Slovenská chirurgia 4/2020

Sports activities after implantation of a total hip arthroplasty

Total hip arthroplasty is one of the most successful surgeries in orthopedics. Over the past two decades, the number of implanted endoprostheses in the world has doubled, currently reaching over 1,200,000 total hip procedures per year. In the world’s most advanced countries, 150–300 endoprostheses per 100,000 inhabitants are implanted annually. In Slovakia, we annually implant about 7,000 primary endoprostheses and perform about 550 revision surgeries. A more interesting indicator is the ever-increasing number of patients under 50 years of age who require hip replacement. In general, patients’ expectations of hip replacement are increasing significantly and one of the greatest expectations is the ability to return to physical activity and recreational sports. Clinical recommendations should be evidence-based, i.e. grounded in high quality clinical studies but the research published so far does not give clear guidance on how to proceed in this area. In general, there are two different approaches. Some authors accentuate the increased risk of complications, especially the risk of dislocation of the endoprosthesis, periprosthetic fracture, earlier aseptic loosening and wear of the implant surfaces. On the other hand, there are opinions that up to 90 % of patients after surgery are able to return to sports activities, but perhaps at a lower level than before the onset of the difficulty. The aim of this work is to describe the factors that influence the return to sports after implantation of an endoprosthesis, to identify patients who are able to return to sports, and types of sports activities that are suitable after surgery.

Keywords: hip arthroplasty, sports, return to sport