I am 67 year old, female, overweight and two years ago (January 2010) was diagnosed with osteoarthritis in my right hip joint. In spite of considerable efforts by myself to keep active, walking and climbing stairs gradually became more and more difficult, and I became resigned to day-time television, a regime of pain-killers and the possibility of a hip replacement operation at some time in the future.
I first consulted Carl Holland, a physiotherapist at Drummond Clinic in June last year (2011) when he made an assessment of the difficulties I was experiencing. In addition to some physiotherapy to help alleviate the pain, Carl took the time to show me a few exercises, which I could easily do at home to improve posture and leg movement, thus enabling a management process to begin.
Two weeks later I could already see and feel a real difference. I used pain killers less often and began to enjoy walking again. After two or three more physiotherapy sessions Carl also suggested other activities I could try such as swimming and yoga, both of which have been beneficial.
Eight months on and I’m now walking 3-4 miles twice a week, have joined the Nordic Walking group run by the clinic and plan to complete some charity walks in the Summer. As a bonus I am slowly losing weight and have now started using a gym to continue this process.
The staff at Drummond Clinic work as a team and with their encouragement and Carl’s expertise my zest for life has returned triplefold, and I cannot thank them enough. Yes, my hip is still painful at times, and it is possible that I will need a hip replacement operation in the future.
If I do, I know where I shall be going for post-op physiotherapy!