THR Back pain

[Jaycey]

Worry a bit when people say how far they have walked as I cannot walk unaided at 2 weeks

Very few new hippies can walk unaided at 2 weeks out. Please do not compare your recovery to any other. Everyone progresses differently.

Can anyone recommend how far I should try walking now?

There is no set timeline for this recovery. What I did was pick a short distance and try it. Go only half as far as you think you can go. If that's too short then increase the distance slightly the next day or so.

Still very early days for you my friend. Patience prescribed in large doses!

 

[julesglass]

Morning @Fuzzie, it's getting cold here also. Let you know at 2 weeks I was just walking outside to sit in the yard. The milestones given here are as a average. It took me longer to walk the sidewalk beside my house. Walker made it easier, I didn't use my cane till 3 weeks outside. Course I have 6 steps off my deck and then about 30ft to back of my yard. I walked the perimeter of my yard. Mom thought I was crazy walking in my yard since its pretty rough. I wasn't ready to walk across my rock driveway to sidewalk I told her. Do what you can and little bit by little bit you'll get there. At my job we work with patterns we have made of a stained glass window to rebuild with new lead. It guides us how the glass and lead go back together.

 

[julesglass]

I'm saying it's a guide how far along you are, not written in stone.

 

[julesglass]

Well last night I loaded the dishwasher. Went to bed okay however go up today oh my gosh my back HURTS. Going over in my mind what and how I loaded the dishwasher. I was bent over putting flatware in the basket. So I won't do that again for a LONG time. My

 

[julesglass]

Well tomorrow I go see OS. Got questions written down. I need to talk about this back pain. It's not getting any better and I try to do a little more and it increases horribly. Mom's going with Dad and I, that means eating out, yum. My employer is giving me a job description to take with me for OS to see. I'm hoping for clearance to get back to work. See ya tomorrow night.

 

[julesglass]

Dad drove me to my surgeon today, Mom came along. That meant we would stop to eat. Mom's great that way along with great conversation with both. I went in with list of questions and he told me if i felt like going back to work that was fine. Will work with employer about restrictions. It was all good, even walked out with a script due to next check is 6 weeks. Had xrays taken different views from last visit. We discussed the back pain I'm having. We talked about pelvic readjusting being the cause. I told him I have had lumbar problems and has seen a chiropractor in the past. I mentioned the curvature of my back. He quickly added " you don't have a good back as it is ". However he agreed to wait till later to see how much of pain is recovery. I feel I chose wisely for my surgeon. We then headed to the IHOP for early supper. By this time I was aching not only my back but my right leg. The booth was uncomfortable. I should have said something but no, I didn't. As Julia Roberts said in Pretty Woman " Big mistake, huge mistake ". The 1 1/2 hr. drive home was the "icing" on this increasingly painful cake. I've taken my pain and iced till I froze it. Maybe I'm not quite ready for work.

 

[Jaycey]

Maybe I'm not quite ready for work.

The return to work can be a big shock. You need to factor in the effort you make to get to work, an active workday and then getting home. Just the stress of getting to work on time and being prepared to engage with what goes on there can be very tiring. Ease into any return to work. And make sure if you do return to work, you don't do anything except work and then come home and rest. There is still the Energy drain for THRs .

 

[julesglass]

Got up today back pain was a 7. lower back going up to middle. Got it under control though. This will be a resting day with Heating pad in tow. Talk more later. I'm looking forward to work, need to stay in reality with my body. Thanks @ Jaycey.

 

[jaymo]

@julesglass I am sorry you are having worsening back pain, really unfortunate while you're dealing with this recovery. I sympathize although my back pain is not severe, which is surprising given how bad my back is. I know how difficult and frustrating back pain can be though. Because my back is so bad and I am still limping one of the PT folks on Monday insisted on doing some back stretches with me on Monday. She thought the limping might come from tight back muscles. However it just made it worse! I will not let PT folks have me do any back stretches any more!

