THR 50 year old male's recovery

[Jamie]

Mojo is right. There is no correlation between the length of time it takes you to recover and anything. The length of time it takes is just that....your body taking the time it needs to heal. We're all different. It's why we tell you not to compare or try to find some magic time in terms of weeks or months where you'll be at a specific point.

If you have tendonitis, your pain will not come and go. What you experienced is just as Celle said. You rested at night and woke up with your hip feeling good. You got up and moved around to the point where it tired out and said, "I'm done for a while and you need to rest some now." The question is, did you listen to your body and your hip? Did you lie down, rest, ice and elevate? Or did you just keep going?

 

[toughstuff]

6 week appt this afternoon.

Any questions that are a ‘must’ to ask the surgeon?

I have seen improvement but the muscles still struggle quite a bit.

Thanks

 

[Mudhen]

6 week appt this afternoon.

Any questions that are a ‘must’ to ask the surgeon?

I have seen improvement but the muscles still struggle quite a bit.

Thanks

I am at 16 months and still healing. For me it is going slow because I had work to do. I live alone and have been active all my life through back problems that sometimes had me on a walker. I just kept on working.
But when I broke my hip from a bad fall on concrete...life started grinding to a halt as I knew it. I might could work through back spasms but I could not work through a broken hip. Even if my surgeon said I would be walking without aids in 3 days and feeling normal in 2 weeks.
if you love life don't follow my example. Rest as everyone says and patience is difficult but worthwhile.

 

[Layla]

Good Afternoon @toughstuff
How did your appointment go this afternoon? Hopefully you had all you're questions answered and are feeling reassured of the progress you're making.
Have a great evening!

 

[toughstuff]

My surgeon thought that I was doing great at 6 weeks. The x-rays demonstrated that everything was in a perfect spot. He did a lot of measurements to show me that symmetry was obtained in almost areas of the x-ray. Leg length is perfect. He offset my femur by 3 mm on purpose to create a better long term torque on the plastic cup. He said he knew that once healed I would be very active and that this setup will allow for a much longer life for the replacement, hopefully 25 years. BUT......this causes the muscle on the outside of the hip to be stretched slightly more than normal. This he said is where the 'younger' muscle comes into play. He said the muscle is tight and will not like being stretched and when I am active with the leg it will stretch even more and likely become more irritated....hence the pain I feel at that spot. He also stated that the gluteus maximus was 'violated' with this approach and it will hurt until it heals. Steps the traditional way and driving will cause the muscle to hurt and it will take time. I have to believe in him, he has done over 4000 hips.
He was very positive about my progress and was very honest and knowledgeable about my recovery. He said he will text me at Christmas and we can 'laugh' about how I felt on labor day.
I am hoping for nice progress over the next few weeks.

Has anyone ever heard of this slightly extended offset?

 

[Mojo333]

Can't say that I have, but I have no doubt if you just listen to your body and increase activity slowly and incrementally...you will be so happy you have a great new hip.
All the best @toughstuff

 

[Layla]

Has anyone ever heard of this slightly extended offset?

I haven't either, but you just received a great report from your surgeon so I'd go with that and try not to dwell on anything else. You're doing great, keep it up and enjoy the weekend!
@toughstuff

 

[toughstuff]

Drove today for the first time. It was horrible afterward. My leg is so sore. I can’t believe that driving stresses this hip out that much after 6 weeks. He said give it a try and increase slowly. Felt ok while doing it but within 2 hours it was as sore as it has been in many weeks.
Does this fit the ODIC? Or should it not be that bad?
Recall this is with everything looking perfect yesterday.

 

[CricketHip]

Driving my car for longer than 20 minutes felt pretty lousy up until about 9 weeks. Somewhere along then it disappeared. Took me days to notice it was gone.

 

[Layla]

Hi @toughstuff
You'll be fine. Looks like your first spin behind the wheel may have been a drive thru of the ODIC,
Ice any areas of discomfort and you'll be golden in no time.
A great weekend to you!

