THR Cstinchcomb's Right Hip Recovery

@cstinchcomb lovely for your swimming!!! Sounds like you are approaching it in a very good way.
Mr ZF told me he is trying really hard to leave the remaining scabs alone lol. Our pool used (16 years ago) to have an August membership special, so we may go with that. It's walking distance and outside, as opposed to our Y which is now about half an hour away.
The frog kick isn't comfortable on my hips (have wondered if it's a ROM issue or soft tissue!), and I haven't yet learned the kick my son used on swim team. Anyway, sadly, being in the water makes my chest feel like an elephant is sitting on it, and swimming requires better, faster, deeper breathing than my submerged asthma can provide. Or something like that. It's no fun anymore. Maybe a heated pool would be different than ocean water where 72 degrees is very warm water lol. OTOH the last time I tried was 2 years ago. Since my hips have a habit of continuous improvement, maybe I should try again. Frog kick backstroke, best of both worlds! But we aren't traveling this summer, so I have a whole nother year. My kayak is very lonesome up there....
 
Swimming's the best, especially summertime swimming for me. @Schaargi, you'll be back in the pool soon. Maybe talk to your PT about it and look for a pool with walk-in entry. @SwimHip, so excellent -- looks like you got yours done right before the covid shutdown, congratulations! You're one of those morning people, I can tell.

For my first hip, I was swimming up until the day before surgery, 2km+, and back in the pool at about 7 weeks. This time, covid shutdown made my last swim about March 10th or so ... really glad to get back in.

@zauberflöte, kayaking sounds like sooo much fun ... swimming's not for everyone ...

And I really enjoy hiking -- it's been a couple years since I really wanted to walk anywhere. Got a few more weeks before my surgeon wants me on a bicycle ... Yay! So excited to be able to do these things again.
 
@Mojo333 , these little animated emoji are ... hysterical. I am still, mostly, :walking: . Thanks.

I am grateful, for my new hip, and for the Bonesmart community. I know that not everyone gets to have this surgery, and that many of us don't pop out the other side as quickly as I have so far. Still trying to hold back, be careful and not mess it up.
 
Just got back from :swim: no. 2 ... lane availability here is pretty random; I'm fortunate to have some flexibility in my schedule.

This is really great. I feel like I got the first cardio workout that I have had in four and a half months. Got in, did my standard breaststroke warmup lap; it wasn't until I was more than halfway back that I thought hmm, I am kicking like a normal breaststroke kick ... feels balanced and pain free. :SUNsmile:

So I didn't kill myself, but I just swam normally. I pulled with the buoy a few more laps than usual, and the 35-40 min swim time is about half my standard pre-covid swim time. No ill effects so far. I'm not doing any kickboard, and not expecting to use my training fins for quite a while. But the shorter swim time should help me swim faster ... eventually.

Yesterday I went out and walked near the bay. I managed to forget the poles and my ball cap :shrug: (I remembered my mask). Walked about 2.6 miles or so (I measure afterwards) on a dirt trail I normally bike on; this section is fairly flat. Tons of birds; I love watching the pelicans. That was my first walk outside my immediate neighborhood.
 
Good job @cstinchcomb! You’ll be back to your former yardage (meters?) in no time. Do you use Zoomers, or longer fins? What’s your swim background? I’m so grateful for swimming lessons and the short amount of time I spent as a very mediocre swimmer on the swim team.
 
Hi @SwimHip! Truly best wishes for your upcoming second replacement. It's much less nerve wracking than the first one, don't you think?

I use Zoomers, they're the old blue ones. With them, I ride higher in the water and go faster. But I want that femur stem to be super solid before I try them out. Without them, maybe my kick will improve?

My swim background such as it is ... I took lessons as a kid, then started swimming laps at my gym about 25 years ago. Masters is not really my thing, although I've done it off and on, and picked up some truly useful tips from the coaches. I like the meditative aspect; it helps my mind as much as my body. Sometimes I count laps, sometimes I swim by time, mostly freestyle, broken up every 15 min with a couple laps of something else, to keep me entertained. No butterfly, but decent freestyle, breast, back.

How about you? So nice to meet another swimmer here.
 
Thank-you for the well wishes, @cstinchcomb. Yes, less nerve-wracking this time. Hoping my new right hip steps up to the challenge of aiding the left hip in recovery.

I use Zoomers Gold. I love the feeling of kicking and swimming with them, but try to limit their use and work on form without.

I’m going to start a swim thread in the Social Room and we can discuss more?
 
I'm now 10.5 weeks out from my surgery. Not much to update on, really -- walking daily, still mostly on the street, 2.5 miles avg, trying to swim a couple times a week (three is a goal, but lanes are hard to get). I have several bodyweight/dumbbell/band workout checklists that I am cycling through, trying to get into a "gym routine" that is not actually at a gym. I started some yoga but am not really ... practicing, just fiddling around and seeing how my body likes various poses and short flows. I miss my yoga classes, and my teachers ... no classes anytime soon. Most of this lackadaisical attitude has as much to do with the Covid changes as with my new hip, which seems to be working just like its supposed to. So things are going along, pretty much perfectly.

