Meet Hugh House MD

We recently connected with Hugh House MD and have shared our conversation below.

Hugh, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?

For me, the question would be how did I find purpose again in my mid 50s. As a father of four and married for over 30 years family has always been my top priority. Most of my free time outside of my career was spent with my wife and kids. We spent time together with family dinners and weekend activities. In addition, I coached many of their youth sports teams when they were young and I enjoyed being a fan when they reached high school. This was all on top of being a busy orthopedic surgeon for almost 25 years. Balancing a full clinical and surgical schedule, on-call duties, and family life was often hectic but I loved almost every minute of it.
As my last child went to college I had more free time than I had since I was a young child. I have always enjoyed fitness and continued to play sports but I needed some new hobbies. You can only work out so much in a day. I was well aware that many physicians my age were suffering from burnout. When you have been practicing for over 25 years you have seen almost everything.
I decided I needed a new hobby or side-gig. For years I have noticed diseases of lifestyle were effecting my speciality of orthopedics far more than most patients realized. My patients were falling into two groups. The injured who I would fix and I would not see them again for years and the frequent fliers. The second group often suffered from diseases of chronic inflammation and would have many ailments and need numerous surgeries. Those with healthy lifestyles were far more likely to avoid falling into the second group. My new goal was to teach my patients that improving nutrition, fitness, sleep, and stress could improve their entire health and help them avoid being a frequent orthopedic patient. The start was slow with blogs that sat on my computer for a few years. Ultimately I started a website with some help from my medical assistant. (www.therealhousemd.com). This enabled me a resource to give to my patients when they asked how they could avoid or lessen some of their medical issues. This led to Instagram health challenges such as a summer sprint challenge and an autumn walking challenge @hughhousemd. I have also just launched a podcast discussing health issues. Now I have an enjoyable hobby, but it also makes my clinic days more interesting. This is helping prevent burnout because I can give patients interested in improving their health my in depth opinions on wellness related subjects.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

On a typical clinic day the vast majority of orthopedic patients will have routine injuries or ailments. As a result the physician will often instruct their patients with a speech they have given thousands of times describing the issue and all the treatment options. Many patients will not remember what the physician said in detail. My goal was to set up a website where patients could go and find their ailment reviewing what I said during their office visit. In addition, physical therapy is a huge component of not only orthopedic recovery but also injury prevention. For years friends and family with mild injuries would call me wondering how to treat their injury and I would search Youtube and send the appropriate therapy video. This occurred so frequently I decided to put some of the best videos for each body part and common diagnosis on the web site. There is also a description of how therapy can help their problem but also an explanation that more serious issues need to be treated with a Physical Therapist. I have had a growing number of patients interested in how lifestyle can affect their medical issue. This led to a lifestyle section, and blogs and videos for those interested in making lifestyle changes. Some patients might ask about lifestyle and wellness but others may only be interested in the treatment of their diagnosis. The goal is to catch the attention of some of these patients and get them to go down the rabbit hole and explore orthopedic wellness. Learning about fitness and nutrition has been an interest of mine for years. I enjoy reading books, watching videos, and listening to podcasts on these subjects. This allows me a chance to pass along some of this information to my patients.
The Instagram challenges are to inspire people to be active and healthy in a fun way. Right now I’m pretty much preaching to the choir with most of the participants already involved in fitness. My hope is this will grow and people will learn a healthy lifestyle is possible for them. I have recently started a Podcast that I am very excited about. I have always enjoyed conversation and I’m hoping to reach more people. Some of my friends have been encouraging me to start the podcast for a few years -even teasing me that nobody reads blogs anymore.
I have always been involved in athletics and coaching. I hope to inspire people to stay fit and keep playing long after they quit organized sports. I also hope to teach people the power of proper nutrition for athletes of all ages and anyone who wants to succeed in staying active in life. Finally being an orthopedic surgeon, husband, and parent can be stressful. I am interested in helping people become aware of the role of stress in their lives and possibly in their orthopedic problem. I’m hoping to get people started on a healthy lifestyle as young as possible but it is never too late.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Number 1 is curiosity. When I was a young surgeon I only wanted to know how to diagnose and treat the problem. Most of my efforts in training and my early practice were directed at perfecting surgeries. As I became established I became more curious about how my patients could prevent their issues or lessen their symptoms. I began to notice that patients who focused on fitness and nutrition recovered much quicker and often avoided the more serious treatments. When they did require surgery they tended to heal quickly. As we age we all have tissue damage which is often visualized on x-ray or MRI. I have been amazed how some people with near bone on bone arthritis have minimal symptoms while others are signing up for joint replacement. Many middle age people have rotator cuff tears without knowing it and others are having surgical repairs. Everyone’s spine will show wear and tear on imaging studies by middle age but many remain pain free. Ultimately a strong flexible joint will have less symptoms, People who are fit, eat an anti inflammatory diet and have stress reduction techniques often have better orthopedic health. I continue to be curious about how some people can remain healthy and active as they age despite past injuries and imaging studies that look like the patient would be impaired.
Number 2 is perseverance. This was the quality that enabled me to succeed as a doctor. I was an average student at a very good high school. I succeeded in math and science but struggled in English and Languages. I still considered I might want to be a physician even though I was not in the AP classes.( I think they were called honors back then). I just figured if I worked hard enough and kept trying it would all work out. In college I was a history major. I enjoyed history but because I was not a good writer there were no easy As. I completed the pre-med requirement and did well This enabled me to get into a good medical school and eventually into orthopedics. In orthopedics I always did well on exams. I was truly a late bloomer academically. I did much better compared to my peers as I climbed the academic ladder.
Number 3 is confidence- I never worried that that I wouldn’t be able to have the career I wanted no matter what I chose. This likely came from my parents. My guess is most physicians were gifted and talented or junior high honor students and this was not me. I had As on my report card but Cs as well. Despite this I knew I was going to keep improving academically as I got older. Once in medicine I was confident I would succeed even with obstacles. Now I am trying to communicate orthopedic wellness to my patients and beyond. When I started the project I still struggled with my writing skills and had a low key fear of public speaking. Despite this I was confident I could improve my writing and speaking skills. I also have zero tech savvy. This is the one area where I just don’t have curiosity, perseverance, or confidence but I’ve found people to help and i hope to inspire more to help me achieve my goals.

Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?

I enjoyed the book Late Bloomers by Rich Karlgaard. This book is encouraging for not only late bloomers but the parents of late bloomers. I was a late bloomer athletically and academically. I think a lot of athletes give up on sports because they were not the star in 7th grade. This means they miss out on many opportunities in high school and beyond. The same applies to academics. Fortunately I was always encouraged by my parents, teachers, and coaches to continue my academic and athletic pursuits. As a result I was able to persevere through early high school when I was not having as much success as my more mature peers. By the end of high school I began to catch up and enjoyed some success that gave me confidence moving forward. Patients never ask how I did in 9th grade Spanish or on my junior year of college history term paper. My concern is many people give up as students and athletes way before they peaked so they never find out how high that peak would have been. Another valuable lesson is that people need to stay active mentally and physically as they age. Even though I’ve had a successful career it is important for me to stay active physically and mentally outside of my career. I am hoping to inspire others to do the same. Maybe I have not peaked yet either.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.therealhousemd.com
• Instagram: @hughhousemd
• Youtube: Hugh House MD @therealhousemd