Plymouth mum to represent Great Britain at the World Judo Championship
Kylie Adams has been picked just two years after a hip replacement
39 year-old Kylie Adams from Plympton, Plymouth, has earnt a place on the GB veterans team at the World Judo Championships to be held in Paris this November. This comes just two years after Kylie had a hip replacement and a decade long struggle with chronic hip pain.
A civil servant and 3rd-degree black belt, Kylie attracted national attention this month with a gold at the British Veterans Judo Championship in Walsall. The victory secured her a place in the GB squad.
Her hip problems were caused by a judo injury 2011. A torn cartilage and a deteriorating hip caused by mild osteoarthritis, meant that she become reliant on regular NHS steroid injections to manage her daily life and to participate in Judo. However, the pain had become unmanageable by summer 2023.
“Following another GP referral, an X-ray at Derriford Hospital revealed I now had severe joint deterioration and my hip was now bone-on-bone,” Kylie explains. “With an NHS waiting time of up to two years locally, I pleaded for alternatives as I was struggling to walk, let alone chase after a toddler.”
However, her GP told her about NHS Patient Choice, which allowed Kylie to be quickly referred to Practice Plus Group Hospital, Plymouth. There she was assessed and booked for surgery within just three months. Her waiting time was dramatically reduced and set her on the path to recovery.
Kylie comments: I was relieved I could be seen quicker at Practice Plus Group Hospital, Plymouth. Although it’s a private hospital, they could treat me as an NHS patient with no cost to me at all. From the moment I met Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, Mr Simon Coleridge, I felt reassured.”
Her surgery, performed just before Christmas 2023, went smoothly: “I went into theatre at 9am, was back on the ward by 11am, and discharged the next morning. The hospital was brilliant and I was so pleased with the outcome. I can’t thank them enough for treating me so quickly and give me the chance to get back to the judo I love again.”
After surgery, Kylie began physiotherapy straight away and was back on the Judo mat by March. To begin with, she started with jujutsu to gently rebuild her confidence and strength. She says: “Jujitsu is less impactful on joints, there are less throws, it’s more mat-based and lots of rolling around! But judo is my main passion and I’ve been practicing it since I was 11.”
She then entered her first post-op judo competition in Autumn last year: “It was a local event, and I was nervous. But I felt safe, and I trusted the training I’d done. I was overjoyed to win Gold!”
That early success propelled Kylie to claim more titles - including Gold at the British Veteran Championships in Walsall earlier this month. Now she faces her biggest test since surgery, the World Championships in Paris.
She says: “Since that first local competition after surgery, I’ve gone on to win Gold in several major championships and secure my GB place in the World Finals in Paris. If you believe, then anything is possible. Life doesn’t have to stop because of surgery or injury. I’m proof that you can adapt, recover, and push forward.”