LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Osteoarthritis robs millions of people of their normal activities every year.

It cripples the joints after the cartilage wears away, causing excruciating pain because of bone rubbing on bone.

Brenda Bowman, 43, of Lafayette, struggled with the debilitating affects of osteoarthritis for years. On Wednesday, she decided to do something about it.

"I'm really excited. I can't wait to get it over with. It's gone on too long with the pain and stuff," Bowman told 6News Staying Healthy reporter Stacia Matthews.

Bowman was apprehensive about the three-month recovery time that comes with a total hip replacement, until her doctor told her about PATH, or percucaneous assisted total hip replacement.

"He told me downtime is two, three weeks. I'm like, wow, that's a big difference," Bowman said.

That difference is what convinced Bowman not to delay surgery any longer. PATH uses innovative tools that allow a patient to walk hours after surgery.

Dr. Dan Daluga is one of only a handful of Indiana surgeons offering it.

"The new instrumentation allows us to put the hip prosthesis with violation of the least amount of muscle and tissue and so patients don't feel the soreness when they get up and they're able to do stuff right away," said Daluga, a board-certified surgeon with Lafayette Orthopedic Clinic.

PATH made a believer out of Kerry Hardesty, 48.

"I'm not hopping or skipping yet, but the mobility, I couldn't do this," Hardesty said as he raised his left leg with ease.

Last month, Hardesty had the PATH procedure to receive a new left hip. He recalled how he was skeptical about the promise of a speedy recovery, but following physical therapy, he proudly walked down a hall unassisted. Hardesty credits PATH for giving him back his life.

"He (Daluga) said, 'You're going to get your youth back, and that's happened already -- two weeks ago today. I can't believe I'm walking without a cane," Hardesty said.

Hardesty has osteoarthritis in his right hip. He will undergo another PATH procedure in the coming months to replace that hip joint.