Read on: danhwilliams.com

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Amanda underwent Hip replacement age 59.

Repeated impact had torn Amanda’s labrum
That torn labrum flicked in and out of her hip joint.
 
On asking if her hip clicks, deep in the groin, she said:

‘oh yeah, quite loudly sometimes. It has for as long as I can remember’.

If a normal, well-functioning labrum aids lubrication of the hip..
Then a torn labrum impairs lubrication.
 
Like a poorly lubricated machine part..
Joint cartilage is subject to more stress + higher peak force.
 
Furthermore, as the bump is forced beyond the labrum into the socket
..it directly damages the lining cartilage.
 
Splits in Amanda’s cartilage let joint fluid pump into the underlying bone
..with the same high force that is transmitted through the hip.
 
Asking how much force points to that other contributing factor..


Amanda's bodyweight

Amanda had put on bodyweight..

Bodyweight is an emotive subject.
So, I talk to my patients about
..its effect on the joint.

 
Amanda was +25kg overweight.
That doesn't look that bad written down.
What's in a few kilograms..?

In Newsletter #028 we went into detail, but here's the long and short of it..

Being 1-stone OVERWEIGHT (14lbs or 6kg) is like hitting our joints with a 5-stone mallet (70lb or 30kg) through the 1 to 3 MILLION steps we take each year.

That is a lot..


AND Amanda's hip is hammered by 4x that force.
Perhaps 450kg of force total with every step,
..or nearly half a metric tonne.

Forces around the hip REALLY multiply up..


That's the seasaw schematic..
Muscles closer to the joint pull with much more force.
(Click here or on the pic for a full 8-page explainer)

So..

Her joint fluid is under high pressure.
It's pumped with every step through cracks
..in the lining cartilage of her hip.

Deforming the underlying bone, leading to..
Painful cysts in the bone around the socket.

So..

Amanda is contending with:

• General ⬆ force through her hip
• Specific changes in her hip from ⬆load
• ⬆Whole-body inflammation (see also #028)

A torn labrum, some abnormal cartilage and a cyst amount to moderate changes of osteoarthritis..

Not the worst that I’ve seen by a long way..


What do I take away from this..?

Well, for me, it's Awareness (again)..

💥  Forces through my hip really multiply up
⚖️  So I meausre my bodyweight most mornings
🎯  That helps me stick to my bodyweight target.

If I put on a couple of kilograms
My right hip starts to complain..
(Christmas cake has a lot to answer for)

So, I pay attention, catch it early, take action.