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A few times a year I get emails from people who have recently had joint replacements asking my advice on if it's okay if they start running again. This is what I usually say, would love some input from people who actually know something about joint replacements: (1/n)
- I'm not a medical doctor and am not qualified to dispense medical advice, so please view whatever I say through the lens of science: it's the typical/average result, which may not generalize to an individual (2/n)
- Most surgeons advise against running after joint replacement, so if your surgeon is saying this, that's not unusual and is well-intentioned, they are trying to reduce your odds of a revision surgery which is often less successful than the original surgery. (3/n)
- A replacement can fail not just because the replacement itself breaks/cracks/etc., but because the bone it's cemented to or the bone/replacement interface fails. These are both probably more common that the replacement itself failing. (4/n)
- Bones can adapt to those stresses but that ability diminishes with age and menopause. Essentially any joint replacement can be "overused" and will need revision/replacement eventually. (5/n)
- So that's the key thing to get comfortable with if you return to running (it may accelerate the timeline of revision surgery) and is the key conversation to have with your doctor(s): (6/n)
- If you start running again and need a revision surgery during your lifetime, how feasible is that surgery, how likely is it to be successful, could it compromise your mobility late in life and are you okay with trading that for the benefits of running now? (7/7)
