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THR A 39 year old's recovery

hi Sharon, i agree you have to make sure you have a well qualified pt, there are so many ones out there like personal trainers that are not qualified or have a balanced enough education that can harm patients. i have been to a few and will never go back for many reasons. i found one that i absolutely love, she doesn't or wont let me push too far or too fast. she wanted or is allowing me to go back to the gym with my drs ok also 3 times a week no legs except for my pt exercises and upper body and bike or walk only, i begged her to push it to 4 days and she is like ok, but no more for now. i mean we can either listen to our drs and pt's advice or go ahead and screw things up and be back to the beginning. This is the first time i have ever taken everything that my pt tells me, i have learned so much from her it is unbelievable. i have weak stabilizer muscles surrounding the hip joint and its caused me to workout incorrectly and suffer with poor balance and my posture needs improvement. she is going to be helping me get the muscles healed and stronger and also help me correct my posture, balance as well as helping me to strengthen the pelvic girdle so when i do go back to running or jogging i will be preforming correctly and not injuring my self again.
 
17 day update.

I finally got over the hump at about day 15 and have noticed I am more mobile and have less pain. Still a very long way to go, but I would say that initial phase of acute surgical pain is finally over. Thanks for that!

Had my first 2 week follow up two days ago where they took out my staples. The PA was very patient to answer all my questions and reassure me that everything I was going through was as to be expected. He did emphasize that all I need to do now is heal: rest and walk as tolerated, and that any extra activity, or over activity, that would cause inflammation would be detrimental to my recovery process.
 
whiteshoecovers said:
He did emphasize that all I need to do now is heal: rest and walk as tolerated, and that any extra activity, or over activity, that would cause inflammation would be detrimental to my recovery process.
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This guy read the BoneSmart mantras! Sounds like you are right on track @whiteshoecovers !
 
@whiteshoecovers I hope the new meds are taking that edge off of that groin pain. Even though I had PT (in home), it was to really see if I was getting up and doing ADL's and following the restrictions, especially during the first few weeks. We didn't move past any of the very passive exercises (like shifting my weight from good to bad and heel slides) provided by my OS for close to a month. Heck, I transitioned from walker to cane (ever so slowly) at about two weeks. Meds on the clock/schedule is definitely the way to go, especially in the early days to keep mobile. I'm glad the PA let you know you have some alternative med choices if the Norco doesn't work well for you. Either way, you need to listen to your body and as hard as it is, don't do anything that doesn't feel right (or let anyone tell you to). And heck, who really needs to do a straight leg lift anyway??? :wink:

It does get better because surgery pain is healing pain. Take note of what you can do (not what you can't - thanks, Sharon!) and you'll be very glad you took your time getting to your end goal - Getting around without any pain.
 
I had a question about leg length discrepancy. I have read the article here on it.

For years before my RTHR I had an apparent LLD where my right leg presented as being longer because the right side of my pelvis was anteriorly rotated. Therapists over the years tried everything to correct it. Sometimes it was better (even hips) sometimes worse. Is this consistent with the information in the article: the side of the bad hip presents as longer? And is this also true pre-THR as in my case?

I saw my PT this week at about 3.5 weeks post RTHR and he said my apparent LLD, hip rotation, was as bad as ever. As suggested in the article, might I expect that after a few months my hips, and therefore apparent leg length, become even? Even considering they where chronically that way pre-op?

Also, he asked me to wear a shim under the heel of my left insole (opposite to the apparent longer leg) as a therapeutic device to help even out my hips. He stressed this is not a permanent requirement, but just as a tool to encourage my hips to become more even. Has anyone heard of that being effective?

Thanks.
 
@whiteshoecovers there wee a couple of people in my time who worked with orthotics. I think you can search the forum for specific references, so you might try searching "orthotic" for starters?
My legs were always the same actual length, but in the last few months pre op the bad one behaved way longer. Post op the feeling but not the behavior persisted for maybe two weeks, but as the swelling went down the sensation went away.


My phone sent this using BoneSmart Forum, clever phone!
 
whiteshoecovers said:
I had a question about leg length discrepancy. I have read the article here on it.

For years before my RTHR I had an apparent LLD where my right leg presented as being longer because the right side of my pelvis was anteriorly rotated. Therapists over the years tried everything to correct it. Sometimes it was better (even hips) sometimes worse. Is this consistent with the information in the article: the side of the bad hip presents as longer? And is this also true pre-THR as in my case?

I saw my PT this week at about 3.5 weeks post RTHR and he said my apparent LLD, hip rotation, was as bad as ever. As suggested in the article, might I expect that after a few months my hips, and therefore apparent leg length, become even? Even considering they where chronically that way pre-op?

Also, he asked me to wear a shim under the heel of my left insole (opposite to the apparent longer leg) as a therapeutic device to help even out my hips. He stressed this is not a permanent requirement, but just as a tool to encourage my hips to become more even. Has anyone heard of that being effective?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

I wanted to bump this to hopefully receive a reply from a moderator.

Thanks.
 
@whiteshoecovers, I hope by now the groin pain has lessened. I had horrible groin pain before and after my first hip replacement. I just found out today at my pre op appointment that I have a longer right leg, replaced hip, and when I have the left hip replaced the discrepancy will be fixed. He said this could be the cause of my chronic muscle problem for the last 6 years.
 
