Heal Your Hips: How to Prevent Hip Surgery -- and What to Do If You Need It Paperback – June 14, 1999

I have on and off hip pain (I am 41). I was really beginning to worry about it, but after reading this book, I now know that there are things I can do about my hip pain. As they say, knowledge is power. I like the fact that this book concentrates on exercises we can do (with good pictures). It also contains a lot of really good advice, like using ice to dampen pain. The author also suggests using hot alternated with cold treatment, which evidently "shocks" the tissue around the joint (through making the blood vessels and veins contract and then expand, thus bringning in needed blood to the joint area). This is the only book I know that just concentrates on hip pain. I like the fact that the author doesn't assume that osteoarthritis is an "old person's disease" necessarily. The books seems focused on anyone with hip pain, including younger athletes. This is an optimistic book that can give us hope for improvement. The discussion of the negative cycles that can result (pain, resulting in less movement, which brings more joint problems, resulting in a downward spiral), and the positive cycles (more exercise of the right kind, which helps the joint, which then reduces pain, and makes us more mobile) was for me extremely helpful.

This book is a Godsend. I was diagnosed with a labral tear via MRI with contrast & possible hip impingement. Just a few weeks ago when I had the MRI I had a huge flare up! I was limping and in a lot of pain. After a few weeks of swimming & water exercises again I'm regaining my mobility and range of motion. I wish I had known about this book when I first got injured! Swimming/water workout has many benefits from decreasing inflammation, increasing circulation = healing faster. On top of this, I would like to also mention the following have also helped my recovery:1) acupuncture2) trigger point therapy3) Somatics4) constructive rest5) glucosamine6) gokhale methodHope this helps! I truly believe your body can heal itself and surgery should be the last resort possible since it's not 100% guaranteed and often a temporary fix to what is sourced from muscular imbalance and hip instability. Happy healing! P.S. I just started a blog about my hip recovery process WITHOUT surgery! If you're interested, you can find it here, https://happyhip.wordpress.com. :)

HIGHLY RECOMMEND! I was at my wit's end with a hip stress fracture, moderate arthritis, bone spurs and LOTS of non-stop pain, felt depressed and hopeless...after 6 months of 24 hour pain the MRI revealed my issues and the surgeon pressed me to go for a hip replacement saying "well, you're going to need one anyway - SOMEDAY"....I decided against it and explored my options including this book - the book is excellent in terms of describing hip mechanics, what can go wrong, and how to make it right - I identified with it 100%. I have been a pool member for years so water access was easy for me....After a couple of months I am finally seeing results, feeling my hip free up, starting to get my gait back, starting to feel life and health come back...it's a process, but so is recovering from hip surgery! SO GLAD I FOUND THIS BOOK - GO FOR IT! YOU WON'T REGRET IT!.....

I was looking for help with what to do to alleviate hip pain due to loss of cartilage, hoping to either delay or prepare for surgery. Also I hoped to learn more about the mechanics of the hip joint and what to expect if surgery is necessary. This book is perfect. One downside is that the book is over ten years old and could probably be updated. Also,the authors, as Californians seem to assume that everyone has easy access to a swimming pool. I laminated the water exercises and got help from a trainer in adapting them so I could work out in the health club hot tub.The result is a lower level of pain and growing strength. My over worked orthopedic doctor could never have provided this amount of detail and array of options in office visits.

October 6, 2007My nephew who is an MD/PhD and specializes in joints and their movement recommended this book to me. It is fantastic and I am very glad that I read it before my upcoming total hip replacement. The information is medically solid, clearly written, and easy to follow. The book will be just as valuable after my surgery as before and should help in my recovery. One of the most important, common-sense pieces of information in the book concerns excess weight and the impact on joints. Whether you are having hip problems or you wish to avoid future problems this is an excellent book and I highly recommend it.

I found this book to be informative. Much of it is about stretching and strengthening exercise programs in the pool and on land. I would have liked to had have more in-depth information on soft tissue issues (such as tendonitis, capsulitis, psoas). The best thing about this book is that it exists at all, as I am finding it very difficult to locate books on restoring hip health.

