Sarah Eaton, Forté Sports Medicine and Orthopedics physical therapist and avid fitness enthusiast, works with joint replacement patients in their recoveries to sport, daily activities and active lifestyles every day. When faced with her own hip pain, she chartered a new path as becoming a patient herself.
In 2022, Sarah was training for the 500 Festival Mini Marathon and began experiencing random, but sharp, pains in the front of her hip. While she was still able to train and run without issues, Sarah woke up one evening about two weeks prior to the race with intense, throbbing pain in her hip. She first came to Forté and met with a physician assistant and had imaging of her hip. Upon evaluation, it was determined Sarah had hip dysplasia, impingement and mild-moderate signs of arthritic change. “I admit I was surprised by these findings,” said Sarah. “I had never experienced an injury or considered myself to have any problems with either hip.” Sarah was given permission by the hip specialist to continue with her usual activities but was told that due to the arthritic nature of her hip, she would likely find herself doing less and experience more pain over time.
Over the course of the next year, Sarah’s hip was becoming more painful and limiting. Her last race prior to total hip replacement was the Indy Mini 5k in 2023. She had promised her then 9-year-old that they would run the race together, but felt sharp, stabbing hip pains with every step. The pain had become constant in nature limiting even the most basic daily activities such as walking around the grocery store, playing with her kids or sleeping comfortably at night.
It was this change in the severity of the pain that led Sarah back to Forté to meet with Dr. Lucian Warth, Forté orthopedic surgeon specializing in the knee and hip. After an MRI scan showed an area of full thickness wear of the cartilage on her femur, Dr. Warth discussed the best treatment option was a total hip replacement surgery.
"It is certainly unfortunate when anyone, let alone an active, athletic individual develops debilitating hip arthritis,” said Dr. Warth. “In my younger patients it often comes as quite a shock, however most are even more surprised to find out that after a well-done hip replacement and appropriate rehabilitation they can return to an unrestricted and active lifestyle. As a kid I remember watching Bo Jackson play professional baseball for the White Sox after hip replacement in the 1990’s. His return to professional sports was impressive back then, and surgical technique, implant quality, and longevity have only improved in the last 30 years. Nobody is excited about surgery… but modern total hip replacement is not a death sentence, it is an opportunity to get back to your high-quality lifestyle. And that is exciting."
From THA to Recovery
Although Sarah expected Dr. Warth to tell her that running was not recommended after surgery, he instead told her that, because she was already a runner, if she ran gradually and limited her mileage per week, he was okay with her running. Sarah’s total hip replacement surgery was in September of 2023. “I could tell as soon as I got to the recovery room, the pre-op pain was gone,” said Sarah. “I did PT on my own for the first two weeks, then transitioned to outpatient PT at Forté Noblesville with Nate and Melissa.” As Sarah helps her patients return to running or sport with specific weekly goals for progression, she too recovered from her hip replacement with structured stretching, icing, exercises and physical therapy and attention to running form. She gradually built mobility and strength and worked on her cardio/conditioning through low impact methods like biking and elliptical. “I did my first ‘run’ about four months post-op,” said Sarah. “It was a light jog and did just a mile, but the sharp stabbing pain was gone.”
Sarah’s first official race after surgery was the Indy Mini 5k in 2024, about eight months post-op. “I was so happy I was able to run without feeling like someone was stabbing me in the front of my hip,” said Sarah. “I continued to run shorter distances and doing occasional 5k races but worked up to a 10k race in September 2025.”
With the success Sarah had in these races, she signed up for the 500 Festival Mini Marathon in October, knowing she would have several months to keep increasing cardiovascular endurance and building up mileage. She also ran the Miler Series, a series of runs which builds in distance across several months to assess where a runner is in his or her training. This included a 3-mile race in February, a 6-mile race in March and a 10-mile race in April. In addition to this series, Sarah would typically run three to four miles, one to two times during the week and then a long run on the weekend, increasing by one mile each week leading up to two weeks before race day. She also supplemented with bike or elliptical.
The Day of Her Personal Best Run
On May 2, 2026, Sarah laced up her running shoes and ran the 50th running of the IU Health 500 Festival Mini Marathon downtown Indianapolis. Her initial goal for the 13.1 mile race was two hours, but as she started ramping up into February and March, she was consistently running 8:30 to 8:45 minute miles so she updated her Mini goal to 1:55.
“I ran the 10-mile race at an 8:25 pace, which I was completely not expecting, but I wasn’t sure if I could maintain it for another three miles, so I still kept my goal between 1:50-1:55,” said Sarah. “My previous PR was in 2018 at 1:49:21 and I ended up shaving four seconds off this year. I likely would have shaved off even more time, but I cramped up in the last 1.5 miles of the race, so I had to keep stopping to stretch (unrelated to my hip).”
Sarah said some tears were shed when she met up with her family after the race because she never thought she’d be able to run a mini again and run such a good time in the process. “I’m so grateful to Dr. Warth for giving me a new hip that allows me to do the things I want to do and not feel limited in any way,” Sarah said.
How an Orthopedic Specialist Can Help with Hip Pain
Forté Sports Medicine and Orthopedics is an integrated orthopedic practice which offers patients access to not only joint replacement physicians who perform hundreds of surgeries each year but also in-house physical therapy and interventional pain management teams. This comprehensive approach allows physicians and rehabilitation clinicians to have direct communication to aid in returning patients to their activities and lifestyles.
Get Started with Orthopedic Care to Return to Sport
When hip pain interferes with daily life, look to Forté Sports Medicine and Orthopedics for help. Serving patients in Carmel, Greenwood, Mooresville, Noblesville and Tipton, IN, our orthopedic and sports medicine specialists provide exceptional care. From aches and pains to sharp pains that interfere with walking or performing daily activities, be assured our team of fellowship trained physicians will work to get to the root of the hip pain. Contact us today to achieve a better, faster outcome.
Our Mooresville office will be closed Thursday, June 18th & Friday, June 19th.