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THR Clairebella’s recovery journey

:friends:
I really don't think some of the exercises are bad advice, it just seems that therapists want to see progression and it is in the Timing!
- - It seems we progress exercises too rapidly and without respect of pain with without first developing the neuromuscular control and progression truly needed to reach the next phase....


So there are criterion based phases of rehab through which patients can progress based on their ability to master exercises within each phase. There is a huge degree of variability in conditions that result in hip pain or progress to arthroscopic procedures and I struggle with the idea that all can wake from the anaesthetic and embark on the same clinical pathway


A fellow recovery friend also soothed me with this thought:
When you are icing and elevating and watching telly you are not 'dossing around' you are 'engaging a carefully considered proactively designed heuristically programmed dynamically structured recovery programme'. :) :-) (:

I increased walks with time... stairs at home were a necessary exercise.
Standing marches, side swings, gentle hamstring stretches - without the bands were better rehab for me.
Unfortunately, our bodies are in charge - so staying patient will get you there quicker.:shrug::bored:
 
It’s all in the verbage! My current workout is feeding the doggies, playing with them, and sending them out to take care of business. Repeating as necessary. The fence was truly worth it. I try to work in my exercises. I think managing to get ready for the pool, getting to the pool, getting in the pool, walking in the pool, and the reverse procedure sounds like a big event. I would be exhausted! House tidying is also more work than it used to be. I wash my dishes and clean up then rest before the next chore. Hearing about everyone’s activities is like a PT group chat. It lets me have a better idea of what is normal during this time. Enjoy your Saturday!
 
Clairebella said:
@Esmeralda as I came downstairs this morning I am aching and thigh feels tight. I’ve had to take 15 mg codeine alongside my paracetamol and will be going nowhere today. I actually put this down to remembering yesterday was quite busy in the house and my teen had friends over and I did a touch more tidying that usual with bending and stretching after being told no more restrictions. So don’t feel you are behind.
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Thanks @Clairebella for the support, it's so easy to get frustrated with my recovery or perceived lack of it. Luckily for me the groin pain had disappeared by the following day but the chair raises really provided a work out for my thighs in not a good way ! It's not just my operated leg that really aches but my left one as well, the ache is concentrated at the front of each thigh (not sure of which muscle that is) but it's hurting me to walk, go up and down stairs and sitting up and down, just about everything actually. I'm happy to work on getting in and out of a lower seat as that will allow me to venture out and meet friends for coffee/lunch and cope with normal height toilets when I'm out but I'd rather work up to it gradually than do too much all at once as per PT as that only sets me back.

Hope your aches have began to ease off so that you can enjoy your Sunday.
 
@Hippie Chick and @Esmeralda you are both so right. All our daily activities of living is rehabbing and PT in itself. The pool felt lovely but it was hard work and I’ve not been back since. I wish I had a pool in the garden!

Walking, stairs and getting in and out a lower chair is all work for us. And I think that’s all the work we need at 7 weeks out. I’m managing just about ok physically but I still feel behind.

Today is another rest day for me. The storm has finally abated and the sun is out so I might potted in the garden.

Have a good Sunday everyone!
 
We made it to 8 weeks @Hippie Chick @Esmeralda !

Well I think I’ve also made it into the ODIC. I am quite worried and find it makes me feel quite anxious that something is wrong. I’m walking without crutches and haven’t been out walking only pottering in the house and a trip to supermarket. I have increased pain this week. Waking up overnight sore as well. I thought the area around my incision site looked swollen also - would I still have swelling 8 weeks post op?

My pain isn’t in the joint obviously- it’s like a toothache all down my femur and around my knee into calf. A dull ache. I’m limping when I have sat for a while and stand. So I March on spot and I’m fine once I get going.

The only way I think I’ve overdone it is because I’ve pottered too much in house. I’m doing dishwasher, washing, cooking and cleaning bathroom. I think I got the all clear re restrictions from the surgeon and I’ve done more bending and stretching. Help!

Also - has anyone had a bursitis before. My left leg has troubled me with pain from top of outer thigh wrapping around from of thigh. I can’t lie on that side and my original MRI did say I had a mild bursitis on that side. Likely from compensation but it doesn’t seem to have improved at all. I get a burning pain when I lie on left side after 2 mins.
 
:wave:
At 2 months out, the increased activity brought on travelling pains and it was really hard to figure out my boundaries...:groan:
I actually figured out that it is, as folks repeat on the forum, so NOT a straight line. I had to readjust when necessary even if it meant stepping back sometimes.
Clairebella said:
would I still have swelling 8 weeks post op?
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Yes, and I was still icing whenever I could.
Clairebella said:
I’m limping when I have sat for a while and stand. So I March on spot and I’m fine once I get going
Click to expand...
This was how it was for me for many many months!
It will eventually get back to normal.

*you can check out some information about bursitis after THR here
 
Hi! I still have swelling- if I do not have my toes above nose it gets worse. My hip area is sensitive it seems I can feel a fold in the bed covers now. I am still moving my legs when I get up from sitting when possible as it helps. My surgical side pinky still feels numbish. Saturday found me in ODIC as that was my first day solo. I can walk without my cane but my gait is better using it so I use it rather than get into bad gait habits. I can still feel lumps and bumps under my incision but the outside scar looks as it should. I feel my incision while sitting and sometimes when walking. Bending over and stretching throughout the day makes me more sore and tired. I still have some random muscles tightening and the random burn feeling. My other hip needs replacement as well- they were compared after X-rays when I was diagnosed. I do not have any knowledge on bursitis but have seen mentions of tendinitis here. Hearing updates from you both helps me to have a check in on recovery. I can get up from a chair without assistance but I am not enjoying it. Tomorrow I see my OS. I have to get into my low to the ground car- I have a pillow for the seat. I am tired after small jobs and cannot imagine returning to work yet where I will be expected to stand up all day. I have watched other people returning from surgeries and there is not always empathy for them depending on work place politics.
 
