Orthopedic surgeon Robert Klapper, M.D.,
loves to operate, but he'd rather help you avoid hip surgery. Klapper, Medical Director of Cedars-Sinai Orthopedic Associates, has teamed up with Lynda Huey, who specializes in water rehabilitation and training programs with clients such as Wilt Chamberlain. In
Heal Your Hips, they present a self-help program for pain relief. The first program consists of 13 illustrated exercises, one minute apiece. Eight are done in the pool; the others in a carpeted room. Next, the authors cover healthy and unhealthy hips in a clear and spirited style (e.g., healthy hips work like two ice cubes rubbing together--slippery, with no friction); the main causes of hip problems; and medical tests. You learn how to take an active role in getting the right diagnosis, what to do for less pain, and how to get started with pool exercise. Then the book presents both deep-water and shallow-water aquatic therapy exercises to avoid or recuperate from hip surgery, and stretches to do on land. If you have had hip surgery or you want to avoid it, this book will be a valuable guide. The book is clearly illustrated with photographs.
--Joan Price
Owner Reviews, Ratings, Comments and Criticism
I'm 38 and very active. After fracturing the posterior lip of my right acetabulum in a mountain bike crash, i thought my hip was healed and 6 months later I was back in the gym working out and getting strong. That is until one day I suffered an anterior post traumatic injury of the same hip, which instantly turned me into a limpin gimp. After going through the motions of x-rays/bone scans/MRIs, and dealing with the prospects of AVN, early hip replacement, and a young conventionally trained orthopedic surgeon, that worked for a large California HMO (the mane starts with a K) I decided to research alternatives to an open procedure, that the K-suregeon was more than ready to perform, which may or may not have helped me, but would've guaranteed me a long recovery and allot of pain. That's when I found Dr. Klapper. He evaluated my condition, felt I had a good case of arthritis setting in, among other things, and that I'd be a candidate for arthroscopic surgery to clean up the hip joint, and relieve the pain further. But before he'd agree to that he insisted that I go to PT, and purchase his very inexpensive book to see how much it would help heal the hip in a non-invasive manner. With no exaggeration, by the 3rd time I'd gone through what I thought were the most benign, SIMPLE land exercises I started to regain stability in my hip which had been killing me with every step, kept me close to home, stopped me from venturing too far from the car, and worrying me for months on end. It's been 5 months of work outs now and I'm getting more, and more back to normal after every workout. Though I will still have the scope surgery performed, I can't praise this book enough on how it helped me regain mobility, strength, and brought back my confidence. If you have a hip problem, BUY THIS BOOK, it gave me back a HUGE chunk of my normal active life style.