Tennis player Andy Murray’s solution to hip pain is a source of hope for patients around the world and his recovery challenges the limits of current medicine. I just saw his appearance at the Indian Wells ATP in the US (October 2021), and I was amazed to see him play so well! Andy Murray’s disease is called femuracetabular impingement and is a syndrome characterized by injury to the hip joint, which is the part of the pelvis where the femur fits. This disease is what affected our greatest Brazilian tennis player Gustavo “Guga” Cuerton in the past and we see today that when the surface enters an advanced process of degeneration, it can develop into joint wear , and depending on the case, its replacement by a prosthesis.
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Andy Murray returns to high-performance sport after fitting a metal hip prosthesis – Photo: Getty Images
But what I have come to show you in this article is just how amazing Orthopedics is. Its development suggests that similar cases of injuries, when separated in time, can develop in different ways. In our case of Guga the result was his retirement in 2008. But today, 13 years later, we see that It is now possible to return to high performance even after hip replacement.
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The fact that a high-level athlete’s injury heals so quickly may not even come as a surprise. Although Given the marked wear of the joint, Murray’s case was serious., in addition to the previously diagnosed effect resulting in high-performance play.
The prosthesis chosen was called resurfacing or resurfacing (hip recapping prosthesis), which was placed on the tennis player in England in 2019 by a doctor named Sarah Muirhead-Allwood (and had her first surgery in 2018). Andy Murray had his hip replaced with an artificial joint By the same orthopedist who once operated on Queen Elizabeth and the late Prince Philip. And Murray returned in 2019 to compete with the best in the world, and he is already in his best physical condition, as I can testify at this 2021 event at Indian Wells.
Hip replacement surgical techniques were created to treat advanced cases of arthrosis. In most situations, people only dream of walking again. With his example, Andy Murray inspired “Bionics”, a term of love that many hip replacement patients tell themselves to overcome their initial difficulties and to be reborn in a new life after surgery: sports!
The simple fact that Murray is in America and wins two games demonstrates the athlete’s mental and physical determination combined with the precision of his orthopedist and his rehabilitation team, a historic achievement that marks the perfect union of engineering, technology. and above all, multi-disciplinary – because, above all, a balanced diet and a physical trainer and technician who are aware of prosthetic issues are essential.
This type of surgery is so important and revolutionary that it was chosen as the surgical procedure of the century, because it is the medical treatment that has the greatest potential to achieve quality of life – and we have knees, ankles, shoulders, elbows too. There are examples and up to the big toe. Yes, we have prostheses to replace all these joints while maintaining your mobility!
Many orthopedists are apprehensive and even criticize it for patients with artificial joints to participate in high-level, high-impact sports, because apparently the artificial joint is not the same as the natural one. Just as the biological hip has suffered a degenerative process, the prosthetic hip is also subject to greater wear and tear with this type of activity, and this reduces the useful life of the prosthesis.
It is possible that Murray’s hip prosthesis lasts less than implants made in less demanding athletes and sportsmen, or even for normal people in terms of the amount of physical activity. The Guga, for example, stopped performing high and most likely won’t need an overhaul any time soon.
Maybe our career could have been longer like that of Guga Kuerten, maybe a reader here me athlete can be helped. No doubt, Arthroplasty procedures (joint replacements) have evolved greatly in recent years., but the exact indication can be done only by a specialist orthopedist, since each case is individual. The important thing is to know the potential risks and benefits of this procedure and to choose a good doctor to discuss its indications.
Good practice, braves! Live and grow!
*The information and opinions expressed in this text are the sole responsibility of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of a GE/I athlete.
