“I was sincere in doing the exercises, and I think that was the most important part of my recovery,” Michael says. “I struggled to do them on the first day, but three days later, it was easier.”
Back in Action: Manville Man Goes From Hip Replacement Surgery to Skiing in Three Months
Go ahead. Try to keep up with Michael D. At age 73, Michael is always on the go. The Manville resident runs 5K races. He skis. And he continues to work full-time as a certified industrial hygienist in New York City.
A former high school football and baseball player, Michael has kept himself in peak shape. But three years ago, something changed. He was competing in a 5K run when he noticed some discomfort in his left hip. A few months later, his hip became so sore that he had to buy a cane. “My walk from Penn Station to my office—which normally takes 15 minutes—now took me 45 minutes,” he says.
Slowing down isn’t an option for Michael. That’s why he sought help from a doctor he trusted: James Tovey, MD, a board-certified orthopedic surgeon at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) Somerset and a member of the RWJBarnabas Health Medical Group. “Dr. Tovey had done my wife’s knee replacement a few years earlier,” Michael says. “He seemed very attentive, careful and sincere. A real down-to-earth person. I liked him a lot.”
Finding Answers
At Michael’s first appointment, Dr. Tovey could see that Michael was in considerable pain and that it was starting to affect his quality of life. An X-ray revealed that Michael had developed osteoarthritis. “He actually had it in both of his hip joints, but only his left hip was hurting him,” Dr. Tovey says.
To treat the pain, Dr. Tovey first recommended conservative treatments, including over-the-counter pain medicine and physical therapy. When they didn’t provide relief, he tried a corticosteroid injection to reduce inflammation. “But the shot only worked for a month,” Michael says.
By then, Michael’s pain was so bad that he struggled going up and down stairs, putting on socks and shoes, and sleeping through the night. “That’s when he turned to me and said, let’s do the surgery,” Dr. Tovey says.
The Road to Recovery
Dr. Tovey performed Michael’s total hip replacement procedure at RWJUH Somerset. Michael returned home the next day. Soon after, he began rehabbing his new hip at RWJUH Somerset’s Sports Physical Therapy at TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater.
“I was sincere in doing the exercises, and I think that was the most important part of my recovery,” Michael says. “I struggled to do them on the first day, but three days later, it was easier.” Michael’s early success in PT encouraged him to keep striving for more. “If they told me to do 20 [repetitions], I’d try to do 50,” he says.
His dedication paid off. Michael’s recovery went faster than expected, and less than three months after the surgery, Michael was skiing in Killington, Vermont. “I stayed on the kiddie slopes, but I could use my hips just fine,” he says.
Last fall, Michael and his new left hip celebrated two more milestones. First was the completion of a Turkey Trot 5K in Flemington. Next came a chance to speak at RWJUH Somerset’s Joint Surgery Patient Reunion Dinner, where Michael reunited with his caregivers and shared his story. “I even went back to Killington for Christmas, and this time I was on the expert slopes,” he says.
While Michael’s motivation contributed to his fast recovery, so did his overall well-being prior to surgery. “Aside from his pain, Michael was in good physical shape,” Dr. Tovey explains. “His years of staying active kept his muscles toned and gave him flexibility. Patients like him tend to recover faster from any type of total joint replacement procedure.”
To learn more about orthopedic services at RWJBarnabas Health or to find a physician, visit https://www.rwjbh.org/ortho.