THR Ellie’s THR Bonanza

Hi @EllieBelly
Post op Blues (tired of recovery, just tired from Energy Drain, is this "symptom" going to pass or is it permanent?) hit me hard around the one month out mark, and unfortunately this, too, is common with new hippies.:console2:
As far as Leg Length Differential goes, you're not alone, many feel this sensation post op. In most cases it eases with time. We advise giving it 3-4 months as it can take that amount of time for things to balance. If at that point, you are still concerned we suggest you visit a reputable podiatrist or PT for a measurement.
This information Layla gave you is important and is what you need to keep foremost in your mind, as you are still in early days and still healing muscles and tendons are tight.

The most common cause of leg length discrepancy irrespective of THR is pelvic tilt due to tightening of the muscles (pelvic obliquity)

Many women have an anterior pelvic tilt and it is certainly common after pregnancy as the pelvis compensates from carrying that heavy baby in the front!
Or for that matter is compensating for bad hip.

I had both hips replaced at the same time and was measured by surgeon in supine position (all even he declared) , but after 3 months I worked with a PT who noticed that while sitting up on table with legs out in front of me, one appeared longer.
My issue was tight hip flexors due to an anterior pelvic tilt wherein slow and steady exercises to address this were prescribed with success.

There are a percentage of THR patients who have an unacceptable permanent LLD, unfortunately, like InkedMarie, that, if substantial, may have to address it with shoe lifts.

The most common reason leg lengths are unequal after hip surgery, is the need for stability within the replaced joint. As part of hip replacement, the soft tissues surrounding the joint must be stretched to the appropriate tightness to ensure that the joint stays in place. That can result in a slightly longer leg length. It is usually a matter of a few millimeters, and many people don’t notice it.
Stability is obviously critical to successful hip replacement. It serves no purpose to have equal leg lengths if every time you sit down after surgery the joint dislocates because the soft tissues are too lax to hold it in place. In short, stability trumps exact equal leg length because a chronically unstable hip requires another surgery to correct the problem.

My thought is that those tight muscles serve a purpose during recovery, protecting your hip, and after the first 3 months I began to address my tight hip flexors and pelvic tilt.

I hope you get reassurance at your appointment, but it really is too early to worry about the things that will likely resolve with time and healing.
 
@Mojo333 thank you so much for this breakdown. That is probably the best that the tilt and tightness has been explained to me. Considering years of bad walking and still recovering from pregnancy, I’m sure my pelvis is all out of whack! I will give it more time and trust the process. Thank you again really.
 
Oh gosh, the thought of sleeping on my stomach makes me cringe.. I know some people love it but it's so hard on our bodies. So I can't give you any insight on that. I think I would ask my surgeon's office about it, as there could be extra precautions, dependent on the surgical approach used.
 
I went back to stomach sleeping probably 2-3 mos post op. I have since stopped stomach sleeping as I figured out that it was my biggest source of back problems. The pillow between my legs stopped me from stomach sleeping so I went back to it and now I'm a side sleeper without back pain.
 
Oh gosh, the thought of sleeping on my stomach makes me cringe..
Same. I can’t…and when I was younger I loved sleeping on my stomach. While pregnant I’d dream of sleeping on my stomach after giving birth. Now I couldn’t even get comfortable attempting to do so. Different strokes I guess.

You’re still young @EllieBelly I’m guessing that desire may fade as you age. :shrug:
 
Happy Two Month Anniversary!
I hope you've been doing well over the past several weeks, enjoying steady progress and greater ease in doing all that became difficult before surgery. Have a great rest of the week and update us as time allows. We love progress reports. :)
@EllieBelly
 
Hello all! It’s been a while since I checked in. Thank you for the anniversary wishes! I am at 4 months post op now. I just had a check in with my surgeon yesterday and he said X-ray looked good. I still have IT band pain and leg length discrepancy due to tightness. It has improved but not totally. L gone yet.

As luck would have it, I woke up this morning with very significant pain in my thigh/IT band I believe. It runs into my knee and down the side of the calf as well. It has been getting worse and worse pretty much every 30 mins to the point I can barely bear weight on my leg and the pain makes me short of breath sometimes when I do try.

