THR 50 year old male's recovery

[Layla]

Good Morning and Happy Thursday to you!
It's great you're feeling better these days.
For now, I'd focus on walking as exercise. Try walking 10-15 minutes one way, then turn around and go back. See how that works for you.

It is common to feel uncomfortable sitting on hard chairs such as dining chairs. As an option some bring a cushion when dining out.
I hope you have a nice Labor Day weekend!
@toughstuff

 

[toughstuff]

Layla,

Thanks. Any experience with a little stationary biking with no resistance at 5 weeks in recovery? Good idea or not so good?

 

[Layla]

It may be okay, but to be on the safe side, I'd call the office of your OS to ask. I'm sure your surgeon's PA, or a nurse on his care team can advise. If you decide to call, see if you can think of any other questions you may want answered and write them down. I called once in early recovery and found the PA to be very patient and thorough in his responses.
@toughstuff

 

[Hoppy Nanny]

I found there wasn’t a chair that was comfortable for the first 8 weeks... after that I took my own cushion everywhere with me!!

A lot of the recovery is to do with slowly building up the stamina in the leg...it is frustrating & an exercise in patience for sure!


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[SurreyGirl]

Definitely bring a cushion to restaurants and also get up and walk around a bit during the meal as this will help with stiffness. Good luck!

 

[Harryn1]

Layla,

Thanks. Any experience with a little stationary biking with no resistance at 5 weeks in recovery? Good idea or not so good?

@toughstuff. i did it two weeks post op, but I had the anterior approach, so sitting was not a problem. and I did lots of stupid stuff that set me back. When I have to do it all again, I am gonna try and not repeat these errors (but I probably will).[emoji23]

5 weeks is nothing. You may be tough stuff, but your’e still just protoplasm in a period post surgical regeneration.

A hip replacement is *major* surgery. Recovery is a marathon, not a sprint. It took me 6 months before I felt good again. I was impossibly impatient to get back to my life, and only realized I had done too much a day or two after.

Here’s the thing: this recovery process messes with one’s head. There were days where I felt I was making progress in the morning, only to be visited with regression in the afternoon, and back to woohoo in the evening before descending into agony and depression at night.

You need to take it easy, its not just your muscles that have been parted. You have been butchered by power tools, and then pieced together by a titanium door hinge which is still bonding with your bones, you’ve been decimated by anesthesia, the chemical equivalent of a sledgehammer, followed by blood thinners, and analgesics. (That hospital food did not do anything for your longevity either.)

Focus on rest and nutrition and you will be hundreds in a couple of months.

In summation: do as I say, not as I do.

 

[Mojo333]

You may be tough stuff, but your’e still just protoplasm in a period post surgical regeneration

I love this...definitely plagiarizing it on occasion.

 

[toughstuff]

So I think I’ve noticed a trend on this site and I think it is a good one.

I’ve looked at many of the threads/posts and it appears to me that not too many people post actively for more than 10-12 weeks unless they are a moderator or forum leader. I’m thinking this is due to human nature and that is once we are feeling ok the majority of individuals do not return to the site.

Does anyone else think I may be correct in this trend? That would mean that it really is time and patience and most heal in that 3 month window and move on.

Also looking for one or two safe, effective glute Maximus and medius exercises if anyone would like to share. My glute was literally destroyed by this surgery. I’m 5 weeks out and just walking for recovery no PT now but it may be time to activate that muscle group SLIGHTLY. Thanks.

 

[Layla]

Hi @toughstuff
Yes, I'd agree with that timeline from what I see here. Most who are thriving without complication are back enjoying and engaging in life once again at that point. After all, that's the goal, right? We do like and appreciate progress reports, but obviously not daily updates. I think once members are feeling better most are anxious to move forward, living life and enjoying all they love and have missed out on while their hip deteriorated.
Enjoy the holiday weekend!

 

[Jamie]

@toughstuff ... the good news is you can do a nice job of engaging your glute muscles with your walking. Just be sure you are taking good, long strides and your gait employs the correct heel-roll to toe step. Slowly introduce some inclines as you're doing these great long strides (the important word here is s-l-o-w-l-y). Doing stairs will help too.

But....give yourself at least 3 months before you start any strength exercises. Your body is still healing up until that point and if you choose to push exercises before you're ready, you really risk setting your whole recovery back significantly.

 

[Ptarmigan]

I asked my surgeon what separated his patients who had better-than-average recoveries from those who had more difficulty (surgical complications aside), and he said, “They take me literally when I say slow and steady.”

