My Hockey Playing Days are Over.

About 5 or 6 years ago I became weary of soreness in my hips and lower back that attended my fanatical devotion to the game of hockey. Up to that point I had been playing hockey year round for about 15 years, probably a minimum of 100 games per year, and then for the last 8 or 9 yearsI was reffing minor hockey at the rate of 100 games a year or so in addition to my Rec hockey. Anyway, I was gobbling down the Ibuprofen and having problems sleeping so my Doctor sent me to an Orthopedic Surgeon for an assessment. He said, "your hockey playing days are over". I said that I wanted a second opinion so he said, "ok, you're ugly too." He mentioned that I would be a candidate for hip replacement surgery in a few years and then sent me on my way. Then he retired.

Prior to my fanatical devotion to hockey I had had a similar fanatical devotion to Karate-do for 12 years or so. I am a full figured male, this activity also took its toll. Before Karate-do I Curled fanatically for about 5 years or so. This meant Curling at least one game every day during the Curling season, plus practicing. I estimate that in that five year stretch I curled somewhere between 1000-1500 games. Not easy on the old sliding leg, which in my case was the left one.

I came by the osteoarthritis honestly, there was nothing to do but retire from hockey and wait for the time for the hip replacement to come.