THR Right THR

Godzilla1964

new member
Joined
Jan 13, 2020
Messages
16
Country
United States United States
Gender
Male
Greetings fellow earthmen>

Timeline:
  • Right THR 18 Dec 19
  • Release from hospital 19 Dec 19
  • Stopped using walker 21 Dec 19
  • Stopped using cane 23 Dec19
  • Stopped pain meds 30 Dec 19
  • Back to work 6 Jan 20
  • Driving 11 Jan 20
Everything went well with the operation. Bone density was great, x-ray afterwards was great. Proceeded great. PT lady was very surprised about how I was doing. I was going for 10 minute walks by end of week one. Could do any exercise they asked of me. Swelling way down. Pain was basically nill. Had no problems whatsoever.

Have hit a Week 3 small wall. When I stand up and put weight on the joint I get pain (level 3). I have a slightly painful hitch in my step for the first 4 or 5 steps and then it's fine. Been this week for almost a week now (will be starting week 4 in two days). Slightly frustrating since I was doing so well. Figure it's a soft tissue issue and will work itself out eventually. Other than that no pain at all.
 
Read intro, then thought to myself, “self, this must be a guy.” . Your profile does not provide age.?

Posterior or anterior approach?

Here’s my story - including the portions related to overdoing it. I can’t tell you how great I felt on Day 5, then Day 9 walking neighborhood. Then .... yep, signals of having overdone it. Chilled a bit, and things got better ...

 
Anterior. Have backed off a little (no driving) but am not discouraged at all. Time heals all wounds they say . . . .

And I'll also say in the fine print "No case is typical. You should not expect to experience these results."
 
Last edited:
@Godzilla1964 Welcome to BoneSmart. Your recovery milestones are very aggressive. And as you get more and more mobile your new hip may start to complain. Listen to it and back off. Back to work this early is bound to slow you down a bit. This recovery is more a marathon than a sprint. The slow and steady approach works every time.
 
@Godzilla1964 Welcome to BoneSmart. Your recovery milestones are very aggressive.

Just listening to my body. I have no real milestones I'm trying to meet, just taking a day at a time . Only goals I've had were to be able to shower after the first week and to permanently remove those dang TED hose at week 3 :). Everything else is just gravy . . .
 
Just tried stairs for the first time! 3 flights. No pain or pressure. Only thing was the mental hurdle of realizing my leg was not going to fall off on the way down!!
 
That’s amazing progress. Having had a right THR myself in October, I couldn’t imagine doing all that so soon. You’re right, we’re all different.
A colleague of my wife’s had a THR a couple of years ago. He loved the result, and was soon in the gym on the treadmill and the bike. He started weights on the exercise stations too.
We recently saw him in town. He limps quite badly... He regrets going at it so hard so soon. Surgeon says revision is the only option.
Just one anecdote, I know.
 
Appreciated. While my progress has been really good, and lucky, I'm not going to press it. Heck I won't even sleep on my side yet and that's driving me nuts! I was fairly healthy going in (age 55) and the Dr did a great job. He used the MAKO™ Robotic-Arm Assisted Surgery which is supposed to lead to quicker recovery times, less pain, etc. I have about a 4 -5 inch incision and the surgery took 35 minutes.

No matter how good my mobility is, the muscles and everything are still healing. I'll continue with the pace of what I'm doing but will not add anything (weights, Bowflex Max Trainer) until my week 6 check up, if then. I have no problem taking my time for better results long term.
 
Has anyone used a TENS unit as part of their physical therapy? If so at what week in the recovery process did you use it?
 
I used a TENS unit after my TKR for pain control but not therapy. It helped along with ice to control pain that they would not approve narcotics for after 2 weeks. Thankfully THR has been MUCH easier.
 
I had so little pain, and what I did have was managed so well by Tylenol, I don‘t think it would matter much.

I used one years ago for back pain - minimal utility at that purpose.

btw, I side slept from the beginning. Just put a pillow between knees.
 
Everything else is just gravy . . .

Please don't take your current progress for granted, or you may just crash and burn. There's a saying you may have read around here, if not, I'm sure you'll come across it at some point.
"Just because you can, doesn't mean you should."
I wish you well as you continue healing, it's only the beginning of the journey.
 
