How long will it take?

Katheryn of Houston, TX is a runner undergoing a hip replacement operation emailed and wants to know, "How long did it take between your surgery and the first steps you were able to run?"

I can answer your question Katheryn but because every case is so different it may have no bearing on another question, "How long will it take you to get back to running?"

How long did it take me to start running again?

A lot longer than necessary in retrospect.
After my hip replacement I put aside thoughts of running and focused on the first four steps of my post-surgery plan:

1. Walk with crutches
2. Walk outside with crutches
3. Walk with trekking poles
4. Climb to the top of Belmont Trig with Trekking Poles

These goals were in the forefront of my mind, not running, as I struggled with discomfort and the limitations that come with a new hip.

At 3 years

It wasn't until well after I had acheived my 4th goal and was walking freely without my trekking poles that I began to think more was possible. One day as I walked up a gravel trail I dared to do what I hadn't thought possible, I leaned forward and ran a few steps. The world didn't end and I tentatively ran a few more. I was venturing into the unknown.

At 5 years

I wasn't running confidently until about five years after my hip replacement. It took me that long to  experiment and develop a hip-safe running style. Had I known then what I know now I might have been running much earlier. Of course I had the advantage that I was not driven to run again quickly and placed no pressure on myself or my hip to perform before I was ready.

You may have read accounts of runners returning to running shortly after hip replacement surgery but this is not the norm and you should in no way expect this outcome. As I say, there is no typical time-line or reliable way of knowing how long it will take you to run again or even whether it will be possible. But as runners we all know what can be achieved by simply putting one foot in front of another.