Total hip arthroplasty. Can the patient play sports again?

To analyze the effect of athletic involvement on total hip replacements, a questionnaire was sent to all of our total hip patients with at least a 3-year follow up. Patients were asked to list the type, degree, and frequency of sports participation before and after surgery, along with any problems they encountered upon returning to active sports. The patients who responded were then placed in one of two groups, participant or non-participant, for each sport we encountered, and were statistically compared with respect to clinical analysis. The population showed a significant decrease in all forms of activity after surgery, except bicycling; yet more returned to an active sport than did not. No correlation existed between involvement in a sport and the variables we tested. We concluded that intelligent participation in activities such as walking, golf, or bowling where no excess load was placed on the total hip, had no influence on the outcome of a total hip replacement.