THR Anterolateral THR thoughts and wisdom welcomed

[mmits42]

Anterolateral total hip replacement right side. Wednesday, June 9th, 2021

Just today, 3 days later I have plenty of swelling in my right thigh. my quads feel like its leg day.

im moving fairly well but wonder about the delayed swelling. Maybe its not even delayed ?

 

[Schaargi]

Hi @mmits42!

At three days out, swelling and sore muscles are definitely part of the package. It can certainly be delayed. Have you tried ice?

A forum advisor will be around soon to give you a welcome and some helpful links and advice.

 

[mmits42]

Thanks Schaargi. Yes ice and I are old friends.

 

[FCBayern]

Hi and to BoneSmart @mmits42! I’ll leave you our recovery guidelines below. Lots of good information in short articles. Come back often and share your recovery with us!

As you begin healing, please keep in mind that each recovery is unique. While the BoneSmart philosophy successfully works for many, there will be exceptions. Between the recommendations found here, your surgeon's recovery protocol and any physical therapy you may engage in, the key is to find what works best for you.

Hip Recovery: The Guidelines
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 these
BoneSmart philosophy for sensible post op therapy
5. At week 4 and after you should follow this
Activity progression for THRs
6. Access these pages on the website
Oral And Intravenous Pain Medications
Wound Care In Hospital

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.

 

[Jaycey]

@mmits42 Anterior approach is sometimes billed as an easier and faster recovery. In truth - it is neither. Sure you might be moving around more than others. But that's the nature of this recovery. We all react differently to major surgery.

Very early days for you! This recovery can take up to 12 months or longer depending on how long you limped around pre-op. Ice, elevate, medication and patience are the priority right now.

 

[Mojo333]

@mmits42

Good to see you got your recovery thread started.
I had a million "is this normal?" questions after my anterior BTHR and these earlly days are definitely days to just Ice, Ice, Ice and walk a bit, and elevate, and ice, and roll with the ever changing sensations as things wake up and our bodies adjust and heal.
Slow and steady is the way to do it regardless of the approach.
Getting the scoop from those on the forum who had "been there and done that" was a great recovery tool for me.
All Temporary, my new hippy pal.
Just because you Can, doesn't mean you Should was an important warning given to me as I was pretty sure I was not your average bear when it came to recovery.
Slow and steady will get you there faster... Believe me.

Hope your day is easy does it.

 

[mmits42]

@mmits42 Anterior approach is sometimes billed as an easier and faster recovery. In truth - it is neither. Sure you might be moving around more than others. But that's the nature of this recovery. We all react differently to major surgery.

Very early days for you! This recovery can take up to 12 months or longer depending on how long you limped around pre-op. Ice, elevate, medication and patience are the priority right now.

I may have mistated which technique my surgeon used out of my own ignorance. Some of my paper work label it as anterolateral and the incision is on the side of my hip. I dont know if it makes a difference in any pain or heal time but am optimistic.

 

[djklaugh]

@mmits42 Welcome to BoneSmart I had anterolateral incisions when I had my BTHR done 9.5 years ago and did very well. It's actually the skill of the surgeon that is the best predictor of good out come rather than the approach used. Surgeons will use the approach they were trained for and that is most familiar to them.

Swelling is normal and does sometimes take a few days to fully appear. Ice, elevate and rest - plus some walking does help that to fade away.

 

[Raftin21]

Hi! I have had both hips replaced with in three months of each other, anterior approach. I am so 4 weeks today from my second.

On both of them I had very little swelling until day 4, and then it was a lot and miserable. Lots of icing and elevation really helped. Hang in there it will get better!

 

[mmits42]

Thanks. Makes me feel more normal now.

 

[Eman85]

As you know ice is the answer but the big thing is icing long enough and often enough.

 

[mmits42]

That is true. I have had 5 shoulder surgeries so have been a fan of ice for some time. I do tend to ice
for too long. My surgeons office has cautioned me to not ice for more than 30 minutes on 30 off.

 

[Layla]

Hello @mmits42 Welcome to the healing side...glad you’re here!
Please understand that I’m not attempting to undermine your surgeons instruction, this is an explanation about icing after surgery vs injury. I’m leaving it as an FYI, in case you’re ever in pain and tempted to ice for a longer period, I only want you to understand it shouldn‘t cause you any harm. I iced almost non-stop, every time I was sitting or laying down, which was often early on. I did so without issue and obtained much relief.
I wish you comfort as you begin your healing journey and look forward to following your progress.

Following surgery ice is frequently used as a means to minimize pain and swelling resulting from the surgical trauma. Following injury, patients are commonly advised to ice no longer than 20-25 minutes several times a day. But with a surgical incision, it is perfectly fine to ice your wound as often as is comfortable for you, providing you place fabric between your bare skin and the ice source. A small towel is ideal for added protection. This is why the ice machines have pads that don't get quite as cold as an actual ice pack. Icing is an excellent means to control pain following surgery and each individual needs to find out what schedule works best for them.

I hope you have a peaceful evening and sleep well tonight.

 

[mmits42]

Thank you. I do often go much longer. I will follow what feels good for now. Just did about an hour.

Have a question about my swelling. I iced and elevated as my thigh and calf are swelling further now. How long is safe to elevate? Toes above nose. Can i elevate over night?

 

[FCBayern]

You can definitely elevate and ice overnight @mmits42. I did with both my knee and hip.

 

[Eman85]

That is true. I have had 5 shoulder surgeries so have been a fan of ice for some time. I do tend to ice
for too long. My surgeons office has cautioned me to not ice for more than 30 minutes on 30 off.

I used an icing machine and I would use it for hours, then replace the frozen water bottles I used in it and go hours more.

 

[mmits42]

Thanks folks. I did end up elevating overnight and the swelling went down some. I also have an ice machine (Breg) with shoulder and knee attachments. I will use one of these and tape it down today. Has anyone found a hip attachment?

So glad I found this forum. Everyone is so helpful. Good stuff.And thank you all.

 

[Layla]

So glad I found this forum. Everyone is so helpful. Good stuff.And thank you all.

On behalf of BoneSmart, you’re welcome! We appreciate your kind words and it’s our pleasure to advise, encourage and support, so please stay connected here, we’d love to follow your healing journey.
Have a great rest of the week!

 

[Eman85]

Thanks folks. I did end up elevating overnight and the swelling went down some. I also have an ice machine (Breg) with shoulder and knee attachments. I will use one of these and tape it down today. Has anyone found a hip attachment?

So glad I found this forum. Everyone is so helpful. Good stuff.And thank you all.

Mine is a Breg and the attachment they gave me is just a pad. I moved it around to where I needed it.

 

[mmits42]

Awesome. I decided to do another search and found one. It is due here friday. In the mean time I will use the shoulder pad stretched out. Woohoo.