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THR 11 days post-op and doing ok

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Does anyone know if it's normal for parts of my foot to still feel numb 3 weeks post op? And if there is anything I can do to help with this?

Thanks Jaycey and sunsetbiking
 
Nerves, muscles and tissues were all traumatized during your op. Give it time - I think you'll find this disappears on its own.
 
Thanks Jaycey
Although I am seeing improvement, there are certain things that haven't seemed to change... like the numbness in my foot. As well, since Wednesday when the PT increased the intensity f my exercises, I have been getting some pain in my knee, and it keeps cracking. This makes me less motivated to do my exercises at all. I guess I am hitting the "blues" phase of my recovery (or just PMS !!!).
 
Do not let PT push you. Physio should never hurt - knees or anywhere else. Back off and go gently for a bit on the exercise that is hurting your knee. You'll get there!
 
Congratulations on your progress so far! Jaycey is right that you should avoid any activity or exercise that causes pain. It takes time to get through the healing process. Really, the best exercise for hip replacement patients is walking, so not too much else is really needed. And even the walking should be increased very gradually over your entire recovery period. Listen to your body....it will tell you when something is just "too much" right now.
 
Thanks Jamie - I am cutting back a bit on the exercises. Some of them are causing too much pain. I realized that for about a year pre-op I had very little range of motion, so the muscles on the side of my legs have gotten weaker. Now that I have more range of motion, the exercises that are using those side muscles are excruciating. I am going to discuss this with my PT. The pain is mostly muscular, and I think the knee pain is a consequence of the week muscles.

Is it normal to be feeling more tired 3 weeks post-op than I was one week post-op?
 
You are right that it may take some time to recover good use of muscles that have been weakened or shortened by lack of motion. But....please remember that you are still only a few weeks out from this major surgery. You and your body should be in "healing" mode right now. You have plenty of time to regain movement and strength once those tender tissues are healed. No need to hurry!
 
Jamie that is exactly how I feel, but my PT seems to think that we have to push forward as much as possible as soon after surgery as possibly, otherwise it will be harder and take longer to make progress later on. Do you know if doing less physio exercises now can limit my potential to fully recover? I mean, if I can recover the use of my hip at 100% by doing all the physio exercises twice a day now, is it possible that doing them only once a day or even skipping a day can limit my recovery to less than 100%?
I hope my question makes sense.
 
Your question makes perfect sense. It's your therapist who has the wrong approach. Sadly, this happens with joint replacement patients more than it should. Going slower will NOT reduce your ability to recover overall. In fact, if you're pushing to the point of pain and swelling, going slower may just help your recovery progress in a more linear pattern (with fewer setbacks). From our experience with these gung-ho therapists, you won't get very far trying to talk to them about this. You'll probably only have two choices.....insist that they ease back on your exercises or locate a different therapist.

A good test is to scale back for a week or two and see how you feel. My guess is you'll be doing MUCH better. As long as you're up and walking around the house and maybe a little walking outside each day, there is no need to do a long list of therapy exercises. As I said, you have PLENTY of time once you're healed to build muscle strength. Your surgeon messed with bones and a lot of soft tissue during the surgery. It's irritated and it needs time to heal and settle down before you start pushing very much.
 
Many THR patients have no physio after their surgery. I agree 100% with Jamie, ease off the exercise and let things settle a bit. There is absolutely no need to push!
 
Jamie and Jaycey ... thank you both for your reassurance.
Logically speaking, I know that I am doing great for 3 weeks post-op. I even went grocery shopping with hubby yesterday, and am doing fine today.
 
I think I have officially hit a set-back at just over 8 weeks post op. On Monday, I ran alot of errands that included lifting some heavy bags of groceries up stairs. Since then, I have had major stiffness and some pain in the operated hip. I have not had any pain there in over 2 weeks (probably even 3 weeks), and the stiffness I was feeling a month ago had also subsided considerably. I have eased off the physio excercises since Monday, and am lying in bed with ice on my hip after taking a tylenol arthritis tablet.

The logical side of my brain is saying this is simply due to over doing it on Monday.

The emotional side of my brain is worried that I messed something up and will not recover from it.

Anyone have some thoughts and insight about this.... would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
 
Try to relax, drahdrah, you just
[Bonesmart.org] 11 days post-op and doing ok
. It's only been two months since surgery. There is still a lot of healing going on. Remember these:
Healing: how long does it take
Chart representation of THR recovery
Activity progression for THRs

Read through them again as a refresher. These new man made parts are tough and not easily damaged. I've had two hard falls in the last several months, and I'm considerably older than you--my hip and knees weren't phased although my dignity took a direct hit. Just back off extra activity for a while, and try to pace yourself more carefully. Don't schedule so much for one day. It's hard when you wake up feeling fit as a fiddle, but as you now know, your body makes you pay if you do too much at one time. (Keep in mind to that we have all been guilty at one time or another.)

Take care and keep us posted. We care.
 
thanks bottomshollow . Your reassurance is comforting. Still having a bit of a rough day. Extremely tired, but managing to take it easy. Hopefully I will be better tomorrow. Planning on going to my company xmas party to say hi to my co-workers.
 
Drahdrah, this is so completely typical. Just as we start to really feel pretty good, we of course feel like we can do more and more. So we do. But of course, we do just a bit too much. And then whammo! Pain and exhaustion. There's a lot of trial and error in recovery....probably more error than there needs to be because we want to believe that we are really finally fine and we rush it. So just backtrack....take it very easy for a few days. Get back to feeling fine. And then go forward a whole lot more slowly. This will pass.

Sharon
 
Easy does it my friend. The best tactic at this stage is plan a day of activity followed by a day of resting. Build up the activity slowly and soon the rest days will disappear. This is a busy time of year for everyone! Slow and steady.
 
Thanks sharonslp and Jaycey,
I know you guys are right. I am just a little frustrated right now because like you said, this is a busy time of year, and there is so much I want to do before Christmas, and my body is not co-operating.

I will stop complaining now, and focus on all the blessings in my life, and there are many.
Have a wonderful day everyone, and thanks for listening and supporting ! :)
 
drahdrah so sorry you've hit a wall in your recovery.....after we've had a few good weeks I think we get it into our minds that we have 'recovered' and think we can do anything...which means we overdo it. Our bodies certainly have a way of letting us know, don't they. I'm sure once you have rested up for a while you will be back onto normal recovery. One thing is for sure...this recovery is a roller coaster ride of highs and lows....don't know about you but I wasn't expecting the emotional high and lows..perhaps because I didn't find BS until post op week 7. Do hope you are feeling better honey....and please take it easy....do let us all know how you get on... Take good care...Chrissie xxxx


Sent from my iPad using BoneSmart®
 
Hi there... I am a little late to the party... But found your comment about "my body is not cooperating" interesting, you might like to check out these articles...

The following is a link to an article which provides some approximate timeframes around the healing phases and processes (and relevant nutritional information) for you to read.

Healing Phases & Nutrition

This second link is to other nutritional articles which you may find interesting, including one relating to bone health.

Nutritional advice for pre op and recovery

Cheers, Poppet.

Disclaimer: The information on dietary factors, foods, and beverages contained in these articles does not cover all possible uses, actions, precautions, side effects, and interactions. It is not intended as medical advice for individual problems. Liability for individual actions or omissions based upon the contents of this article is expressly disclaimed. Consult a doctor or other health care professional for diagnosis and treatment of all medical conditions including the taking of supplements.
 
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