John’s Advance7 Review — A Better Hip Replacement Recovery

John Matthews · Age 73 · Wolverhampton

Tell us a bit about yourself.

I’m retired now. I’ve always liked to stay active, nothing extreme, just walking, popping to the shops, keeping myself moving day to day.

What led up to your hip operation?

To be honest, I put it off for too long. I tried to ignore it and just carry on, but it kept getting worse and worse.

In the end, I couldn’t ignore it anymore. Day-to-day life was becoming a real struggle, and I found myself thinking, why didn’t I deal with this sooner?

I’m not someone who likes going to the doctors or hospital, but I went in, had it looked at, and the surgeon was quite direct. He said, “You’ve clearly been in a lot of pain for some time.”

That brought it home.

There’s usually a long wait for this sort of operation, which I was expecting, but I was fortunate. I got a cancellation.

So instead of months, I was given two weeks’ notice, and that was it. I was in having the operation. In a way, that suited me. I didn’t have time to think about it too much.

How did the operation go?

The operation itself went well. The main pain I had before was gone, which was a relief.

But I’ll be honest, I didn’t realise how much work the recovery would be.

What do you mean by that?

The physio, getting moving again, building yourself back up. It sounds simple, but when you actually try to do it, it’s hard work.

My knees and surrounding muscles were taking the strain, and they were aching quite a bit.

How did that affect your recovery?

There were days where I thought, this is tougher than I expected. You want to push yourself, but the discomfort makes you hesitate.

How did you first hear about Advance7?

A friend of mine kept going on about it. Every time we spoke he’d mention it, saying I should give it a go.

In the end he actually brought it round and said, “Here, try that before your exercises.”

What was your first impression?

I used it that same day before doing my physio. It felt good straight away, a slight tingling, nothing harsh.

It just felt like it loosened things up a bit.

Did it make a difference?

Yes, it did. Before, I’d almost brace myself before starting, knowing it was going to be uncomfortable, and afterwards the ache would really kick in.

With this, I felt more comfortable while I was doing the exercises, but the bigger difference was afterwards. Once I stopped, I wasn’t getting that same lingering ache.

It felt more like I’d done something good, rather than overdone it.

What did that allow you to do?

Because of that, I was able to push a bit harder each day without worrying about paying for it later.

That’s what really helped my progress.

What did you do after that?

After using it a few times, I ordered some myself. It just made sense to keep it going.

What’s the situation now?

I’m back to walking to the shops and getting out most days. I’m still building strength, but I’m moving properly again, and I’m really pleased with how it’s going.

How do you see Advance7 fitting in?

It helped me get through that stage where you’re trying to get going again.

But I still use it now. It’s part of my daily routine.

Would you recommend it?

Yes, definitely.

I came across it during my recovery and it really helped me through that stage, but I’m kicking myself for not having tried it before.

Now I use it every day and it’s made a real difference. I’m so much more active than I was, I’ve actually lost two stone.