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As a global dressage equestrian competitor, Adrienne Pot has been a professional athlete for several years. Actually, she’s ranked 17th in the nation and has participated in numerous competitions around the world.?
“Dressage riding is essentially gymnastics for the horse and rider in which the two move as one using complex movements,” Pot says. “It’s both a physically and mentally demanding sport that requires years of training and practice.”
However, two years ago, the now 58-year-old from Barrington Hills, Ill. was experiencing significant hip pain that began to hinder her ability to compete.?
After other treatments such as cortisone injections and anti-inflammatory medications didn’t relieve the pain, Pot finally decided to undergo anterior hip replacement surgery in July 2013.?
Hip surgery began within the 1960s and it is one of the most successful operations in medicine, according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. More than 285,000 total hip replacements are performed each year in the usa.?
Dr. Shawn Palmer, an orthopedic surgeon at Advocate Sherman Hospital?in Elgin, Ill., performed the procedure.?
“With the anterior approach, I do not detach any muscles therefore the hip is instantly stable from the time of surgery,” Dr. Palmer says. “Adrienne was to riding her horse in a high level just eight weeks after surgery, which is truly remarkable after a hip replacement. If she’d have experienced the more invasive posterior approach, her recovery time would have been about 6 months. The anterior approach is my preference when ever I perform a hip replacement because of the benefits for patients.”??
health enews chatted with Pot about her experience and life after hip replacement surgery:?
Why did you decide to have hip replacement surgery?
I’m an expert athlete, so I’m used to feeling sore and working with the pain. However, my hip discomfort was extremely painful and caused me to have difficulty walking. I’m a very active person, but in the last year, all I needed to do was take a seat due to the pain.??
How has your lifetime improved after hip replacement surgery?
With my new hip, I feel like Used to do five years ago. I’m currently training for a winter competition in Florida and then get stronger each day. I’m to my active lifestyle of riding horses multiple times a day and taking part in other outdoor recreation.
