I have been working with my new orthotics now for a few months and they did improve things in terms of pain. But I still have not been able to shake that feeling of tightness in the hip joint, limping whenever I stand from sitting or lying down until I walk a few steps, and generally just not walking correctly. Yesterday I had an “event” that sent me back to my therapist today.
I had put some eggs in my egg cooker and pulled one (hot) egg out to have with breakfast. It was hotter than I expected and so was hurrying to get over to the sink in the kitchen to put it under cold water. When I took a kind of twisting step onto my unoperated leg, my foot rolled to the outside and, had I not been right by the kitchen counter, I would have fallen to the floor. I was able to catch myself where one counter intersects with the other and kept myself upright. I know there was some jerky movement that happened with my operated leg and hip joint, but I was focusing so hard on not falling that I don’t know exactly what it was. There was no pain either when this happened or afterwards. There also was no feeling that something snapped or broke loose, but when I stood upright, the tightness was significantly less. The rest of the day there was no pain and I was able to walk much better. I was shocked to have this happen!
Although I was not familiar with anything like this, I began to do some research and learned that, although not the same as with knees, it is possible to develop adhesions in the hip after replacement. In fact, much like the shoulder, the hip can actually become “frozen” if there is not enough movement during the weeks after surgery. My surgeon had me on 50% weight bearing for 6 weeks plus I had a home therapist move my hip in a way that really, really hurt in the first week after surgery. I always felt that one or both of these things contributed to my inability to regain proper strength and gait.
Fast forward to my consultation with my therapist today and she agreed this sounded like what I have been experiencing. And…..she proposed some specific passive motion therapy that should ensure I keep the gains I have now and begin to really improve with strength and mobility.
So….I guess I did the Manipulation Without Anesthetic (MWA) we talk about with knees sometimes…just with my hip. I’ve learned so much and in talking with Katie during my upcoming therapy sessions, I expect to learn even more about this. She says she sees this quite often with hips. So, while I think the stretches, getting new orthotics, and working with my tilted hip has helped, it would seem the real problem has been some adhesions that were restricting proper motion from my hip. I will know more as I work with Katie to get this resolved.
It’s the first time I’ve ever heard of a fall (or near fall) actually HELPED a patient!
United States
May your future be less painful, whatever solutions you may find.
Something was bumped or jostled into a better place 
