Chances are when Shakira sang, “My hips don’t lie and I am starting to feel it’s right,” she wasn’t contemplating hip replacement.
The thought never crossed the mind of 65-year-old Deborah Patterson, either. That is until the unbearable pain of arthritis settled in her left hip, infringing upon her life-long passion for staying healthy as a runner, cyclist and hiker.
The pain wasn’t a lie – it was a signal.
But the thought of hip replacement made this PhD geologist feel old – really old. She delayed it as long as she could.
“I tried to do anything short of a surgical solution,” she said. “I bought different walking shoes. I exercised more. I applied heat. I did everything I could to manage the symptoms myself.”
Deborah is part of the baby boom generation: 76 million people born between 1946 and 1964. Exercise – for both fun and health – has been a hallmark of this cohort since they make hula hooping a craze in the the 1950’s and 60’s.
Typical of her age group, Deborah wasn’t going to let a painful hip joint stop her from living the active life to which she’d become accustomed.
For more information on orthopedics services with the Connecticut Orthopaedic Institute, please call 1.855.HHC.HERE (1.855.442.4373)