Revision THR 55 male cyclist 2019 October Revision THR

[Corey W]

Greetings all!

I found this site after I had my THR (unfortunately it took that long) and I am so glad I did. The stories of others here have helped me figure out a realistic goals for myself. I have had a remarkable recovery to date. I will be at the one week mark 3 hrs from now and doing great. I am a fitness guy but a big guy 6'1 220 and my hip really started to hurt in July 2018. I tried as many others to use cortisone and rehab PT to "fix" my hip...by April 2019 I had enough of the daily constant pain that i decided to go ahead and get the THR. I had outpatient THR anterior on June 20th and left the hospital that day. I spent a total of 10 hrs at the facility...went home drugged up on crutches and fell asleep early. Woke day one after surgery and felt like I got hit by a bus..had oxy and used it every 4 hours for the first 72 hrs. Mostly stayed in bed listing to relaxation music and doing PT. Morning of day 4...my head in the clouds i felt like i needed to get off the narcotics and try to use Advil. By the middle of Day 4 i had stopped using any crutches, cane, or walker and was hobbling around (fitbit said 2 miles day) Day 5 first PT at Illinois bone and Joint...excellent plan of strength and mobility. Day 5 fitbit said 5 miles. Day 6 was outstanding! Did PT first thing then walked around the grove with my wife (taking breaks) ended up with 7 miles on the day. I have been using Ice Rest Elevation intervals and woke up this morning feeling great. My PT said I can ride a stationary bicycle for up to 20 minutes with no resistance so I plan to be pedaling today at the gym. I am wondering if other cyclists who have had similar first weeks would share with me how soon they were back to casual riding and then back to full on cross country mountain biking, cross racing, or road racing? I want to be realistic, but I would really like to hear of others who wanted to get back ASAP and have pushed the envelope so to speak. My Dr and PT are reluctant to advise anything too aggressive, they simply say be smart. Let me know fellow riders!

 

[Harryn1]

Hi.

Congrats on the new hip, and the great attitude.

You seem to be overdoing it like crazy, so take it from one who has been there - tone things down a bit.

I was also anxious about getting back on the bike, and I was doing short Zwift sessions after 2 weeks. It was total madness and I paid for it with a psoas issue 6 weeks post op.

Since my RTHR I have kept mostly to lots of nightly indoor cycling on my Kikr, as I am really scared of a fall. But I have (until recently) also been doing 75 to 80km road rides on the weekends. But I have not done any races and I have stayed off the mountain bike, though I do plan on doing some non technical trails this winter.

Give your body time to heal, and you will come back strong!

 

[Corey W]

Thanks for the reply, I still haven't mounted a bike 10 days post op. I have been using ice elevation and rest in intervals but seem to be stronger every hour. My PT warned me about being smart and not overdoing it. I took it easy today and will see the Dr tomorrow to get the zip tie removed. Thanks for the wise advice! So how long did it take you to feel 100% again if I can ask?

 

[HertsHippy]

I'm 8 months out and still not 100% - expect it will be over a year before fully back to normal. Having said that now playing squash and golf without any problems so getting there.

 

[Layla]

Welcome to BoneSmart and Recovery. Thanks for joining us and congratulations on the new hip.

Consider speaking with your surgeon tomorrow about the activity you've been engaging in. It feels quite ambitious to me and I'm concerned you may develop some chronic issues if you don't allow your body to heal first. It seems you're getting way ahead of yourself. It can take up to a full year to feel 100% again, even longer for some. Please slow down.

Below are the Recovery Guidelines - I suggest you read them and pay attention to the Activity Progression For THR, which is a rough guideline. Some will excel, others lag behind a bit. In reading this article you'll see how aggressive and unbalanced your activity level is in these very early days of the healing process.

Best wishes on the journey.


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 to these pages on the website

Oral And Intravenous Pain Medications
Wound Closure​

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 the at each member have only one recovery thread. This policy makes it easier to go back and review history before providing advice. @Corey W

 

[Corey W]

Thanks Layla,

I really don't feel any real pain or tiredness. I realize moving is an important part of rehab and I listen to my body and its telling me to go. I'll ask the doc today to elaborate on "be smart" and see his perspective on possible damage. I APPRECIATE BONESMART SO THANK YOU FOR THIS AMAZING RESOURCE!

