You are viewing surgery

My Ups & Downs. Walking with hip-dysplasia, differently-abled.

So picture this… I come back from a walk only to find that my FitBit has categorised half of it as ‘outdoor cycling’ and half of it as ‘sport’. This happens to me quite often, because where walking is concerned, I’m differently-abled. I was born with severe Developmental Dysplasia of the Hips (DDH for short). In plain English that means that my hip joints didn’t form properly before I was born. I can walk but it’s not something I do with ease or speed and definitely not with grace!

I’m writing this blog to share my own journey with my funny walk – in an open, vulnerable way. Being ‘different’ has been a positive and a negative in my life. It has definitely shaped who I am. My unusual hips are not ‘who’ I am - but they are part of my story. Where I go, they go and so does their impact. In 2019 I chose to walk 100 miles of the South Downs Way – to see how far I could take my different walk – and my blog. In 2021 due to covid lockdowns I'm going to turn my daily walks into a virtual Pennine Way and see if I can get to 268 miles in a year.

I hope you enjoy reading about it. You can also follow this blog on Facebook or Twitter by following @WalkingJill

Paddling with my hands: pain and hip dysplasia

By Jill Pringle February 17, 2019August 4, 2019 In Personal, surgery, Uncategorised 0 hip displaysia, hip pain 0

People often ask me if it hurts to walk. The answer is ‘sometimes’. Funnily enough, since I had my hip
replacement, the one part of my body I rarely feel pain is in that left
hip.

These hips weren’t made for walking

By Jill Pringle November 25, 2018August 4, 2019 In hip dysplasia, Personal, South Downs Way, surgery 0 AdultDDH, Buriton 0

JillPringle Hips Xray DDH hip displaysia

Yet here I am having just completed two more days and 12.5 miles walking my hips along the South Downs Way. I’m very grateful that I have the mobility, time and support to do so.

Left hip, right path. Getting me walking with hip dysplasia.

By Jill Pringle August 17, 2018August 4, 2019 In hip dysplasia, Personal, surgery, Walking 1 DDH, Right Path 0

Right path south downs way signpost alfriston

Recently I found myself overnight in Alfriston which, as it happens, is directly on the South Downs Way. I had a spare hour or so and decided to walk along the path that I will return to at some point on my 100-mile walk.