Hip Replacement Helps Personal Trainer Overcome Hip Pain

How orthopedic surgery at Scripps helped woman's career

Personal trainer Christine Burke runs in a San Diego park after hip replacement surgery at Scripps relieves her chronic hip pain.

How orthopedic surgery at Scripps helped woman's career

Often, simply cleaning out a joint can help people overcome their orthopedic issues, but sometimes patients need more in-depth solutions. At 47, Christine Burke had been experiencing serious hip pain for over a decade. A personal trainer and avid runner, she attributed her discomfort to overuse.


On the other hand, the pain was beginning to hold her back. She tried analgesics, acupuncture, physical therapy, even a cortisone injection, but nothing provided lasting relief. “The final straw was in May of 2017, when it hurt to walk around Disneyland,” she says. “If you can’t walk around Disneyland without pain, it feels kind of stupid not to do something about it.”


A friend referred her to see Rina Jain, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla who specializes in hip replacement and knee replacement. After further study, Dr. Jain found that Burke had a problem no amount of ibuprofen could solve — hip dysplasia.


“If you imagine the hip is a ball-and-socket joint, the socket didn’t quite form normally,” says Dr. Jain. “That predisposed her to develop arthritis at a very young age.”


Burke’s successful joint replacement put all that behind her, allowing her to live pain free, enjoy exercising and continue her career.


“This surgery was important to my personal training business in three ways,” she says. “First, it allowed me to demonstrate more exercises without pain. Second, I could continue to physically participate in learning new exercises. Finally, it gave me additional insights into dealing with the pain and treatments many of my clients experience.”

MLB Hall of Fame pitcher Trevor Hoffman is featured on the cover of the March issue of San Diego Health.

This content appeared in San Diego Health, a publication in partnership between Scripps and San Diego Magazine that celebrates the healthy spirit of San Diego.

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