THR 3 months in to a THR

[Biffo]

Hi there….I had a THR 3 months ago today, I am 56 years old, I found out I needed this op due to arthritis 12 months ago.
My recovery has been good and I am back doing all that I used to do. Bike riding, playing tennis ect.
I did everything they told me to the letter. But I am struggling driving, it is uncomfortable to drive and find myself in pain! The other thing I am left with is when I have been sitting for a long time when I get up and stand on my leg it hurts and takes a couple of steps to get going. I also find that I am have some discomfort at night sleeping!!I’m not sure what to do about i or if this is just all normal? Or I am wondering if I am doing too much too quickly?

 

[SuzyR]

Hi Biffo, I am also at the 3 month mark after a THR. Like you my recovery has been good, weirdly it is my other side/hip/leg that I am having problems with! We are all different from a healing point of view. You will get good advice from the moderators on here but I would say perhaps no tennis! A bit too much at this stage perhaps, the muscles take time to heal. We need to be patient, I think slowly wins the day. Take care.

 

[Ocean]

You are still healing at this point so I think your assessment of doing too much too soon is accurate. Try dialling it back and resting, icing and possibly some pain killers for a while to allow your body to heal.

 

[Jaycey]

@Biffo Welcome to BoneSmart!

Too much, too soon! At only 3 months into a process that can take one year or longer, that hip is telling you to slow down. I would scale back and focus on walking and gentle stretches. You are not in training, you are healing. The pain you are feeling is normal. Internal inflammation of soft tissues. Ice and elevation should help ease this.

I'll leave you with our recovery guidelines. The activity progress article as well as the chart representation of recovery might help you set more realistic expectations for this recovery.

Hip Recovery: The Guidelines
We are all different, as are the approaches to this recovery and rehab. The key is, “Find what works for YOU.“ Your doctor(s), physiotherapist(s) and BoneSmart are here to help. But you have the final decision as to what approach you use.

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 this BoneSmart philosophy for sensible post op therapy
5. Here is a week-by-week guide for Activity progression for THRs
6. Access 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 that each member have only one recovery thread. This policy makes it easier to go back and review history before providing advice.

 

[Mojo333]

and

Please can you share the actual date of your surgery and which hip was replaced.

Getting back to the level of activity you describe this quickly is not helpful because there is still alot of healing happening.

It never seems to hurt until we stop, so that makes setting boundaries a bit tricky.

You sound like you are doing very well, but maybe asking your body to do more than it needs to at this point.
It is definitely a process, so slow and steady will be better for these hopefully forever hips!

 

[Hip4life]

I agree with the others about easing back into things. I used a wedge cushion (still do) for driving. It helps put the hip in a better alignment on the angled car seats. Also, I use a pillow between my legs as I am a side sleeper. Actually, I use a body pillow to help my shoulders as well as my hips. I like to relay that this has made my husband joke about how jealous he is of the "boyfriend" pillow. It really has helped. Sometimes you have to experiment with the pillows and your sleeping position to find what gives you the best comfort. Hopefully, easing back for a bit, icing and elevating, and perhaps using a wedge and pillow get you feeling better soon. Keep us posted.
@Biffo

 

[myglasshalffull]

Welcome!
Well I'd say at only 3 months post op you are doing very good! Tennis already? Amazing.
I still find sitting in any one position for too long uncomfortable and I'm stiff when I first stand up.
Sleeping is greatly improved since I now can lay on either side to sleep, I'm a side sleeper but have to say I did get used to back sleeping when I had to.

 

[Biffo]

Thank you for your reply’s this is helpful!
Date was 3rd of December 22. It’s my right hip.
I use a wedge at night although the should comment is interesting as my shoulder is stiff so will try other things! Will try one in the car as well, to see how this goes!
I’ve stopped Tennis as I think this is too much. I will slow it down I think this is good advice!
The Surgeon said I would be fully covered now but clearly it’s going to take longer.
Thank you

 

[Abbylayla]

Even though you feel 100% your really not. Still have lots of healing to do but these hips are deceiving. I too felt 100% healed at 3 months....until I got overzealous. Then the hip would send a reminder. Of course I'd "forget" & do it again. Lol
Just take it a little easier. I'm pushing 5 months now but the hip will still push back when I do too much.

 

[myglasshalffull]

For most of us (not all) this is a 6-12 month recovery. I marvel at those that are so active in short time span.
Listen to your body. It lets us know what we can or can't do.

 

[Biffo]

Thank you for your message it has made me feel than I am doing ok! I was starting to think at 57 my body was failing me!
I have taken note on all your comments and advice!

 

[Eman85]

At 3 mos I'd say you joined the over did it club and didn't even know it. At 3 mos with my first I got the true membership by over doing and I wouldn't even have thought about playing tennis. Resting and icing seemed to do the trick but 5 years later I'd say I would have been better off if I didn't overdo it back then.

 

[HollyNY]

You are doing fine.

Car seats tend to be pretty low. The small pillow should help.

 

[Sukuma]

I am way behind you at 6.5 weeks and still have a long way to go for mobility, so this is probably not relevant. I am finding that if I sit to long, I get really stiff and have to move about a bit to get going which sounds similar to you. I am due to go back to work and it's one of those things that I am thinking about as work means sitting in front of a laptop for hours on end, so I will be setting alarms on my clock accompanied by a mantra "Not interested with what you are doing - get up and move for 5 mins!".

 

[Layla]

Happy Four Month Anniversary!
How are you doing? Please leave us an update, we'd love to hear from you.
I hope you have a great Spring 2023.
@Biffo

 

[Biffo]

Hi There I am now at nearly 6 months….It’s been a rocky road, still not fully recovered I have full strength back in the muscles. But the muscles in my right leg are painful. I do stretch/Pilates class once a week I can do most movement but it does cause me some discomfort! The pain now is in the thigh bone! And muscle to the left of the knee. I have a doctors appointment on Monday as I want to go back to see the surgeon! I can’t say at this stage it’s been a success…..I feel very disappointed, frustrated and very low about the whole thing. I have swooped one set of problems for another…..
Has anyone got any advise?

 

[benne68]

So sorry to read you are still struggling with so much pain. Have you tried getting a therapeutic massage?

One of the problems I encountered was pain in my low back and the other (non-surgical thigh), which my doctor said was probably the result of my body adjusting to its new alignment. I found that massage really helped me.

 

[Eman85]

I don't think you swapped one set of problems for another. if you had a bad hip the pain from that is usually deep bone pain that is a lot worse than any muscle pain. You might not want to hear it but at 6 mos you're still in recovery. I have 2 THR's and I feel my legs and muscles will never be as strong as they were pre-op. I can strain my hips, which I recently did, a lot easier then I could think of pre-op. Now to do it I was lifting very heavy weight but nothing I would have thought twice about before and wouldn't have hurt my leg. On the other hand as my wife constantly reminds me I got 2 new hips, but that's all that's new. The rest of me is still the old model.