Conditions + Treatments
Hip Injury/Condition
Hip Replacement
It all began ten years ago. I slipped and fell inside my son’s school. I saw my primary care physician who prescribed physical therapy, but my hip continued to bother me.
Three years later, I realized that I had started walking differently and my body even adapted to run in a strange way. I saw an orthopedic physician in Chattanooga where I live. He recommended that I have my hip replaced.
As a competitive runner, it was not the news that I wanted to face. I felt I was too young to have my hip replaced and wanted to delay the surgery for as long as I could. I went onto to complete 32 races in 2019, but now felt that I had cashed out what was left of my hip. My lower back was hurting and out of alignment due to adapting to the hip pain.
I researched surgeons online for quite a while and that is how I decided to go see Dr. Benton Emblom at Andrews Sports Medicine in Birmingham. His technique is renowned. My goal was to have a hip that would allow me to still run and not just walk.
I called Andrews Sports Medicine and scheduled an appointment. I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Emblem’s scheduler, Annette, who was very understanding in coordinating my appointments on the same day at the Birmingham office since I was traveling out of state.
Initially, I saw Dr. Monte Ketchum, non-surgical sports medicine and orthopedic physician, for my evaluation. He reviewed my x-ray, consulted with Dr. Emblom and then ordered an MRI the same day. Once my MRI was completed, Dr. Emblom saw me. Dr. Emblom told me that he felt confident that he had a solution to my problem. He did confirm that I needed to have a total hip replacement. I was nervous about the surgery, but Dr. Emblom’s team was great to work with in coordinating everything for me.
Because I was traveling from out of state, Dr. Emblom’s team was accommodating in scheduling my pre-op the day before surgery. My same-day surgery was a success. I literally woke up from surgery walking with no pain, and was discharge the same day as my surgery. I could not believe the immediate result. I began physical therapy in Birmingham for a few days and then returned to Chattanooga to continue therapy locally. Dr. Emblom advised me to cross train to reduce the pounding on my hip. This would help extend the life of my replacement.
So here I am, in my forties with a total hip replacement. However, the story does not end there. Just 10 ½ weeks after my surgery, I participated in my first Spartan race of the season in Nevada. I ran three ½ miles with 24 obstacles and placed 8th. I did quite well. My hip felt great. I am now pain free and can do all the fitness activities that I love without pain.
Dr. Benton Emblom did an absolutely awesome job on replacing my hip. It was a game changer in my athletic abilities. His staff and all the folks at Andrews Sports Medicine were great through the entire process. I certainly hope I do not have any more orthopedic injuries in the future, but if I do, there is no other surgeon I would go see other than Dr. Benton Emblom.
