Limitations?? A lot depends on your recovery period.

Starting off, any movement where the toes are pointing out (rhythm dances) should be avoided, and any movement of the toes pointing to the side also. Needless to say, no "Cuban Motion" for a while. Not having your feet parallel to each other, and pointing straight ahead places stress on the hip joint. Also, avoid any "bouncing" on the feet, so Quick Step is a no-no. Take it easy, avoid sudden, sharp movements such as in tango, cha cha, etc.

As your recovery progresses, you can gradually become more agressive with your movements and after a while, you can do any movement you want. Listen to your body and don't try anything crazy until you are ready.

My time table for my hip replacement in 2013 was like this. After 6 weeks, I was back on the dance floor, but taking it easy. After 6 months, I was in my first competition after the surgery. Didn't do too well, but it felt great to be back. After 9 months, I was at my next competition and seemed to be at the same level as before my competition.

Now, 13 months after surgery, I am attending my next competition next week.

Check out the website dancer hips.com. It has a LOT of useful info & some very encouraging stories.

I'm not a competitive ballroom dancer, but I was a very good salsa dancer---dancing several times/week. I have bone-on-bone hip arthritis & need surgery eventually. I'm not in much pain now, but I can't really enjoy dancing because of limited range of motion in my hip. However, I'm worried that after a hip replacement the quick turns & Cuban motion of salsa will still be off-limits & I still won't be able to enjoy dancing.

Are there any salsa dancers with good stories about dancing after hip replacement? Thanks

About 6 weeks after my right hip replacement I had absolutely no restrictions imposed on me. Any type of swiveling and/or turn was possible with the caveat that one must at all times use either powder or have slip surface shoes in order not to freeze a movement suddenly on the floor. As long as one slides thru a spin, turn or swivel there are no problems.
Pushing off the operated leg such as in side breaks or cucarachas requires being somewhat tentative at first also

My instructor had a total hip replacement April 28, 2014. There was only a min amount of muscle cut. He was back teaching students the 2nd week of July. (we all had time off, so we all came back slowly) He followed through with all his physical therapy he is back 100% as of November. He is even contemplating dancing professionally with his wife again to some degree (they have kids living at home).

He was bone on bone - his surgeon told him he was 6 months away from cracking the pelvis the socket had become so thin. His surgeon works on all types of athletes. He even worked on Mark Cuban just before he went on Dancing With The Stars TV show.

Do you home work on the surgeon you choose and make sure they know what YOUR goals are for the future.

Been there, done that (October 2006), and it came out great! ...as did three other dancers to whom I recommended my surgeon for hip replacement (Scott Kelley of Duke U / NC Orthopaedics). I've danced well -- even won at Senior II NQE Prechamp Standard -- since then.

First of all, make sure the surgeon does the "anterior approach" surgery -- working through a small incision on the outside-front of the hip, instead of through the buttocks (which is the traditional approach). This approach does NOT cut muscles, blood vessels, nor nerves. And consider having the "dancers model" of replacement hip: it gives a greater range of motion.

My recovery was very good, they tell me: I was walking without crutches at two weeks, and did about an hour and a half of competitive foxtrot practice at 17 days (my wife started getting sweaty and wimped out on me at that point . Of course, they also tell me that the fact I was in good shape from dancing helped the recovery a lot.

Hi. I am a competitive ballroom dancer. I had metal on metal replacements in my 40s and was able to return to dance. I can do splits on both sides still, but lost turnout required for ballet, which I used for conditioning. I am having my second set of replacements in the next 6 months. The first lasted 7 years, though some issues arose after 3 years when metal debris was discovered as well as toxic metal levels. If you have metal on metal, there are no contraindications for dance, but do have your metal levels checked. Men usually do fine. Metal levels are usually an issue confined to flexible women. Metal on metal are no longer legal in the UK due to the metallosis issue. There are plastic and ceramic appliances. Pick the one that's right for you based on the need for degrees of freedom versus the need to support impact such as quikstep or theatre arts. Your surgeon can position them to allow more turnout if desired. If you do latin versus standard, you might want to discuss positioning with your surgeon. Good luck.

Great post! And, you are so right about recommending people with metal on metal prosthetics to get blood tests done to check their metal levels. Although I don't dance, I do improv comedy and teach it. I had a Birmingham Hip Replacement in 2008, and it started to make grinding and whistling sounds last year. I went to my doctor, and although the x-ray showed it to be in place, he ordered blood tests. Sure enough, I had extremely high levels of cobalt and chromium in my blood, and had to go in and get another hip replacement - only 8 years later. But, I am just lucky they caught it. If you have metal on metal - get your blood checked - and then keep dancing.

Certainly you can dance afterwards. Make sure you get the anterior total hip replacement performed - very important. Dr Andrew Chun performs it in St Johns Hospital, Santa Monica.
Go through your physical therapy sessions and slowly add some of your dance moves as you get stronger. After 2-3 months you can resume your dancing - but be sensible again here.

I am three weeks post-op for a Left Total Hip Arthroplasty (THA - i.e., hip replacement). I resumed teaching my Bronze 1 swing class for Seniors at 14 days post-op, although I sat a lot during the lesson.

Two things allowed this, IMHO: Use of the #AnteriorApproach, which avoids cutting muscle to get to the joint, and the fact that I did strength and pre-habilitation exercises faithfully for a month before the surgery. Icing twice a day has also helps control pain and edema (swelling).

I am 75 YO, and elated that I can once again do Latin Motion and Swing moves without hurting - I didn't know what I had lost until I got it back again.

Bottom Line: Do what the surgical team says and be confident that you'll be better on the other side of the operation!