Todd Eldredge has hip replacement surgery -- Updated with baby news!

[Mao88]

Article reporting that Todd has just had hip replacement surgery. Highlights the toll skating has on the body over time. Also, here is another article about the start of the Stars on Ice tour is which Kurt Browning states that his "knees are barking........, but his love of skating carries him through."

Here's wishing both of them the very best.

 

[demarinis5]

Wishing Todd a speedy recovery, always liked his skating while he was competing and with SOI.

I did not know that Todd was going to be a father, Congrats!

Thank you for posting the article.

 

[skatinginbc]

Oh, I love Todd. I wish him a speedy recovery as well.
Besides jumps, is there any skating element that would cause injury for the single skaters in the long run? I'm thinking: Which one is more important: athlete's long-term health or my short-term pleasure of watching somebody doing a spectacular jump?

 

[Tonichelle]

Kurt's had multiple knee surgeries... and back issues... there are countless men who have had the same injuries as Kurt or Todd... I'm thinking jumps are the main reason...

 

[Olympia]

I know what you mean, BC. During Midori Ito's career, when her jumping ability was influencing skating and then she was getting injured, I started feeling really guilty about watching (and, obviously, enjoying) skating when it was sacrificing the bodies of such young people. I had already lost interest in gymnastics because the girls were so young and did such dangerous tricks, and I hated the idea of giving up skating. But every time I hear of a young sort having major surgery from skating injuries, I feel uneasy. In my world, hip replacement is for seventy-year-olds.

I hope he gets better quickly and resumes his life. If he's going to be a father, he'll have a lot of activity even without skating!

Edit: I read both articles. The one on Todd just gives the basic information and is helpful. But the one on Kurt is a terrific examination of the planning work he's doing for Canadian Stars on Ice. It's a delightful look at his personality and his creativity. I recommend it to one and all. Thanks so much, Mao88!

 

[skateluvr]

Hmmm, Todd's second marriage and a baby on the way. There's some news. Anyone know who is fiance is?

 

[macy]

i wish him a speedy recovery too. i'll probably be in the same boat one day. she didn't skate but my mom already had a hip replaced 2 years ago and is having the other done next week due to a problem she was born with (and i probably have it too on top of skating), and she's only 50.

 

[iluvtodd]

Wishing Todd a complete & speedy recovery from the hip surgery. I am thrilled for the other wonderful news in his life.

Kurt too! Would for both of these guys to skate for as long as they can!

 

[jatale]

Does Todd still skate? I wonder if he'll be able to after a hip replacement, probably not I would guess. I cannot imagine a surgeon who would recommend putting that much stress on an artificial joint. Maybe just skating around on the ice without any jumps etc. might be possible, but even there you'd have to be careful.

 

[iluvtodd]

^ He skated in the Japan & US SOI tours (granted the US tour was a lot shorter this season compared to the past), plus some Disson shows this past season. He is also listed as one of the skaters for the Caesars' Tribute #3 in Atlantic City, NJ on November 3. He is coaching in South Florida.

 

[jcoates]

Does Todd still skate? I wonder if he'll be able to after a hip replacement, probably not I would guess. I cannot imagine a surgeon who would recommend putting that much stress on an artificial joint. Maybe just skating around on the ice without any jumps etc. might be possible, but even there you'd have to be careful.

It is quite possible to skate and jump as well after hip replacement surgery. Rudy Galindo had the procedure done for both hips about nine years ago and performed in shows regularly afterward. Yagudin also had a replacement more recently and still performs. He has admitted to losing some of his jumps however. I suspect that the quality of the recovery and performance post surgery is a really individual thing. Different people will respond to treatment with a range of outcomes depending on their other health issues as well as their body type. Todd was always a very fit guy and tremendously hard working, so I tend to think he will recover well and be back on the ice if that is one of his goals.

 

[louisa05]

Oh, I love Todd. I wish him a speedy recovery as well.
Besides jumps, is there any skating element that would cause injury for the single skaters in the long run? I'm thinking: Which one is more important: athlete's long-term health or my short-term pleasure of watching somebody doing a spectacular jump?

Kurt and Todd didn't do the volume of quads that men are pushed to do now. I wonder (and kind of worry even though I've never been a fan) how many joints Plush will have to have replaced and how soon. Not too mention all the younger skaters doing so many quads and more jumps in programs than in Kurt and Todd's era. The emphasis on quads worries me because it doesn't seem to come easily to anyone (except maybe Plush) and the potential for long-term injury is probably huge.

 

[Olympia]

You and me both, Louisa05.

