[.ca] Heal Your Hips: How to Prevent Hip Surgery-and What to ... (ISBN 0471249971)

From Amazon.com:
Orthopedic surgeon Robert Klapper, M.D., loves to operate, but he'd rather help you avoid hip surgery. Klapper, Medical Director of Cedars-Sinai Orthopedic Associates, has teamed up with Lynda Huey, who specializes in water rehabilitation and training programs with clients such as Wilt Chamberlain. In Heal Your Hips, they present a self-help program for pain relief. The first program consists of 13 illustrated exercises, one minute apiece. Eight are done in the pool; the others in a carpeted room. Next, the authors cover healthy and unhealthy hips in a clear and spirited style (e.g., healthy hips work like two ice cubes rubbing together--slippery, with no friction); the main causes of hip problems; and medical tests. You learn how to take an active role in getting the right diagnosis, what to do for less pain, and how to get started with pool exercise. Then the book presents both deep-water and shallow-water aquatic therapy exercises to avoid or recuperate from hip surgery, and stretches to do on land. If you have had hip surgery or you want to avoid it, this book will be a valuable guide. The book is clearly illustrated with photographs. --Joan Price

What 3 ortho surgeons didn't tell me:
The other reviewer may have had all this information available from her doctor, but that hasn't been my experience. I am 40, suffering from osteoarthritis due to hip dysplasia, and have basically been told to just tough it out and take a lot of painkillers for the next 10 years, and accept reduced mobility as I try to parent my young children. Instead I found this book, and my painkiller consumption has gone down from codeine and mobicox daily to only a couple of aspirin every few days, if that. I sleep better at night. Doctors who evaluate my condition can't believe the degree of flexibility and strength I have in the joint, given what my x-ray looks like. Water exercise has been an incredible miracle, and as a bonus, I am looking more toned than I have in years. My only disappointment is that Dr. Klapper mentions dysplasia as a cause of arthritis, but does not say anything about it, except that "if you have it, you probably already know it." Except that I didn't. The problem did not surface until I had gone through two pregnancies and was having pain and joint instability for the first time in my life. If you don't like exercising on your own, by all means sign up for an aquafit class, and you will find most of the exercises in here covered in it, but this book is still worth every cent for what you learn about using water to control your pain and maintain your mobility and your lifestyle. I am looking forward to using it for "pre-hab" and rehab when I do decide to have surgery for my arthritic hip, hopefully some (many) years from now. I can't believe that hip surgeons are not shoving this book into the hands of patients for that reason alone. Kathy

Very informative and easy to read:
I have had 1 hip replaced and discovered the great value of water therapy during my rehab. Since my other hip will eventually have to be done also, I liked the emphasis on using the exercises to also strengthen the "good" hip. The book is well written and the illustrations are excellent.

Save your money!:
All this information is on the internet or available from your doctor. After many years of struggling with hip pain the water exercises are no surprise. Nothing in the book is new. I was very disappointed, if I could do the exercises listed, I wouldn't need the book. Good luck to all of you, go to the local Y or swim therapy, put the money to good use for a good therapist, hips are not do it yourself.

Physiotherapist's Perspective:
This is a wonderful book for people with osteoarthritis. Although it may be possible to get this info from other sources, it is nice to have it all in one place. The reality is that most people's doctors do not take the time to explain in this level of detail. Sometimes therapists and trainers may not be experienced in dealing with clients with severe arthritis. The most important keys to managing arthritis are self management and education. This book is a fabulous resource. Of course, it may not be appropriate for all people, and there are those who will require a bit more 'hands-on' treatment. But it is an excellent starting place...

A must for those faced with hip injuries or DJD:
I'm 38 and very active. After fracturing the posterior lip of my right acetabulum in a mountain bike crash, i thought my hip was healed and 6 months later I was back in the gym working out and getting strong. That is until one day I suffered an anterior post traumatic injury of the same hip, which instantly turned me into a limpin gimp. After going through the motions of x-rays/bone scans/MRIs, and dealing with the prospects of AVN, early hip replacement, and a young conventionally trained orthopedic surgeon, that worked for a large California HMO (the mane starts with a K) I decided to research alternatives to an open procedure, that the K-suregeon was more than ready to perform, which may or may not have helped me, but would've guaranteed me a long recovery and allot of pain. That's when I found Dr. Klapper. He evaluated my condition, felt I had a good case of arthritis setting in, among other things, and that I'd be a candidate for arthroscopic surgery to clean up the hip joint, and relieve the pain further. But before he'd agree to that he insisted that I go to PT, and purchase his very inexpensive book to see how much it would help heal the hip in a non-invasive manner. With no exaggeration, by the 3rd time I'd gone through what I thought were the most benign, SIMPLE land exercises I started to regain stability in my hip which had been killing me with every step, kept me close to home, stopped me from venturing too far from the car, and worrying me for months on end. It's been 5 months of work outs now and I'm getting more, and more back to normal after every workout. Though I will still have the scope surgery performed, I can't praise this book enough on how it helped me regain mobility, strength, and brought back my confidence. If you have a hip problem, BUY THIS BOOK, it gave me back a HUGE chunk of my normal active life style.