The book was recommended to me, so I got it.I am a young woman who has been dealing with bilateral FAI and labral tears in my hips since 3 years. I did not see FAI mentioned at all and some of the advice given for post operative care I completely disagree with.I have had two arthroscopic hip surgeries and recoveries, so I do know one or two things about hospital stays, surgeries and PO care.The book is great for people who just got diagnosed with hip issues though. It is a good introduction into the whole "hip joint" world.I have dealt with my condition for such a long time that I have accumalated a decent medical knowledge over time that I feel too advanced for the book. I did not really get that much out of it.

I was able to delay hip surgery due to the exercises in this book. I have hip arthritis, but I was in a bike accident and going to need to surgery anyway. I am using the techniques to save my other hip. the only problem with the book is the part about the surgery. It is 15+ years out of date. The technique described is rarely ever used. It has improved dramatically. I wish the author would update that section.

I got my copy for my husband on kindle. He can now write the review.. "My only reservation is that I would wish to photocopy some of the pages with exercises for in pool work. Very hard to take Kindle poolside! So buy the book not the kindle in this case!What I liked about this book is the sheer information and hope that the reader derives from it. I have suffered with hip pain for about 3 years and had it confirmed about 9 months ago that I have arthritis in my right hip. (I had been a lifelong distance runner and competitor with over 50,000 miles clocked up, much of that running on hard surface. So looking back I guess I got what I deserved, but when one is younger weaknesses and failures are for lesser mortals! Now I know better :) ) I had hospital xrays and 2 physio sessions with the hospital Yes my right hip was quite badly worn, but I must continue to exercise within sensible parameters.. and do the physio exercises every day. I did these ever since as instructed. I did not feel much lessening of disability, I no longer ran, and even walking a mile or two left me quite disabled. I walked with a limp. But I was still able to cycle and spin in the local gym. But I needed over the counter pain killers and ibuprofen more than 50% of my days.Then suddenly there was an improvement... hardly limping at all, next to no need for pain relief and more settled perception of my "problem". Also I bought the book in the last couple of months... and here is the important conclusion I learnt that it could be possible to avoid what I had assumed to be the inevitable, namely a consistent downhill process until unavoidable hip replacement. The book pointed me to a truth that no doctor had told me...that yes the circle of disability caused by the pain leads to using the joint less and thus you use the joint less and so on until you have lost a lot of mobility. BUT that this process is not inevitable and that if righted with proper exercise strategies the circle of disability can be turned back into a circle of ability. I think that by following my physio' s advice and by keeping active I had effected a reversal (which I had not been led to expect.) I do not mean a cure, and I still do not run... but my life has improved so much. The book explains that, depending on the state and stage of one's condition, full replacement, some surgery, or even no need for replacement are all possibles. And this has been very motivating for me. I still am active and able to have regular and quite vigorous cardio exercise (which I dreaded the likelihood of losing at my now age of 62). I may have "caught" the condition early enough to manage it for life or a longer period without hip replacement if I use my common sense. Fortunately I enjoy spinning on the bike- I can do a vigorous 45 minute session 4 x a week and replicate the physiological effects of a good run training session. I also do weight training in the gym. Sensible and not over the top stuff! And I am still challenged by needing to maintain daily exercises in addition to cardio vascular work. In other words, yes I have aged, I have had some limitations, but at least I still feel in charge of my fate rather than just have to take a drastic decline. I feel for me the value of the book is the insight which it gave me which the doctors and hospital was not able nor had the time to give me. So although I have not followed the book text book style I certainly gained a Eureka moment from it and great motivation. I accept I may still hit the brick wall and this posting could be proven a bit over optimistic, but I did think it was all going to be bad news anyway, so in a sense I will have lost nothing. I am not a great water sports person, but next phase is to try the water exercises. Finally, I have learnt ageing, though a pain, does lead to wisdom, patience and new perceptions. So I cannot run a 4 minute mile any more, so what, I still have a hell of a lot of good and meaning in this stage of my existence"

not that informative at all really

This book is easy to read and contains some very useful exercises for strengthening and stretching legs and hips. Would recommend.

click pop fixed now

Great