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My general preference is that, if a part of the body is not working well, it’s usually better to fix it sooner rather than later because when one part is not working well, the human body tries to compensate in all sorts of different ways that put unnatural stresses on other parts of the body, thus causing problems for other parts of the body over time. Damages to other parts of the body can thus be avoided if we fix the original problem sooner rather than later.

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Originally posted by piqué:

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My general preference is that, if a part of the body is not working well, it’s usually better to fix it sooner rather than later because when one part is not working well, the human body tries to compensate in all sorts of different ways that put unnatural stresses on other parts of the body, thus causing problems for other parts of the body over time. Damages to other parts of the body can thus be avoided if we fix the original problem sooner rather than later.

i was going to say the same thing. i blew out my right knee when I was 17, spent the next three years mostly on crutches because it kept (very painfully collapsing), finally got surgery to remove the torn meniscus at 20, but still had no ACL. My ACL was not reconstructed until I was 42. Years of backpacking, skiing, and very hard use with an unstable knee. It continued to deteriorate until my entire body was a twisted disaster and I had neuropathy so bad in my right foot that i was in and out of a wheelchair, could not stand for more than a minute or two, and the pain was excruciating.

But I was tough. I put up with it, and pushed on, doing lots of things most able bodied people don't do.

I knew a knee replacement was in my future, but I still hesitated. What finally convinced me to get it was a conversation with my horse's body worker. He had had his knee replaced, and urged me to do it for one simple reason: the longer you use your body incorrectly, the more you are destroying your ability to function throughout your entire body.

Because of the knee, my leg was twisted, my spine was twisted, my neck was in terrible pain, my hips were unstable. I was like a Picasso paintiong of a woman.

Limping is a terrible, terrible thing to do to your body. It ruins everything. Even if you don't get your hip replaced, you *must* stop limping! Use a cane. Use crutches. But stop limping! It is not benign!

I now have a straight leg with my new knee. It's been more that two years since the surgery and I still can't believe how different I look when I pass a mirror--I am standing up straight! I can keep my head straight over my shoulders! But I am still fighting over 40 years of biomechanical dysfunction and unhealthy movement patterns that I now must undo.

The sooner you get the surgery the better.

And if I saw you limping severely while playing tennis, it would be very, very hard for me to not express my concern, because of my own experience and first-hand knowlege of what limping leads to.

Good luck with your surgery!