 

[toughstuff]

Unusual feelings today in the hip. The hip feels like it is moving much better lately (6.5 weeks) but seems to be creating new sensations/feelings. Can anyone tell me if they’ve had such feelings as they started to heal? This is not more pain at this point, this is like soft tissue tingling and feeling just weird. Hard to explain but my groin area and hip flexors feel more like they’ve been overstretched.
Not sure how long this will occur but sort of hoping it is a sign of the healing process.

 

[Layla]

It is a sign of the healing process. You will feel different sensations. Tingling, prickly sensations, shooting pains, groin discomfort, etc. By the time you figure out what one is, it's gone and replaced by another. The groin discomfort is most likely soft tissue inflammation. My best advice to you and I really wish you'd take it to heart is to get busy. Find things to do that bring you joy or satisfaction to serve as a distraction over every little niggle you experience. Unless its unrelenting, (days) or escalating, I'd try to ignore it by staying busy.

I posted the message below to your thread a week ago and I'm copying and pasting as a reminder. This is the truth, not just words. Please take it to heart so you can have some peace in all of this -

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 weekend. You can do this!

 

[toughstuff]

Thanks. I actually do a lot, probably more than I should. I however am very aware of the changing soreness/pain and it makes me interested in hearing what others have felt.
I am definitely concerned about the overall healing process. Although impossible to know it’d be great if I knew it was way better at 8 weeks or 3 months, etc.

I have seen the recovery graph and I’m still fairly early.

 

[Mojo333]

This is my favorite recovery chart.
Hang in there...you'll get there.

 

[Calgal]

Hi @toughstuff . All the things that are troubling you at this point sound like all the things that troubled all of us at one point or another. It's good to listen to your body and adjust, especially after a new activity like driving. But dont panic, as Layla says, unless the pain level goes through the roof. It is amazing how many muscles are involved in doing small moves! And as you're finding out it's the muscles and soft tissue that took a beating during the op that need the longest time to heal. For the record, I didn't drive my manual transmission car till 7 weeks although I was released to do it at 6. The seat was uncomfortable for a lonnnnng time. The clutch on the only car I could get into was really stiff, and although that wasn't my op leg side, just the twisting and effort to get the pedal down wasn't nice during or after.

Yes, It will get better. There were lots of improvements between week 6 and 12 for me. Stairs, walking speed, everything. So take heart and go with the flow. Post when you need to. That's what this forum is for, support.

 

[toughstuff]

Thanks. I’m pretty sore today. I just hope that by week 12 I have improvement like most people on here have mentioned.

 

[Layla]

Hello and Happy Sunday!
Are you noticing weekly improvement? If you are, then why wouldn't it continue?
Your best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today. Try to concentrate on the day at hand, possibly reflecting back once a week assessing the progress you've made. There is no magic time, week, month when you'll wake without thinking about your hip. It's a gradual process and you're only at the beginning so try to focus on today without projecting forward.

I actually do a lot, probably more than I should. I however am very aware of the changing soreness/pain m

What is it you're doing on the daily, if you don't mind being more specific?
Is the "more than I should" causing you additional soreness and pain?
@toughstuff

 

[toughstuff]

Typical day:
-Up at 6am and help with the morning stuff to get my HS son out the door.
-take a few small walks (daily activity totaling about 2.5 miles)
-typically out to eat with my family for one meal
-started driving a little but it is not comfortable
-spend some time watching sports on TV
- teach 3 distance education courses, I’m a college prof.

I think my mobility and ability to bend etc are much better than before. The soft tissue pain is not a whole lot better though. I just hurt around the hip after using it or doing any basic stretching. Recall the surgeon says everything looks great and he is not concerned at all. He said this takes time. As I’ve said before I’d just like to see some real drop in soreness and improvement that maintains itself. I know it’s variable but is there a time when we ‘worry’ a little about healing?
What is the one physical activity that can potentially help me the most? I’m not sure I ever stated this but my replacement was not due to arthritis it was due to a failed labral tear repair.

 

[toughstuff]

Layla,

Do you think most people 6.5 weeks after this surgery still are sore most of the time?

If I lay down to watch tv or sleep it is not really an issue. It is sitting and after movement.

 

[Calgal]

Yes. Sitting was a real bear for me and still is to some extent. Many here report the after sitting pain. You're right where most hippies are, especially at 6.5 weeks!!