Whiteshoecovers, I'm sorry if this is a question you've already answered, but I was wondering what your surgeon has to say about your leg length. Does he say that your legs are the same length? Is your leg length discrepancy entirely due to the pelvic rotation that you described above?

Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk
 
I'm going to tag @Josephine to comment. Usually we tell folks to hold off a bit on wearing lifts as it is difficult for hips to realign when it is used. Hips do realign following surgery in many cases, but be aware it can take a few months before you notice it.
 
Hi @whiteshoecovers In addition to the articles you have been provided with already, you may like to browse these.

Nutrition plays a huge part in surgical recovery, in fact it is one of the 'forgotten topics' of recovery..

The following is a link to an article which provides the current science regarding the healing beneath and around the implant and approximate timeframes for the healing phases and processes and the relevant nutritional information for each phase.

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

This third link refers to my ongoing research..

nutritional-snippets
 
4 week update. (Still hoping to get a response from Josephine about the LLD).

- I am progressing in my mobility but not in a reduction of pain: my daily pain level feels about constant but I notice that I can slowly do more and more in terms of flexing my hip and walking without a limp. I still use a cane to walk, occasionally taking some steps without it.

-My pain is so similar to my pre-op pain that its really disconcerting. I was not expecting this recovery to be pain free, but I guess I was expecting the character of the pain to be different than my pre-op pain. I hope this is a good sign: that my pre-op pain is amplified by the surgery suggesting that the hip was the problem and the nerves that cause this pain are really ticked off now since they were all cut short, and it just takes time for them to realize they have nothing to complain about anymore. Is that logic even close to being reasonable?

-I started back to work yesterday. I'm a scientist in a fairly high position so I can dictate what my day is like. I am only working till noon then going home, and have been in the lab with 50% standing and short steps and 50% on a high stool or chair. Last night after my first day back was really painful, I suppose from the extra activity. Oh, I did use my operative leg to climb stairs (with the aid of my cane) a few times, which is something I never tried before. I paid for it that night though.

Overall I am progressing, slowly. I'm guessing at least another two weeks with the cane, maybe three. It would be really nice if I did not have my pre-op pain and if my LLD sorted itself out.
 
@whiteshoecovers are you taking anything at all for pain? If you aren't, that might explain some of it.
When I was four months (not weeks) out, we went on vacation, a 12 hr drive. I did really well in the car, taking half hour breaks every couple of hours (turned that trip into a lonnnng one!). The house we stayed in has lots of stairs. I remember posting that I jubilantly climbed those stairs with excitement---- once. After that, the paybacks were so bad that I reverted to toddler style for the remainder of our stay. At four weeks I was creeping up and down our own home's few steps with great caution. Just for comparison...
It must feel really good to get those white shoe covers back on and stretch your brain!! :)


My phone sent this using BoneSmart Forum, clever phone!
 
@zauberflöte thanks for the encouragement. My username is actually tied to my previous career, not my current one as a scientist, but great guess.
 
At 4 weeks out, it really is a bit soon to try and return to work. I know you are probably eager to get back to normal, but if you find yourself in a lot of pain, that's your body saying it's not quite ready for even half days yet. Please be a bit cautious!
 
@whiteshoecovers here I was imagining you all suited up in a sterile lab working with important cures or genes or .... sterile lab rats? :lol:


My phone sent this using BoneSmart Forum, clever phone!
 
I would suggest you go see a chiropractor as they are skilled at adjusting these kinds of things. In my experience, PTs dont' tend to do adjustments!
 
whiteshoecovers said:
4 week update. (Still hoping to get a response from Josephine about the LLD).

- I am progressing in my mobility but not in a reduction of pain: my daily pain level feels about constant but I notice that I can slowly do more and more in terms of flexing my hip and walking without a limp. I still use a cane to walk, occasionally taking some steps without it.

-My pain is so similar to my pre-op pain that its really disconcerting. I was not expecting this recovery to be pain free, but I guess I was expecting the character of the pain to be different than my pre-op pain. I hope this is a good sign: that my pre-op pain is amplified by the surgery suggesting that the hip was the problem and the nerves that cause this pain are really ticked off now since they were all cut short, and it just takes time for them to realize they have nothing to complain about anymore. Is that logic even close to being reasonable?

-I started back to work yesterday. I'm a scientist in a fairly high position so I can dictate what my day is like. I am only working till noon then going home, and have been in the lab with 50% standing and short steps and 50% on a high stool or chair. Last night after my first day back was really painful, I suppose from the extra activity. Oh, I did use my operative leg to climb stairs (with the aid of my cane) a few times, which is something I never tried before. I paid for it that night though.

Overall I am progressing, slowly. I'm guessing at least another two weeks with the cane, maybe three. It would be really nice if I did not have my pre-op pain and if my LLD sorted itself out.
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how far out are you from surgery? i am 4 weeks out and doing well as of now, slowly doing jogging on treadmill with walking and doing nicely on my pt and gym. Did you have severe arthritis in the bone as well as the joint. I don't know is that normal pain from surgery after the fact you are an athlete or pro biking. i hpe you get better and progress fast so you can get back
 
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alexthecat said:
Whiteshoecovers, I'm sorry if this is a question you've already answered, but I was wondering what your surgeon has to say about your leg length. Does he say that your legs are the same length? Is your leg length discrepancy entirely due to the pelvic rotation that you described above?

Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Yes, my LLD is totally due to pelvic rotation.
 
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