Hi @Clairebella, I can't believe we are at 8 weeks already! Unfortunately I'm nowhere near my expectations of where I would be at this time pre-op but I'm getting use to the idea that that's ok as long as I'm slowly improving.

I still have swelling but it is still my whole leg and not one particular area. My swelling almost vanishes overnight and then gradually returns the more active I am. Did your swelling previously go away completely and has just recently returned ?

It does seem that you have quickly returned to doing activities that require a lot of bending and stretching. My consultant was a bit vague about how far I could go past the 90 deg restriction at this stage, and also I still have some restrictions in place, but as I'm not as strong as I would like to be at this time, I'm still being very careful and only gently breaking the 90 deg restriction and gradually increasing the amount that I break it by every couple of days if I don't have a negative reaction. I'm still using the golfers reach where ever possible as well and I'm certainly not bending down to clean the toilet at the moment - that job is reserved for my husband and I might keep it that way :heehee:

I do have a lot of new aches and pains down the length of my leg but they also affect my unoperated leg to a certain degree and I have put them down to using muscles that have been taking it very easy these last eight weeks and are now gradually waking up to having to do more work, and I imagine that might be the same for you especially if you are doing more walking crutchless.

Many years ago I had a lot of problems with my left hip, which was finally diagnosed as a soft tissue injury after everything else was ruled out and according to my medical records they thought it was bursitis, looking back now the problems it caused me were very similar to what can be experienced with osteoarthritis as in stiffness in walking, pain in moving after sitting etc. I don't remember not being able to sleep on my left side or having any burning sensation. Unfortunately a blind steroid injection didn't help and it took almost two years to resolve itself.

Do you have any more PT sessions, as it might be helpful to mention this problem to them ?
 
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I’m not sure what’s going on with the left hip as the surgeon said it’s fine on X-ray and CT. They say it’s compensation muscle strain and PT mentioned tendonitis and bursitis. Yes I do have 3 more sessions, going back in 2 weeks time, we are spacing them out.

I know when I read all advice that it’s all normal but today I’ve sat around ALOT and not done much and I’m just feeling anxious with the increased pain which is still ongoing and waking me overnight. It feels a bit tight and burny in there.
 
My doctor said that my recovery was moving slowly. I have found that I am not a unicorn nor am I a rabbit. I am a happy turtle. He said I would be feeling much more like myself over the next four weeks. I was wore out after getting home from my appointment. Looking back now I can see ways I was compensating for my hip issues.
 
Me again!:groan:
I’m struggling with pain - it seems worse at 8 weeks than 6 weeks. The joint and area surrounding all feels tight. I’m limping more sitting to standing until I get going.

Am I doing too little?? Are the muscles needing working and I’m not doing enough? I’m not doing much PT exercises at all. I plan to go back to the pool this coming week. I’m not going out for walks because I’ve been so achy and sore.

Is this a stage of the muscles doing something against the implant??
 
I still have that little limp some of the time. Marching in place or swinging my legs still help with that for me. The more I do the more I feel it. I got up from my chair without pushing up, thinking alright I’ve got this. Next time my body flatly refused. Those inconsistencies are hard for me. Today I have an unhappy shoulder due to pushing and pulling. The doctor said that another month would make a huge difference. Hope your Saturday is great!
 
Hi Clairebella,
I am sorry you're struggling with pain. Tightness is usually a sign of inflammation / swelling.
If you've stopped icing, it's not too late to gain the benefits it brings.

Couple icing with elevation.
It is our lymph system that rids the body of fluid (swelling). So you want to get the fluid to the lymph nodes in your torso area so your body can more quickly process it. The lymph system works rather slowly on its own and much more efficiently with the assistance of gravity. The fluid isn’t draining into the hips, but contained with the lymph system and moving to the torso and lymph nodes located there. This is the value in elevating.

Limping upon standing for the first few steps is very common at this point. If I am understanding you, this is what we refer to as stutter steps. It will pass.

I am not certain if you're doing too little, but you may consider dropping the exercises and getting outdoors for a walk for several days in a row, slowly building in time and distance. This may help with the achy / soreness you mentioned. Definitely worth a try! Doing this along with engaging in the activities of daily living and incorporating your trips to the pool, may all help. Go slow in the pool though because it is easy to overdo it in the water.

The muscles, soft tissue and tendons are tightening up around the implant, if that's what you were meaning by -
"Is this a stage of the muscles doing something against the implant??"
I hope you have a nice weekend!
@Clairebella
 
Lots of rest, elevation and ice!! Sometimes takes a long time for our bodies to get healed and start working correctly, as we overcompensated before surgery. Remember you will have ups and downs.
 
I’m barely doing any PT exercises. In fact, I’d say I’m only doing activities of living. I have stutter steps yes.

I shall try tomorrow starting to get out for a walk though and try for a week to see what happens. Have nothing to lose I guess at this point! I’ll stop if the pain increases.

I previously iced a lot. I’ve slowly stopped I guess now only doing it sporadically. I elevate legs a lot but only by elevating stretched up on the couch. I shall go back to icing and stack some pillows under me too!
 
Have a look at icing and possibly sone paracetemol to help with stiffness and pain. My GP advised me to keep on with this gif the time being and I take some in the morning and it helps me get going…
 
I’m taking paracetamol still 3-4 times a day and 15 mg diyhrocodeine 1-3 times a day. I look quite swollen this evening - a fair sized saddle bag of quite tense swelling. So icing as I speak.
 
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