THR Bone Smart Excercise / Sports Recomendations after THR

[Hip2BGone]

Ugh! I'm nervous for you to be doing all that. It's really not necessary.
Please go back and read the Recovery Article, Jaycey left you under Post # 2
Pay special attention to the portion that follows - THE BIG TIP
@Hip2BGone

Thanks for the advice.
I may have been doing what seems to be a a long list of excercises, but i was doing just very few reps, and taking baby steps. For ex. when lifting leg instead of trying to raise the leg 90 degrees i stop before it hurts at the aprox. 30 degree mark.

I was trying to do them not for streghtening purposes, but to just get my leg moving in the diferent directions.
That's why i was doing a simbolic ammunt of reps. It really didnt took me more than 3 mins to do the whole thing.


Anyway, I stopped doing them and i am sticking only to 2 five minutes walks a day along a loop in the garage of our condo building. Each loop takes me close to 1 min.
There are two really small steps i incorporate to each loop.

I am focusing on trying to walk as normal as possible but using 2 crutches makes it hard.
At least i am now able to roll heel to toe, at the beggining i was touching with my toe first before planting the foot.
Another gait problem i noticed is that i am dragging my op leg forward instead of doing the natural "lifting" motion.

It doesnt let me hurting nor drain me much to do this 5 mins walks.
It is much harder for me to take a bath, as i shower while standing and that makes me all tense.

The initial comments from my Dr about not placing any weight on the op leg for at least a month, which he later changed to partial weight bearingfor the first few weeks, have made me uncomfortable on free standing on both legs, and during the whole 1st week i was babying the op leg while walking.

I am looking forward for my stich removing appointment 9 days from now to get out of the house.
I'll be only on Tylenol and blood thinners by then.
And want to know what would be the next "step" recovery wise ordered by my dr.

 

[Mojo333]

Good job for focusing on the heel to toe walking practice.
I was also a "toe walker"
Bad habits learned to keep pressure of of bad hips.
Pulling my core upright and working on my posture helped with some lower back issues I have still experienced post op.

 

[Hip2BGone]

Good job for focusing on the heel to toe walking practice.
I was also a "toe walker"
Bad habits learned to keep pressure of of bad hips.
Pulling my core upright and working on my posture helped with some lower back issues I have still experienced post op.

Hello Mojo.
As you mentioned I have tons of carry over bad habits from having a bad hip for years.
Ialso noticed that the log leg feeling has partially gone away.
Coming in or out of recliner/bed was quite a task due to that feeling of stiffness and weakness.
Today i noticed my leg could "bend" much more while coming out of bed in tothe recliner.

I bet this will transfer to a better gait my friend.

 

[Mojo333]

It sure will...and it is very early days!
Your soft tissue and muscles on op leg need to heal before you worry about working on things.
I'm guessing you are going to be golden before you know it.
Try to be patient and good job on the beginning of getting your life back!

 

[Hip2BGone]

X2 post

 

[Hip2BGone]

Whenever i'm laying down on a recliner or bed and lift and swing my operated leg over a pillow(s), i feel pain on the front side of the leg close to the joint.
Today such pain was specially sharp, and it left me with a soreness in the area.
I feel as if i have hurted something. Hpefuly it's only tendon soreness.

Is this a dangerous movement to do?

I will try to describe it as a clockwise stiff leg lift (Up and over the pillow). BTW my Operated leg is the left one.
Again it is not an excercise but a movement I need to do to get my foot over the pillows evry time i sit at the recliner or when i go to bed at night. Therefore i do it severla times a day.

 

[sharonslp]

Hi Hip2bgone. I've asked a moderator to consolidate this with your original recovery thread, so you have a concise record of your recovery in one place.