I chuckled when you mentioned the "Big Mistake" about sitting in a booth. I did the same thing this past weekend and won't be sitting in any booths any time soon. It really made my backside so sore.

I am at the point where I also have to think about returning to work and I am concerned about going back to soon. I am struggling with big energy drain as I increase my activity. I can't imagine getting dressed and ready and going into the office right now. It's hard enough to get dressed and ready for PT twice a week. When I do return to work I plan to phase in part time starting at 20 hours per week. Do you have the option to work part time initially?

I hope your back pain improves soon so you can continue your THR recovery.


Sent from my iPad using BoneSmart Forum

 

[julesglass]

Yeah @jaymo I can go back part time and planning to do just that. I don't think I'm ready for 20 hrs. I was figuring 4 or 5 hrs three days a week for two weeks and add to that as I can go.

 

[julesglass]

Had a better day today. Still hurt like you know what first hour up. It was like I need to walk my back pain out first thing. Lucy had fun, friends brought their dog over. Lucy and Sasha played so much. My grand daughter and I had a good day playing also.

 

[julesglass]

Well here I am, no want to do anything. Did walk down the street and back. Back is not hurting as much however I'm having trouble getting the body to move in the morning. I am able to walk with no cane. I hate the idea that now that I can walk straight I still have pain. I just want to walk and do stuff without having to think about it.

 

[Jaycey]

@julesglass I have chronic lower back pain. I find if I dwell on it at all the day is finished. I hear you - not wanting to do anything. Kept at it with the walking. You will get to a point that you can get going in the morning - working through the stiffness. You will also get to a point where you are walking at a good pace. It all takes time - unfortunately. Just keep at it!

 

[julesglass]

I get it @Jaycey. I'm still in recovery, I'm going to hope that some of this will go as I get more strength in my body. I know even if some of the pain stays I can live with it.

 

[Miss Muffet]

I always found/find mornings difficult as having been laid in bed all night we stiffen up. It takes a while to loosen a bit. That plus the meds need time to kick in. I really do recommend sleeping with a soft pillow under the knees as that takes the strain off the lower back. Worth a try.

 

[tamra]

@julesglass thanks for sharing here. I got a lot of good info here. Hope you are feeling good today!

 

[julesglass]

Morning. It is easier this morning. I've put the cane aside for most of the time. Weird, I did better without it for the most part yesterday. I'm going to do a test run Monday to see how much time I'll need to get ready for work at a comfortable pace. I do have a back brace I can wear at work if needed.

 

[julesglass]

I've been thinking about exercising through the winter. I found a pedal exercising machine that looks right for me. Small size, can pedal with feet and set it on a table to pedal with hands. it also can pedal reverse, and tells you how far you've gone, cool. My Christmas present to me.

 

[julesglass]

Morning bonesmart buddies. I didn't do my test run on Monday morning. Needed to help care for granddaughter Sunday night. Yesterday my youngest daughter and boyfriend had to move stuff from old place to my garage all day. So grandma and aunt Sarah cared for granddaughter, trying at times. Aunt on other side didn't want to take little one out Halloween so I drove, auntie S. walked her around. Backing the car up and looking for little ones while doing this was a lot more than I thought it would be. Twisting to see behind car left me close to tears. Cory & boyfriend were grateful I helped and I had a full heart of joy watching my "Bug" having so much fun. C.&B. were able to get a lot of things moved while we were out. I'm hurting from twisting and thighs ache however I wouldn't have missed it for any reason. I will plan to do my test run later this week. Watch out buddies about that twisting thing in the car.

 

[julesglass]

I have discovered that sitting and playing with grdaughter involves movement like small reaches with hands or throwing a pretend rope are not good movements for extended time. She & I got lost in our imagination, so fun :cool: . Now I'm icing, two pain pills & lying down. I'm getting concerned with going back to work. Any input on this aching to real pain in back from this?