You wouldn’t know it by looking at him at a KU basketball game, but longtime assistant coach Norm Roberts has undergone two hip replacements over the past three years.

The pain Roberts began to experience on his right side was one of the first clues that something was wrong. It began by his hip, went toward his groin and then proceeded down the back of the leg.

“I could walk just fine but couldn’t jog anymore, so I started walking on the treadmill,” Roberts said. “The pain kept getting worse and worse, to the point where I couldn’t sleep. I’d have to keep pillows underneath my legs or between them just to get comfortable.”

When Roberts knew he needed treatment, he turned to a trusted friend for advice. Bill Cowgill, the head trainer for the men’s basketball team, recommended that he make an appointment with Dr. Adam Goodyear, an orthopedic surgeon at OrthoKansas specializing in knees and hips.

First look

To get an idea of what Roberts was dealing with, the first step for the team at OrthoKansas was to take X-rays of both of Roberts’ hips. Those images showed deterioration in both hips. Though the left side was worse, the right was more symptomatic and painful. It was time for a hip replacement.

Goodyear performed the surgery at the LMH Health Main Campus in 2020 using a method that has gotten more attention over the last 15 years — the direct anterior approach. A traditional surgical approach involves entering the hip from the side and back to place the new joint, but Goodyear said the direct anterior approach works differently and provides some different benefits to the patient.

“The direct anterior approach has become more common over the last 15 years or so because it is muscle sparing,” he said. “We spread the muscle to get to the hip instead of having to cut it. Studies show that this leads to less pain after surgery and typically a quicker recovery. It is the primary approach that both Dr. (James) Huston and I use when it’s appropriate. Every patient is different, but it was perfect for coach Roberts.”

After surgery, Roberts spent one night in the hospital. The post-operative pain due to the manipulation of the bone kept him from getting up to walk that evening, but he was ready to get home the following day. Roberts began physical therapy soon afterward with someone who’s very familiar to the KU basketball team — former guard Tyrel Reed, who is now a physical therapist with LMH Health Therapy Services.

“As a former player and athlete, I have a little more insight into what athletes are dealing with from a mental and physical standpoint post-injury,” Reed said. “My job is to establish a set of short and long-term goals for them to achieve, trying to get better each and every day. Reaching those mini milestones each day compounds into a successful rehab and return to sport.”

Reed said that because Roberts came into the surgery in great shape, his recovery process was fairly quick. Roberts spent approximately six weeks in therapy working on regaining the range of motion in the hip, improving glute and hip strength, and regaining endurance in his lower body, allowing him to tolerate the demands of his day-to-day coaching duties.

Robotic surgery

When he chose to have surgery on his right hip, Roberts knew that it was only a matter of time before he needed to address the deterioration of his left hip. In August of this year, he once again turned to OrthoKansas for a replacement — but this time, the surgery was performed with the aid of the MAKO robotic arm.

Goodyear said the robotic arm can be more precise than traditional surgery. Before surgery, the patient undergoes a CT scan, which is used to create a 3-D model of the joint. Then, when the surgeon is using the robotic arm, the 3-D model is used as a guide to help place the implant more precisely.

“While it doesn’t change the invasiveness of the approach, we typically cause less damage to soft tissues, which can lead to less pain, less need for pain medication and a quicker recovery,” Goodyear said.

LMH Health has two MAKO robotic arms — one at the Main Campus and another at the West Campus, allowing for outpatient joint replacement surgery at the Lawrence Surgery Center. They were purchased with help from donors like Dana Anderson and his late wife, Sue, who made a $1 million challenge gift to LMH Health in early 2020 to support the purchase of new high-tech equipment.

“I can’t overstate how important it is to have people like Dana in the community who are willing to provide this level of support,” Goodyear said. “It helps increase the quality of care patients receive right here in Lawrence. People having a joint replacement here are getting care as good as or better than they would at any big city in the country.”

After the robotic surgery, Roberts noticed a huge difference when compared with the traditional surgery.

“Having my hip replaced robotically, it was 100% better than the first one,” he said. “I felt much less pain — all I really had was discomfort — and I was off of the pain medications in two days. My mobility was coming back even quicker than it did the first time.”

When Roberts came in for a follow-up appointment two weeks after the surgery, Goodyear was excited by his progress.

“Coach wasn’t using his walker — he carried it in,” Goodyear said. “In talking with him and with my exam, you could tell he was several weeks ahead of where he was at the two-week mark with his other hip.”

Reed saw the same improvement, noting that Roberts had less pain and an increased range of motion. While normal tissue healing still takes place from the surgical incision, having less pain has allowed Roberts to get back to lower-impact strength and endurance exercises more quickly.

To help monitor Roberts’ progress, Reed will employ another new piece of technology at the West Campus — force plates from VALD Performance. OrthoKansas and LMH Health Therapy Services are the only location in the region with this technology, which can help athletes and orthopedic patients alike.

“The force plates allow us to assess coach Roberts’ squat mechanics and provide real-time data on how he’s shifting weight into his surgical leg and help him make any necessary adjustments,” Reed said.

Final thoughts

Goodyear and Reed agree that Roberts’ prognosis is excellent. They expect him to bounce back well from his hip replacement.

“After a full three- to six-month recovery, it generally gets to the point that you don’t even remember you had the surgery. He’ll be able to get back to coaching as much as he wants to and play basketball with his players and his kids,” Goodyear said.

Roberts is ready to be back on the court as the Jayhawks begin the defense of their national title. And he said he would recommend OrthoKansas for anyone in need of treatment for orthopedic and musculoskeletal issues.

“There’s a comfortable feeling about being at LMH Health and OrthoKansas,” he said. “They want your surgery to be successful and for you to be knowledgeable about everything going on. I couldn’t be happier to have chosen LMH for my care.”

— Autumn Bishop is the marketing manager at LMH Health, which is a major sponsor of the Journal-World’s Health section.