He told me to keep using walking aids until I stop limping, no if’s and’s or but’s. He told me to focus on walking on flat secure surfaces - even if that means laps in my living room - for physical therapy. He wants me to concentrate on a smooth, controlled transfer of body weight onto and off the new implant - no pivoting, no jarring, no twisting, no leveraging. He said to count steps, increase very incrementally, and wait two days between increases because inflammation can show up as much as 48 hours later. He told me to wait on any other exercises - specifically strengthening - even upper body - until he has confirmed the implant fixation. He said to keep going up and downstairs one at a time, even if I don’t have to, because the angles involved in that full body weight transfer are unnecessarily problematic.

He pointed out that any setback in the first 6-8 weeks that results in jarring the implant or reinjuring soft tissue typically means a 3 week timeout on the couch and back to square one. He advised me that it wasn’t worth the risk, and there was all the time in the world for the other parts of my recovery after the implant was secure and the soft tissue healed.

 

[Barbaraj]

Wow, @Ptarmigan, sounds like your physician really took the time to explain that early post surgical recovery, what works and, more importantly, WHY this is so important. I got the same instructions but very brief "walk, no PT and don't do anything stupid" was really the only directive. But your physician's explanation is thorough and makes so much sense. I think if everyone followed this advice it would mean a smoother recovery.

 

[toughstuff]

Insight needed......

I woke up today and moved like I never even had a hip replacement. I felt real good for 2 hours. Then for no reason I started to hurt in the groin/thigh area. I didn’t do anything to precipitate this in my mind.

Any ideas as to why this happened?

 

[alexthecat]

Any ideas as to why this happened?

Yes, it happened because you underwent major orthopedic surgery less than six weeks ago. As you continue healing, these aches and pains will pop up from time to time. It's all part of the recovery process and doesn't necessarily relate to anything you did or didn't do.

 

[toughstuff]

I appreciate this fact, but shouldn’t this happen less and less with this 6 week mark approaching?

It felt good this morning, basically pain free, just wish it would stay longer. Is there a definitive symptom for tendinitis?

 

[alexthecat]

Most people experience pain early in recovery from THR. If you think you have tendinitis, that would be a good thing to discuss with a PT or MD familiar with your case.

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[Layla]

Hi @toughstuff
There will be days like this. You are in the very early weeks of recovery when you consider how long you will likely live with the prosthetic implanted in your leg.

Your body recently experienced an assault, or controlled trauma if you will, and is in healing mode. Your leg was most likely manipulated rather aggressively in an effort to dislocate your hip. Your flesh was sliced, muscles and ligaments separated (as your OS explained) soft tissue disturbed. Then power tools were used to saw your bone and router out your femur so a prosthetic could be hammered in place.

You're going to suffer discomfort to varying degrees as your body slowly heals. You will have good days, and not so great days, now, and possibly for several more weeks. But slowly the good days will outweigh the less than stellar.

Buckle up and enjoy the ride. I can't imagine that your pain is excruciating or bothersome enough to keep you from engaging in life. Get out of the house, meet some friends, do whatever it is you enjoy doing in life and I'll bet you forget about the pain while you're distracted, OR it will be replaced by another puzzling pain....it's the nature of recovery.

You're going to be okay. Believe that. Unless a new pain is unrelenting, or increasing in intensity, try to ignore it. Get adequate rest / sleep, takes meds on schedule, eat as healthy as you're able, walk for exercise, but not to excess. Ice any areas of discomfort for 40-60 mins each time you ice. Target several times daily.

Make some plans, if you haven't already and enjoy the long holiday weekend. You can do this!

 

[Celle]

I woke up today and moved like I never even had a hip replacement. I felt real good for 2 hours. Then for no reason I started to hurt in the groin/thigh area. I didn’t do anything to precipitate this in my mind.

Did you do anything extra in those 2 hours? When you're feeling good, it's so easy to overdo something.

If it's not that, then it could just be that your muscles got tired after a couple of hours.

There isn't really anything special about 6 weeks post-op, when you consider that complete recovery can take as long as a year. From now on, progress will probably be slow and steady, and that's all right.

 

[toughstuff]

Does anyone know if there is any correlation between length of time to ‘recover’ and ultimate recovery quality??
For example, if it takes someone 12 weeks compared to someone that took 8 weeks to feel pretty good, does the 8 week person have a better long term outlook?

 

[Mojo333]

No