How Hip Replacement Put a Spring Back in Christine’s Step 

For nearly a year, Christine lived with what she thought was a stubborn muscle pull. As a fitness professional and dance instructor, she pushed through her discomfort while teaching yoga, Pilates, and ballet barre. Eventually, Christine’s pain began to color everything she did. Walking became increasingly difficult, and she stopped attending a tap dancing class she was taking. 
 
“I would finish a ballet class and then limp out of the studio,” she recalled. “I didn’t realize how hobbled I had become.”
 
In late 2023, Christine spoke to her primary care physician about her pain. He referred her to Dr. David Hergan, sports medicine and hip, knee, and shoulder replacement surgeon at Middlesex Orthopedic & Spine Associates (MOSA). Dr. Hergan diagnosed Christine with osteoarthritis in her hip, and laid out a variety of treatment options. Christine proceeded with a conservative approach in 2024, including cortisone injections and platelet-rich plasma therapy.  
 
When her pain persisted through the end of the year, Dr. Hergan recommended moving forward with a hip replacement using a minimally invasive anterior approach designed for faster recovery. Christine, who by that time had begun walking with the help of a cane, agreed.  
 
“I had every confidence in Dr. Hergan, and I was very excited about the anterior approach,” Christine shared. “Dr. Hergan looks you in the eye and he sits and he talks with you. He takes the time.” 
 
“Every patient has unique priorities,” Dr. Hergan explained. “For Christine, it was about getting back to movement—teaching, dancing, living daily without limitations. My job is to listen, understand those goals, and create a treatment plan that makes them possible. Helping her return to what she loves is why I do what I do.” 
 
In December of 2024, Dr. Hergan performed Christine’s hip replacement surgery. “From the moment I woke up, I knew something was different,” Christine recalled. “I could immediately feel that this was going to be just fine.”  
 
Thanks to Dr. Hergan’s minimally invasive surgical approach and to her active lifestyle, Christine’s recovery was swift. Within three weeks, she was back teaching seated dance classes at an assisted living facility. By February 2025, she had resumed her full schedule of yoga, Pilates, and ballet. And when Dr. Hergan asked Christine to demonstrate her stride at a follow-up appointment, she did him one better: she showed off a few tap dancing steps.  
 
“There’s a joy to it now that I can’t even contain,” Christine said of her return to activity. “I couldn’t have done these things before surgery.” 
 
Today, Christine continues her commitment to helping others stay active and healthy. She has even inspired students in her seated dance classes to match her newfound energy. “They told me, ‘We had it easy before. Now that you’ve got this new hip, you’re Wonder Woman!” she said with a laugh.  
 
Life with chronic pain, when everyday tasks felt overwhelming, now seems a long way away. “I had become very sedentary because everything was an effort,” Christine said. “You can’t put a price on walking away from that.” 
 
Christine is grateful for this new chapter, made possible by the hip replacement Dr. Hergan performed: “If I had known how good it was going to be, I would not have waited as long as I did. It’s the best thing that ever happened to me, literally. My life is completely changed.”