The average age for a total hip replacement in the United States is approximately 65 years old. However, many people are electing to have the procedure earlier in life due to improved implant durability and the desire to maintain active lifestyles.
The average age for a total hip replacement in the United States is approximately 65 years old. However, many people are electing to have the procedure earlier in life due to improved implant durability and the desire to maintain active lifestyles.
Evelyn Schaefer of Edmond is one of those people. She had her first hip replacement at 59 years old, then her second at 63.
“I was playing tennis and just constantly had a hip problem,” she explains. “I put it off for a long time. I was only in my 50s, I thought I’m way too young to have anything seriously wrong.”
“Evelyn was one of those unique patients that’s young and active and likes to do a lot of different things. Both of her hips were really bothering her and limiting what she was able to do,” says David Rhodes, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon at INTEGRIS Health Medical Group Orthopedics Edmond. “I always tell my patients if they feel like they can’t do the things they love anymore because of their joint pain, then it is possibly time to do something about it.”
Evelyn lives a very active life. She plays tennis, does yoga, skis and likes to hike. She wasn’t ready to give any of that up, so she opted for surgery. She says the recovery was hard work, but the outcome was totally worth it. “It does take a lot of physical therapy,” Schaefer admits. She underwent therapy at INTEGRIS Health Jim Thorpe Rehabilitation. “I would advise anyone who has hip surgery to pay attention to the physical therapist because that is the difference between success and failure when it comes to recovering from hip surgery.”
Rhodes says Evelyn is a perfect example of reclaiming your life through hip replacement surgery. “She hiked the Grand Canyon and came back and gave me a picture of her standing out over the edge. She’s got her arms up over her head and is back doing all the things she was temporarily unable to do.” Click here to watch video story.
He continues, “She recently hiked the Manitou Incline in Colorado Springs. If you don’t know what that is, you have to look it up because it’s super tough. It’s basically this vertical climb up a mountain - like thousands of steps. I get chills thinking about it. It is pretty cool that she was able to do that.”
Evelyn agrees. “After surgery, Dr. Rhodes told me to go out and live my life. I feel like I’m doing more now than I did seven years ago before all of this started. I really have no limitations.”
At INTEGRIS Health Orthopedics, our fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeons and specialists across the state provide expert care, compassionate support and will work with you to create a personalized treatment plan tailored to your needs.