Based on this post, you are about 10 days out from surgery, yes? If I'm understanding your movement correctly, it doesn't sound inherently dangerous, unless by "swinging" you are making an awfully wide swing, or perhaps doing it too rapidly. But pain is what helps prevent us moving too fast or too wide, so it sounds to me like you are experiencing fairly normal pain at this stage. And at this stage, there is a LOT of pain, so the bigger issue might be whether or not you are using your pain meds effectively.

I don't know what you are taking, or how much or how often. But the key is to take enough, consistently, so as to get the pain firmly under control, and then to keep it there. At ten days you still want to take it round the clock, and take enough to control sharp pain like you are describing.

And remember to keep icing, and rest a whole lot, and get your exercise from short walking trips to and from the kitchen and the bathroom and the bedroom. Are you doing any PT? If so, it would make sense to back that off for a few days while the inflamed tissue gets a chance to calm down. And when you do feel ready to move more, add movement in very small increments and gradually over time so you can continue to stay ahead of pain.

Hope this helps. If you need more specific and targeted pain med advice, we can ask Jo to advise you. (Or you can specifically tag her by putting an @ sign in front of Josephine)

 

[bottomshollow]

@Hip2BGone,
You may notice that I have merged your three threads. We like to keep our members' recovery posts all in a single thread. That way it's easy for us to go back and read your history before responding to a question or concern. In addition, the thread becomes a journal of your recovery for those who come along later and want to read about you. So, please post in this thread from now on when you want to give an update or ask a question. If you have questions or concerns that need an immediate answer, please tag an admin, a mod, or other members or all three.

If you decide you'd like a different thread title at any point, you can just post what you want here and we'll get it changed for you. THANKS!

If you are having a problem locating your thread, here is a link with how to do it: How can I find my threads and posts?

 

[Mojo333]

You can help your leg until those quads feel strong enough.
Straining muscles that are already strained does hurt.
I know you get tired of hearing it, but Ice, and more Ice.
Hope all eases off soon.

 

[Hip2BGone]

Hello and thanks for answering.

The whole first week I rested all day and only walked to the bath and kitchen.
At the 7th day I started with 5 mins walks w/ crutches twice a day along with some excercises that I dropped immediately to prevent from over doing it.

I am fortunate as I don't have to do any chores in the house and can focus only on resting and getting better.
Other than the 2 walks I spent 80% of the daytime on a recliner icing and in a Sitting position for 30 mins after each meal.

My plan is to add a 3rd 5 min. walk by day 14th.

 

[Mojo333]

You are doing everything just right, in my opinion.
Can't tell you how to stay comfortable all the time as even sitting gets uncomfortable as you know. I lived in my recliner for the first weeks too except for the small treks as you describe.
You will get stronger and walk more and more...and that leg will start behaving better after getting over some of the shock.
It's a strange journey, for sure.
Keep on keeping on.
We are rooting for you!

 

[Hip2BGone]

On Friday I have my 2 week post-op appointment with the surgeon to remove the staples.
Since my next appointment would be until week 6 I am going to ask the following questions rewarding the suggested activity level from week 2 to week 6:

Walking How much?
PT or no PT ?
Pool Walking / light swimming?
Car Trips Passenger/ Driving?
Bike yey or ney?

Any suggestions on what else to ask the Doc?

General Assesment close to 2 weeks post op:
Meds: Tylenol 500 mg 2 or 3 times a day. Diclofenac 2 times day, Blood thinner, Pantoprazole 2 times a day.
Pain: Almost no pain at all, just general discomfort or preassure stress from couch riding most part of the day, and stiffness pain when sitting on chair at meals.
No excercises Just 2 5-min walks with crutches a day. Just yesterday I increased it to 3 a day.

 

[Hip2BGone]

Stitches out.

My Dr. Said the wound is healing well.
This are his instructions for the next month:

Right away:
Increase walking times and weight bearing on operated leg.

Week 3
Start PT
Walk in pool
Car riding as passenger.

Week4
Drop crutches
Start driving

Week 5
Return to work

In your opinion does this sound feasible??

