Laura Rose, from Maesteg, Wales, underwent a total hip replacement at 39 after years of worsening hip and back pain she initially blamed on driving, work and high-impact exercise. She was later diagnosed with severe arthritis.
Pain Blamed on Work and Training
Laura, now 41, had always prioritised health and fitness, regularly exercising while running a carpet and upholstery cleaning business and raising three young children. She took up CrossFit after welcoming her twins nearly 15 years ago and initially put the pain down to the demands of work and hard training.
“My mobility was never brilliant, so when I started experiencing back pain and a limited range of movement, I didn’t really think too much of it,” she says. In 2021, she began experiencing sciatica in her right leg. “I put this down to driving a lot, and I was also experiencing lower back pain,” she says. “If I’m honest, I just lived with it and put it down to my job and hard training.”
Seeking Help and Getting a Diagnosis
As the pain intensified, Laura slowly lost the ability to do everyday things. “I had barely any range of movement on my right side, and any hinge movements were really painful for my back,” she says. “Even normal everyday things, like putting my socks on and getting dressed, had become quite painful and made me feel really old.”
She sought help from physiotherapists and underwent sports massages and chiropractic treatment, believing she had a hip impingement. Nothing stopped the pain. As a busy single mum, she paid out of pocket for weekly private treatment before eventually reaching the point where she could no longer manage without painkillers. “My work was also non-negotiable. I was coming home and having to lie down because I was in so much pain,” she says.
Desperate for answers, Laura took out private health insurance and booked an appointment at a Bupa practice. On the initial assessment, the consultant said, “I can tell you now, you need a hip replacement.” She was 39 when she was diagnosed with severe arthritis and told she needed the surgery. “I was 39 at the time, so obviously that was a huge shock,” she says. “He still sent me for an MRI of my back and hip to make sure we understood exactly what was going on.”
Surgery and Recovery
Laura was given steroid injections to manage the pain, but they made little difference and she was told they would not provide a long-term solution. A total hip replacement was ultimately her best option. She decided to go ahead despite fears about whether it would work and how she would cope as a single mum.
The surgery was successful, but recovery proved difficult when surgeons fractured her femur during the operation. “This meant I couldn’t weight-bear for two weeks,” she says. “That was completely unexpected. I spent the first two weeks basically living on my sofa, and the pain was something I really didn’t expect. I think I underestimated the operation itself and how much recovery there would be.”
A year on, the hip replacement has transformed some aspects of Laura’s life, but she still lives with chronic back pain and restricted mobility. “I’m 41, but sometimes my body feels much older than that, and that’s difficult when mentally I still feel like the person who wants to go to the gym, train hard and get on with everything,” she says.
Ongoing Treatment and Looking Forward
Despite the ongoing back pain, Laura says the hip replacement has given her back freedoms she had almost forgotten. “I don’t experience the sciatica anymore, and I don’t have the pain down my right side that I used to have,” she says. “I can now put my socks on without pain and move freely, which sounds like such a small thing but was something I couldn’t do before. I can do so much more than I could before the operation, and although I’m still dealing with pain, I’m a million times better than I was.”
Laura has returned to the gym, adapting her training and being cautious with certain movements and weights. She is now undergoing an advanced regenerative treatment programme at SKNCode London under Dr Mihaela Gulyas, including Quantum Molecular Resonance (QMR) therapy alongside CO2 laser treatment to improve the appearance of her surgical scar. She says the treatment has helped ease some of her back pain, although it has not disappeared completely. The laser treatment has also helped her feel more confident about the scar. “The CO2 laser has really improved the appearance of the scar and, for me, that’s not just about how it looks. It’s given me some of my confidence back as a woman,” she says.
At 41, Laura remains determined to keep moving, training and making the most of life, even if she now has to listen to her body in ways she never expected at her age.
