All those years of track caught up with me... arthritic hip!!

[TrapsMcLats]

Ok, so i am 24 years old and i have been having pain in my hip lately, but only when i am walking around, never when working out or jogging or playing basketball or anything else.  But it had really been bothering me, so i went to see my orthopedist.  He took some X-rays... bam, arthritic hip.  Its not the joint capsule either (that looks great), its the head of the femur that has some malformation.  Now the other hip looks perfect, and with the bad one there's no loss of functional strength (my squats, deads and leg press have been going great, and i use good form), just pain.  And it can really hurt sometimes.  If i twist it the wrong way or quickly pivot when not warmed up it can send a shot of pain that hurts something fierce... and i consider myself to have a pretty high tolerance to pain, but it can really hurt. 

So, the doc instructed me to stop jogging (which sucks, i hate the stationary bikes), to stop squatting with any weight but the bar (i can still get a good workout in without weight on the bar, it just has to be really strict), no more leg presses, no more deads... pretty much i can't do my three favorite exercises.  He also instructed me to take glucosamine, which is fine.

But here's my dilemma, i am a sprinter, and i still like to do "all comers" meets, and i still can compete at a pretty high level ( i can roll outta bed and run 21.8 in the 200m...).  i'm wondering if its possible for me to still train lightly and deal with the pain or if i should just give it up, or maybe just focus training on the short distance 100m.  I'm just looking for anyone who has had a similar experience. Thanks.

[smaul]

Shit that sucks!  Obviously glucosamine and fish oils are often prescribed to minimize the effect of arthritis, if you're not taking it yet try it.  Obviously this is not going to change the deformed bone 

[gcb]

I use to play cricket and was a fast bowler. It was mainly on concrete pitches that I bowled - my/the action puts a lot of stress the left knee (for a right hander). I now have pain in my knee (not too bad but can be annoying). To manage it I take glucosamine, chrondroitin (sp?) and flaxseed oil supplements everyday. This has virtually eliminated the pain. I like to squat and do full range of motion which is supposed to be hard on the knees so I only do squats once a week and with leg press reduced range of motion to go easy on my knees. You may consider just shortening the range of motion as this may help.