The TENS machine is an appropriate treatment for back pain. It works very well for a lot of people and would be worth a try. If you're new to using one, I suggest you have a session with your therapist to learn how to properly place and use it.
 
I would check with your doctor about using a TENS. I have used one in the past but for my lower back and not associated with surgery.
 
There is actually an article from Josephine about placement of the TENS pads for TKR, I don't believe I've seen anything similar for hips though. I already had a machine that I was given after rotator cuff surgery so it gave me one more weapon against knee pain.
 
@Godzilla1964 :wave: and welcome to Bone Smart! Realize you're on your way with recovery but thought I'd leave you the Recovery Guidelines, there may be info there that will be useful for you.

As others have suggested, please proceed slowly and carefully. Joining the ODIC (over did it club) is not the club you want to join.

Hip Recovery: The Guidelines
1. Don’t worry: Your body will heal all by itself. Relax, let it, don't try and hurry it, don’t worry about any symptoms now, they are almost certainly temporary
2. Control discomfort:
rest
elevate
ice
take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)
3. Do what you want to do BUT
a. If it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physical therapist - to do it to you
b. If your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again.
4. PT or exercise can be useful BUT take note of these
BoneSmart philosophy for sensible post op therapy
5. At week 4 and after you should follow this
Activity progression for THRs
6. Access these pages on the website
Oral And Intravenous Pain Medications
Wound Care In Hospital

Pain management and the pain chart
Healing: how long does it take?
Chart representation of THR recovery

Dislocation risk and 90 degree rule
Energy drain for THRs
Pain and swelling control: elevation is the key
Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it
Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds
Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?

BIG TIP: Hips actually don't need any exercise to get better. They do a pretty good job of it all on their own if given half a chance. Trouble is, people don't give them a chance and end up with all sorts of aches and pains and sore spots. All they need is the best therapy which is walking and even then not to excess.

We try to keep the forum a positive and safe place for our members to talk about their questions or concerns and to report successes with their joint replacement surgery.

While members may create as many threads as they like in a majority of BoneSmart's forums, we ask that each member have only one recovery thread. This policy makes it easier to go back and review history before providing advice.
 
@Godzilla1964 ,
I am also having robotic (Mako) THR soon. What people on this forum don't realize is the robotic protocol which accurately replicates our individual anatomy and how much good (non-diseased) tissue is spared. I have read extensively and talked with my doc and I believe you are experiencing a normal recovery given the procedure and your age. I am hoping to report the same soon. I am also relatively young and a competitive athlete, so hopefully that will carry me as well as it has you!
 
Expect two bandages. One where the incision will be (big bandage) and one where the machine attaches to you (small bandage). Kind of had me fooled for a few days. Couldn't figure out why I had two bandages until the PT told me what the small bandage was for. My incision measures 4 1/2 inches for the THR itself. Smaller than I'd thought it would be and has a nice clean look.

I go for my six week checkup on Thursday so I'll report back then.
 
Last edited:
What people on this forum don't realize is the robotic protocol which accurately replicates our individual anatomy and how much good (non-diseased) tissue is spared
Actually, Connie, we're quite familiar with robotics here on BoneSmart. We've been talking about that procedure since it began to go mainstream in 2008. MAKO was one of our sponsors before they merged with Stryker in late 2013. Robotics has evolved to be a great tool to assist a surgeon in making precision cuts and position implants properly. But it does not guarantee a faster recovery in all cases. There are many things that factor into recovery and no one can predict how fast someone will be able to resume normal activity. Your body has a certain amount of healing that must take place and it cannot be rushed. This is why we tell people to use numbers and goals only as a guide and to instead pay attention to your body's reaction to whatever it is you're attempting to do in terms of activity or exercise. Recovery is not a time to push through pain. Here's hoping you have an easy surgery and recovery.
 

BoneSmart #1 Best Blog

Staff online

Forum statistics

Threads
65,181
Messages
1,597,073
BoneSmarties
39,365
Latest member
Dave4562
Recent bookmarks
0
Back
Top Bottom