 

[Layla]

Thanks for joining us, we're happy you find BoneSmart a valuable resource.
Let us know what your surgeon has to say today, wild man.
We just don't want to see you hurt yourself.
Hope today is a good one!
@Corey W

 

[Corey W]

SO....Dr said wait another 4 weeks before riding to let the bone attach to the implant. He said 20-25 minutes a day on a spin bike LOW RESISTANCE is OK so I'll follow his advice. maybe. ;) Target date for my first ride is July29th pending his OK. Thanks for the wise advice Layla!

 

[Harryn1]

Thanks for the reply, I still haven't mounted a bike 10 days post op. I have been using ice elevation and rest in intervals but seem to be stronger every hour. My PT warned me about being smart and not overdoing it. I took it easy today and will see the Dr tomorrow to get the zip tie removed. Thanks for the wise advice! So how long did it take you to feel 100% again if I can ask?

6 months for me. But, everyone is different.

 

[Layla]

Hello and Happy Monday!
Only three weeks to go Just keep the rubber side down, lol.
Hope you have a great week!
@Corey W

 

[ShellKay13]

Sounds like you are having an amazing recovery. I was hoping to more be along the speed of your recovery but I'm over 5 weeks now and still walk around like a peg leg pirate. I really enjoyed my spin classes pre-op so I'm hoping I can get back to classes in a month or two. I'm going to try riding a recumbent bike at the gym today or tomorrow to see how it goes.

Just be careful, but sounds like you'll be back at it in no time.

 

[CricketHip]

Hello! My surgeon told me the same thing. To wait the 4 weeks before rejoining any of my more physical activities, specially with something physical like my work and that was to enable the prosthetic to knit successfully to my bone. And interestingly, before the 4 weeks I felt stronger, but it took a few more weeks before I was interested in applying myself too much physically and this was mainly the result from reading too many stories on here about people who overdid it and ended up with chronic tendonitis, or something similar.
I tend to get a little hyperactive in my activities too and am trying to focus on meditation and reading some good, uplifting books and reading some of my work related books. The time actually flies past rather quickly. You are off to a super great start and you just don't want to be kicking yourself later..

This surgery is pretty amazing, isn't it? It gives us our lives back!

​

 

[ForumUser]

Corey,

Ya sound driven ...recently a forum member fell at 5 weeks ... broke her femur in three places.

It is, of course, up to you, but you might consider worst case scenarios as you attempt to set records based on feeling stronger every hour.

 

[Corey W]

!

 

[Corey W]

Layla, I have to laugh because that is my riding buddies mantra...i have trouble keeping the rubber down...thanks for the well wishes!

 

[Corey W]

ShellKay13...A fellow SPINNER! So i have been on the SPIN bike at my gym now for the past week. I ride without my clip on shoes and at almost zero resistance, but the movement is pain free and just feels good. I still limp a bit too, but I am way better than before THR. I hope your ride went well yesterday...you'll be back in class soon enough. Its hard being a patient - patient right?!

 

[Corey W]

CricketHip---I am staying off my bikes ...even tho its tempting! I don't want to have problems for sure, but I'm listening to my body and being smart! Thanks for the advice!

 

[ShellKay13]

@Corey W so I've been back in the gym twice now....I've just done the recumbent bike both times, I even increased the resistance and it still felt good. I did the elliptical as well but did it turning the pedals backwards as going forward felt like it pulled at the muscles where the doc went in surgically. I felt sore the next day, not too bad, but I good sore....not like I irritated anything.

Walking for me is what I still struggle with....hate having a limp. Now I think I've went from looking like a peg leg pirate to having a stick up my rear! Not sure this is an improvement ;) I will continue to increase my exercise slowly. My other hip is not so great either and will eventually need a THR so I think I feel more pain in that hip after cycling than on the replaced hip!

 

[CricketHip]

Hi @Corey W I'm just curious.. are you staying off your bike? How are you doing/feeling? You are about 5 days ahead of me, BTW.

 

[Corey W]

@Corey W so I've been back in the gym twice now....I've just done the recumbent bike both times, I even increased the resistance and it still felt good.

ShellKay13- glad you are back in the gym! The elliptical I have not tried yet, but I accept your challenge ;) Im heading over in a few minutes and I'll see how that goes. I still limp and hate it...Im no worse than pre-op though. I feel bad that your other hip is hurting. So far I only have mild OA in my left, but I won't wait when it needs to be done. Keep on moving forward!