I haven't needed any ice or any pills for several weeks. Ice is always my friend ... but after at least a year of many NSAIDs I am happy to be rid of the pills.

A note about hiking. I went up into the hills for a hike, and pretty much chickened out. I chose a trail, but the section right at the trailhead was a steep downhill -- I said hmm, not going down that, even with the poles, and my hiking shoes with the sticky tread that make me feel like a cat :kitty:. So I ended up on a shorter flatter trail near a play area, which of course had ... people, which makes me nervous, and not nearly as nice a view. I found even that trail to be a little more strenuous than I had expected. Next time I'll plan better.

I'm allowed to start bicycling next week; we'll see if that happens. Best wishes to all ...
 
Most of this lackadaisical attitude has as much to do with the Covid changes as with my new hip, which seems to be working just like its supposed to. So things are going along, pretty much perfectly.

Great update! I appreciate you sharing the above quote, as I am frustrated that I haven't been able to get into "my groove" from home. Something about the gym with all the equipment, made it so much easier to motivate.
 
Something about the gym with all the equipment, made it so much easier to motivate.
Exactly !!! I can always make myself go to the gym, no matter how difficult a day it's been. I always feel better afterwards. And change of scenery.

This might be beneficial from a hip healing perspective; I might push myself a little more if I were going to the gym per normal -- but in general I'm going to have to solve this problem over the medium term.
 
Smart move picking the easier trail. Give it a little time and you will hike where you wish. I think everyone gets the doldrums here and there with the Covid around and trying to stay healthy safe. You got out in nature which is always wonderful for the spirit. Have a peaceful night.
 
I am very much enjoying the process of getting better. It was fun going to a new place, but also made me appreciate the simplicity of just walking in my neighborhood. :walking:

One more thing, might be useful to someone. There's a nice park with truly super plush grass fairly near us; the level of cushion walking on that surface is fabulous. It has soft, grassy embankments behind the ball fields, of varying steepness. Up and down those little hills I go, initially a very gentle slope with the poles, now weeks later steeper slopes without them ... a great place to experiment and understand how it feels the next day.

This afternoon there was a little kid there, trying out their tiny bicycle (no pedals, maybe 6" wheels?) on those same hills.
 
A note about hiking. I went up into the hills for a hike, and pretty much chickened out. I chose a trail, but the section right at the trailhead was a steep downhill -- I said hmm, not going down that, even with the poles, and my hiking shoes with the sticky tread that make me feel like a cat :kitty:. So I ended up on a shorter flatter trail near a play area, which of course had ... people, which makes me nervous, and not nearly as nice a view. I found even that trail to be a little more strenuous than I had expected. Next time I'll plan better.


A very smart decision, good for you!! It's so difficult to rein things in, and doubly difficult to recover if we plunge ahead.
 
@cstinchcomb I know how you felt turning down that steeper hike, but--- maybe next month!

I have the lackadaisical attitude thing and I'm not recovering from MAJOR surgery! You will remember my barre classes? This past week I aimed, for the first time, for 4 in 5 days. Three in a row, that was actually fine, day off no problem, yesterday experienced normal "fourth class fatigue" during class, everything quivering much earlier in the game, but crashed in a big way after that class. So even 9 weeks post hernia op, I ain't invincible!

The little kid on the tiny bike must have been Soooo Cuuuute!

You are a model patient, gold medal to you, and keep up the great work!!!:swim::walking:
 
Hey @zauberflöte! I mean, they cut into your abs and sewed them up maybe with some mesh reinforcement ... maybe it's not like the power tools, but it's not nothing.

Great news with your barre. Four classes in five days, I bet everything is quivering. I will swim back to back days end of next week for the first time. It really should be fine ... the swims are feeling pretty short these days. I am excited to be able to start biking to the pool instead of driving, but that does mean that I'll be riding home in wet shorts.

The steeper hike, I just *can't* fall. The rest of it would be fine. If it had been uphill at the start, I probably woulda gone up. I've done some hills on very familiar trails near the bay, wasn't a problem -- they're kinda bike trails, very wide and very well tended gravel, so not slippy. I am not worried about waiting a month to start any real hiking. If I get time I might go out to the beach (hour drive, would want to go weekday).

The kid on the tiny bike was really
Soooo Cuuuute!

Ok, today I will go for a shorter walk then try to apply some discipline to my yoga practice so that I can get some of the mental effects. It's not about difficulty, it's about ... focus. Breathe in, breathe out. This is where a teacher really does help; I'll use/be a pretend teacher.
 

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