THR chialiyu's recovery thread - 1/12 LTHR - Anterior Approach

[chialiyu]

One more week goes by. Today I did my first grocery shopping after surgery. It took about 3 hours including the car ride. Now my upper groin feels very sore when I sit. Ouch.
Other than that, this week has been good. I resumed PT everyday. Felt muscle tightness at the front. Doing bridge and stretch makes me feel good. I am glad that I am almost at my 6 weeks mark.

 

[Layla]

I am glad that I am almost at my 6 weeks mark.

Happy Six Week Anniversary! Today’s the day.
Wonderful to read you’re doing well and you’re pleased with your progress. May it only get better and better.
A great rest of the week to you!

 

[chialiyu]

I will be 7 weeks in 2 days. Woohoo!
Yesterday I took my first long walk after surgery. The reason I waited this long is mainly due to the MN weather. Walking outdoors felt very different from walking indoors. I had to concentrate on how the muscle worked with each other and maintain balance for a while. After a while it started to feel more normal. Overall, being able to walk outdoors felt so good!
Both of my quads still felt weak. Is it normal after THR?

 

[Jaycey]

Both of my quads still felt weak. Is it normal after THR?

You are only 7 weeks into a process that can take one year or longer. Patience my friend.

Hint, start slow and go half the distance you think you can. If you feel fine the next day, walk a bit longer. The key is slow and steady.

 

[Eman85]

Going for walks feels great especially if it's pain free. The one thing with THR is it never seems to hurt when you're doing things it's always the next day that the overdid shows up. Weakness in any or all of the muscles is pretty much normal when you consider how far they stretched them to accomplish what they did.

 

[Schaargi]

Hi @chialiyu
I remember how weird it was to walk outside the first time. The first time I walked on lumpy (Colorado) grass was a bit scary, to be honest.

It takes a little time for your muscles to recover. They were traumatized and then you didn't use them as much. So out goes the muscle strength. Just let your body heal first and then you can work on getting the strength back. It will come back; you just can't push too hard while your body is trying to heal.

 

[Layla]

Happy Two Month Anniversary!
Hopefully you‘re feeling stronger and steadier week by week and you’ve been enjoying a few walks outdoors. A great weekend to you!
@chialiyu

 

[chialiyu]

@Layla I just realized it is my 2 months anniversary so hop on to say hello to my hippie friends.
Both hips are doing well. Continue to improve and I feel they are more natural everyday. Just got a set a of ankle weights to exercise my quads.
Looking forward for more outdoor walk days as spring comes to MN.

 

[Celle]

Just got a set a of ankle weights to exercise my quads.

It's really too early to be using weights.
You need to wait until 3-4 months post-op before starting strengthening, and then start without weights.
Heal first, strengthen later.

This is a year-long recovery and your quads are already starting to strengthen as you heal and use them more in your everyday live.

 

[chialiyu]

@Celle Oops - Just saw your message. I used the ankle weights for a couple times in the last 2 weeks. So far it feels OK. I didn't get sore, etc because of them. If it is the case, may I keep using it in moderation?

 

[Celle]

It's still a bit early to be using weights. Can you wait until you're 3 months post-op?

 

[chialiyu]

It's still a bit early to be using weights. Can you wait until you're 3 months post-op?

Sorry about the late reply. I haven't been using weight. These days I do light squat and bridge.

Recovery has been going well. I took a 7 hours road trip 2 weeks ago - bike around Lake Michigan felt great.

 

[Layla]

Happy Four Month Anniversary!
I hope all continues to go well with your recovery and you’re enjoying steady progress.
Biking around Lake Michigan...wohoo! Stay safe and enjoy your new hip!
@chialiyu

 

[chialiyu]

@Layla Thank you for the warm wishes!

These couple weeks I have been feeling some discomfort around the left groin area when I walk. It is not sharp pain. The feeling is more like tendon or muscle tightness around the hip joint area on the front side.
Is it normal during this stage of recovery? Because of work, I sit a lot during the day. (Still WFH...) I haven't been doing lots of PT. Should I start to pick it up more? Will bridge help to relax the tendon/muscle around my new hip?

 

[Mojo333]

Hi @chialiyu
Definitely normal, or was for me.
I think about this time in my recovery is when I tried to be good about gentle stretching ..hamstrings and my favorite, hanging the affected leg off the side of the bed before rising to stretch some of the tight bits in the morning.

It's tough when we are back to work... But try to stand and for some marches in place and general moving about ..
Hope you are still icing and elevating when you Do get home.

 

[chialiyu]

@Mojo333 I stopped icing for a while now. It is a good reminder. thank you for the tip on hanging the leg from the side of the bed!