What is happening! Maybe I pulled something and aggravated the band? Nothing major happened, no fall or anything like that. So if my X-ray looked fine less than 24 hours ago I assume my joint is okay but this is the first time I’ve had pain this extreme besides maybe the first week post op. Freaking out a bit.
 
That IT Band can be a real pain, as you are experiencing. I'm guessing that you maybe increased some activities?
I had quite a bit of that in recovery and used my rolling pin to gently roll up and down the IT band area. Another suggestion that worked very well for me was to schedule some therapeutic massages.

You are right to feel reassured from the recent xray- like 24 hours ago- so try not to freak out and maybe try some heat applied to that area I'm thinking that will loosen up the extreme tightness and pain. Or, you may want to try ice, it's your choice at 4 months out. It's all about what helps you feel better.

So sorry you are feeling this now, immediately after your follow up appt.
 
@CricketHip thank you for the reassurance. I’ve been alternating ice and heat to see which feels better. I think I am mostly shocked at how sudden it came on. I tried to stretch in a few directions to pinpoint the pain better and it seems to be from the hip flexor and running down the front/middle of my thigh. Everything I’ve read so far on that seems to point to loosening but I can’t possibly believe that it wasn’t loose yesterday and now overnight I have an unstable hip. An X-ray would have shown that I assume.

I don’t think I increased activities…I had a walk through a corn maze with my son yesterday and maybe I was too confident though it wasn’t very long. Who knows. I felt no soreness at all yesterday and pretty much just woke up like this. I’m trying to take the day to rest of course but my husband has to work and a 10-month old is rather demanding haha but I literally can’t walk at all! Rough stuff.
 
Happy Friday all. Hope everyone is feeling good today! And if not I hope tomorrow is better.

A quick update - I can walk again and whatever happened last week is still a mystery. It only lasted about a day and though I am still sore and tender it’s been improving since. I definitely pulled something or overworked that IT band but overall I think it’s coming along alright. Ironically my “good” hip hurts more now. I guess I’ll have to start calling it the bad hip now. They have swapped titles.

The weekend here (Toronto) looks beautiful and sunny and warm. Surprising! I’m grateful.

Happy walking everyone.
 
@EllieBelly Hi! Im researching the surgical approach your surgeon used and would love to hear how you are doing a few months later. You posted last at 4 mos and now have nearly 7 mos. If you see this and have time, can you update this thread on the state of your recovery? Also - do you know if you got a dual mobility cup or a standard cup with your direct superior approach surgery? Thanks in advance and I hope this finds you well and active.
 
@EllieBelly Hi! Im researching the surgical approach your surgeon used and would love to hear how you are doing a few months later. You posted last at 4 mos and now have nearly 7 mos. If you see this and have time, can you update this thread on the state of your recovery? Also - do you know if you got a dual mobility cup or a standard cup with your direct superior approach surgery? Thanks in advance and I hope this finds you well and active.

Hello! Here I am 7 months later, over a year since surgery. I truly apologize for missing this message. I'm not sure if you have had the surgery or where you are in the process, I hope all is going well!

Unfortunately I don't have an answer to your question regarding the cup type, I will assume standard as I wasn't informed of anything different but I'm really not sure. I will say I am doing A LOT better since I was last active in this forum. I am still wearing a lift in one shoe to accommodate leg length issue, which has been xrayed and reviewed many times since and is not actually longer they tell me but that I need to keep stretching very consistently. I will say it's improved dramatically and I have almost zero pain. Bad days happen but the worst day these days is nothing compared to pre surgery. Happy to answer any questions or hear about how yours went if you had this done. I can't compare to the other approaches of course, but I am really happy with my surgeon and surgery, the scar is fairly small and healed well, I have a working hip!
 
Hi EllieBelly. Hopefully LaKarune reads your reply.

A belated Happy One Year Anniversary to you!
It‘s always encouraging to read of progress no matter how far removed from surgery. I hope things continue to improve for you with each passing month. It’s wonderful to read that your pain has been reduced to almost zero. You seem content which is always encouraging to read.
Take good care!
@EllieBelly
 
Thank you! I hope everyone is doing well and my update and all the updates here continue to encourage and help people through this tough but amazing thing!

Lots of love to everyone <3

I will send LaKarune a direct message in case that helps.
 

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