Recently the media began reporting on Liam Gallagher needing a bi-lateral hip arthroplasty (he needs both of his hips replaced).
I have thought about this every single day since I first read about it 2 months ago. It has triggered many feelings inside of me; most notably shame and embarrassment at succumbing to my osteoarthritis pain and having a hip replacement at such a young age.
Gallagher is not wrong; there is so much stigma associated with young hip replacements. A lot of the stigma surrounding joint replacements is an internalized sense of shame and embarrassment over a person’s dependence on medication and/or fear of being perceived as weak or “drug-addicted”. I was taking dihydrocodeine for 2 years, and I am still taking Naproxen (albeit less regularly than before my THR).
A 2019 study found that stigmas associated with joint replacements were organized around five themes:
1) people’s self-perception as being active and independent was influenced by and reflective of Western social values
2) living with OA was disruptive to participants’ internal self-perception as much as it was to their actual functional abilities
3) participants experienced shame and embarrassment on account of not appearing independent because of their OA
4) stigma was a barrier to engagement in former activities
5) participants attempted to avoid stigma by trying to return to normal.
In my opinion, the stigma associated with pre-joint replacement surgery is worse than the stigma associated with post-joint replacement surgery.
Which of course, is accurate to real life. I can do more now than I could pre-THR. Sure, there are things that I will never be able to do now. But I couldn’t do them previously. I’ll need another few hip replacements over the course of my life… but a few months of pain while in rehab is better than a lifetime of osteoarthritis pain.
So why did the media choose to publish scaremongering articles about a topic that might not cross the minds of the journalists and editors responsible for publishing such tosh, but when people who are in a situation where they potentially need a hip replacement read an article where someone who is potentially a role model for a lot of “young” people waiting for a THR, they begin to second guess themselves.
“Well if the Oasis frontman doesn’t think it’s worth it then it must not be worth it”
NO! Do not give your time to these articles that are designed for interest traffic and to trigger reactions.
I can confidently say that Mr Gallagher is a coward, and hopefully he will eventually grow the backbone required to undergo his life changing surgery (which his money and status will guarantee that his experience is a damn shot better than mine was).
He should be ashamed, and should be using his platform to promote THRs in younger patients. Stop relying on medication, stop masking the issue. If a joint replacement is on offer to you, then take it! It will change your life.
It’s hard to have sympathy for the man when he’s worth $8m – enough to pay for approximately 533 total hip replacements (that’s one for each of my IG followers at the time of writing). He should have the resources to educate him about the positives about joint replacement surgery; especially if it’s a choice between that or being bound to a wheelchair. I guess neither option is particularly very rock’n’roll?
It’s hard to attempt to establish a platform on social media. There’s people who follow me / who I have previously followed, whose posts I don’t agree with, whose views and opinions do not align with my own. Usually I bite my tongue and move on with my life, as my platform is aimed at spreading awareness and positivity surrounding joint replacement surgeries. But when it comes to this Liam Gallagher article, I will not keep my opinion to myself.
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