 

[Eman85]

Everything sounds good except that return to work. What work do you do? 6 weeks is when my basic restrictions were lifted and I could tie my shoes. It didn't take much to overdo at week 6.

 

[Hip2BGone]

I work real estate.
My idea prior to the visit to the DR. was to return to work at week 8.
It was his opinion that my recovery was excellent and that due to my age and fitness level he wanted me to get back on track ASAP
The Dr plan sounds appealing, however I want to prevent long term pains or complications.

 

[sharonslp]

Think about a phased-in return as you start back to work. You may find that you are surprised by how much fatigue you still experience at 8 weeks. And it's important to have complete flexibility about when you sit and when you stand and when you walk around. You won't want to have to be on your feet a moment longer than your body dictates. But you shouldn't be just sitting all day either. If you can start out with short days...a couple hours or so...and gradually work back up to full-time, then you can gauge for yourself how much to do or not do. Way better to keep obligations to a minimum so you don't set yourself or anyone else up to demand too much too soon.

 

[Layla]

When we consider returning to work we tend to visualize just sitting at our desk or doing "whatever" it is we do at work. We tend to forget the energy it takes to get ready and get there. All taking time. Then there's the problem of mental aquity. I've heard of people going back early and unable to mentally process or keep up as they should. I certainly wouldn't rush it if you can hold off financially. Here is an article on Phased Return to Work to use as a guide.

https://bonesmart.org/forum/threads/phased-return-to-work.5696/

 

[Layla]

One last thing. I'd suggest you drop the crutches when you feel ready. That could be three weeks, or maybe even five weeks. Most certainly use an assistive device as long as you're limping. Heel-toe walking will help with a limp. It takes a concentrated effort and may feel unnatural initially. Let your heel strike the ground first, followed by toes. If you're limping....practice it. You'll be pleasantly surprised.
I hope you have a great day!
@Hip2BGone

 

[Hip2BGone]

Thank you for both of your replies.
It is also my point of view, no matter if i return to work at week 5, 6, or 8 i'll start easy doing short hours as you sugest and slowly increasing the hours, time, energy.

@Layla In order to speed up, or to try to have a better healing I have been spending lots of time on the couch icing and resting.
I only walk twice or three times a day with crutches. I do focus on walking heel to toe.
Dont cook or clean or anything just rest all day. (Today I did a 20 min. walk for the first time and I felt wonderful afterwards.)
Any time I try to take a step with my operated leg w/o crutches as a test, it hurts like hell.

IYO Which is a better strategy long term? Resting as much as posiible as i am doing now, or slowly start to incorporate activity (like cooking, cleaning, rides to the grocery store, etc.)
My doctor said that resting so much will end up biting me in the butt and generate gait problems.

Energy wise I do feel like I could be doing much more but I am trying to stick to a plan:

Resting all day long along with my 2-3 walks a day for 2 more weeks.
At the 2nd month start slowly to work on my fitness focusing on core and back strenght, gait correction,etc. (Again not working nor doing anything else in order to focus on phisical recovery without burning out).
And finally on the third month slowly return to work.

My doctor's opinion got me confussed on my plans as he wants me off the couch, and off the crutches ASAP. He believes it is better to start working right away as the longer I wait/rest it will be harder and more painful to correct gait problems.

 

[Mojo333]

Resting all day long along with my 2-3 walks a day for 2 more weeks.
At the 2nd month start slowly to work on my fitness focusing on core and back strenght, gait correction,etc. (Again not working nor doing anything else in order to focus on phisical recovery without burning out).
And finally on the third month slowly return to work.

Just MY opinion, but I think your plan sounds much more in line with what is needed.
Your body is your guide. It will tell you when you are doing too much.
I am guessing you are up milling about more than just "your walks"
Just doing regular walking short intervals more often was helpful to me, rather than timed longer walks. I tried, as Layla reminds often, to concentrate on heel to toe walking and better posture as my gait was pretty off due to habit.
Hope today is a Good Day.