It's not just the programs, it's the practices. How many times a day or a week do skaters do those jumps to perfect them? I guess there aren't many sports that are completely safe for the body. Archery and marksmanship, maybe. Or dressage. Even swimming can cause shoulder wear-and-tear injuries. I had a friend who had ACL surgery on both knees during an amateur career of Ultimate Frisbee. Thank goodness for sports medicine!

 

[merrywidow]

Congratulations to Todd on his successful hip surgery & on his forthcoming marriage & birth of his first child.

 

[louisa05]

You and me both, Louisa05.

It's not just the programs, it's the practices. How many times a day or a week do skaters do those jumps to perfect them? I guess there aren't many sports that are completely safe for the body. Archery and marksmanship, maybe. Or dressage. Even swimming can cause shoulder wear-and-tear injuries. I had a friend who had ACL surgery on both knees during an amateur career of Ultimate Frisbee. Thank goodness for sports medicine!

I agree that nothing is going to be completely safe. And all kinds of physical activity have risks of injury and repetitive use injuries in particular. My favorite workout is adult ballet. And ballet is torturous on the body, forcing it into all sorts of unnatural positions (although my calf muscles look awesome).

I guess I just wonder where the line should be drawn on jumps. The current scoring system and mindset is that more is always better. More rotations, more combinations. But the human body has limits. And I don't think parents, coaches and athletes think beyond the podium. Fans can trumpet Patrick Chan's alleged infinite wisdom all over fan boards (and I find the notion that young athletes are blessed with infinite wisdom about their own careers, bodies, and futures really absurd...I was a Kwan Uber and the endless "Michelle is so wise" adulation that is still going on in some corners of the internet makes me roll my eyes), but the reality is that he has likely given little thought to the possibility of artificial hips at 40. He is thinking about podiums and medals when he repeats those quads over and over to perfect them for competition. Not what is the distant future to most 21 year olds. And Kwan was thinking about podiums and medals when she kept going to try to make it to Torino.

 

[blue dog]

Didn't Tara Lipinski have the same surgery?

 

[Tonichelle]

Kurt and Todd didn't do the volume of quads that men are pushed to do now. I wonder (and kind of worry even though I've never been a fan) how many joints Plush will have to have replaced and how soon. Not too mention all the younger skaters doing so many quads and more jumps in programs than in Kurt and Todd's era. The emphasis on quads worries me because it doesn't seem to come easily to anyone (except maybe Plush) and the potential for long-term injury is probably huge.

Kurt and Todd, though, were practicing the quad before the technique was "perfected"... Kurt wrote in his book about the night he hit his first one in practice. He pushed himself towards exhaustion because he wanted that jump and he wanted to be the first... that's a lot of wear and tear on the body.

Archery and marksmanship, maybe.

Those are pretty physical, too. It takes a lot of strength for archery. Marksmanship is all about the perfect stance, breathing, and stability... I've been knocked on my butt quite a few times. Bruised ego, shoulder and tailbone to prove it.

 

[jcoates]

Didn't Tara Lipinski have the same surgery?

If I recall, she had repairative surgery to her hip but not a replacement. She was back on the ice fairly quickly if I remember after the initial surgery. I also think that procedure was what Yagudin chose for his initial treatment shortly after he left the eligible ranks. In the end, he needed a replacement a few years later. If I have any of this wrong, please correct me.

 

[verte76]

So marriage and hip replacement surgery for Todd? I wish him a speedy recovery!

 

[Olympia]

And with marksmanship, there's the noise--not good for the ears. I hope you wear ear protection, Toni!

Todd always seemed to me to be decent, mature, and gentlemanly. I was so thrilled when he won the World gold. I wish him a full recovery and a great professional and family life.

Louisa, I was an uber-fan of Michelle's and still am, and yet I agree with you that fans often attribute a wisdom to skaters that they don't yet have. Much of their supposed wisdom is actually a product of the wise choices of their coach, choreographer, and/or parents. What the younger skaters have is determination, discipline, and talent, which they might not understand explicitly but which they somehow mysteriously know how to harness and give forth. The wisdom comes later. If we're lucky, they also have poise and good sportsmanship, which fortunately Michelle had.

Of course any youngster, not just a champion athlete, also can possess character at an early age, and I think Michelle is one of the ones who did, thank goodness. It's why I remain her fan, and you probably do as well. Todd had the same. He always exhibited modesty, and he was always conscious of the contributions his community made to sponsor him in this expensive sport and was gracious in both defeat and victory. Definitely an asset to the world of skating.