

This past winter, a pressures from work and school forced me to all

but stop running for 2 months (I had been running 30-50 miles a week

for the past 15 years). I gained 20 pounds during that time and

when I finally had a chance to start running again, the arthritis

really hit hard. My normal running stride was affected and the pain

was much more than it had ever been before.

I went to an orthopedic surgeon and he diagnosed me with " fairly

advanced degenerative hip disease. " He gave me Tramadol for the

pain and suggested glucosamine, but he said that for the long term

hip replacement was my only alternative.

I am trying to learn as much as I can about my options and I

immediately found the subject of hip resurfacing versus THR. I have

a zillion questions, but I will start with just a couple.

1. Running is very important to me for health, weight, and

competitive reasons. Can one run and race with THR? With

resurfacing? I have seen some posts here related to running, but I

really want to be able to do more than jog. I run (when I am in

shape) 18:30 5Ks and around 3:10 marathons. I know I am perhaps

asking for the impossible, but I am sure you will tell me if I am

2. Are there new advances in hip resurfacing/replacement on the

horizon? I can hold off on surgery for at least a couple of years

(I hope) and wonder if anything better is coming.

Thanks for any information you can provide!