THR First-timer

[newlybionic]

My sister is going to have her LTHR on 9/11/2023. While i have lots of info concerning knees having both of mine replace twice. I dont have any info about hip replacements. She is having an anterior approach. Shes been reading info that she has found in all types of websites (except this one). Shes worried about bending her knee close to 90 degrees. Hopefully i can get her to read about hip replacements on this website.

 

[djklaugh]

@newlybionic Do have your sister visit BoneSmart! IF her surgeon has her follow hip precautions (some surgeons do, some do not) then it is her hip that should not bend more than 90 degrees. Her knee is fine to bend And those hip precautions are only in place for about 6-8 weeks after surgery. They do NOT last forever!

 

[Jaycey]

@newlybionic So nice to see you here!

You know you have come to the right place for all you need to know about THR!

In most cases surgeons are no longer imposing the 90 degree rule. And if you sister is having anterior THR there will not be that restriction.

Please have your sister join us here. Lots of good info in the Library and on threads in the recovery forum.

 

[Caison113]

Hi @newlybionic — I’ve had two mini-posterior hips and the 90 degree thing is when weight-bearing. It’s not like you can’t be laying down and raise your knees or something. They just don’t want you sitting on a curb or a deep seat which would put a strain on the soft tissues surrounding the joint. After a month or two and certainly three, there are no real precautions. Anterior has less concern with that as @Jaycey mentioned.

 

[newlybionic]

Im still working on my sister to join Bonesmart. She has been reading every other website but this one. All she keeps on telling me that she cant bend her hip to 90 degrees even though she is having an anterior approach. Ive been reading library articles here and it states there is only 0.07 chance of causing a problem with the hip if she bends to 90 degrees.

 

[Jaycey]

@newlybionic Your sister will most likely not have any restrictions. Has she read this article? Dislocation risk and 90 degree rule I don't think she fully understands the 90 degree rule. But she probably won't even need to!

 

[Eman85]

What's the big deal about bending or not bending your hip past 90* in recovery? It looks like you've had previous surgeries, did you really want to do much the first weeks after surgery? It's the same with a hip, not like you're going to do much that would have you bending over and picking things up or sitting on the floor. The 90* rule or any other restrictions at all aren't really a big deal.

 

[Solar7]

What's the big deal about bending or not bending your hip past 90* in recovery? It looks like you've had previous surgeries, did you really want to do much the first weeks after surgery? It's the same with a hip, not like you're going to do much that would have you bending over and picking things up or sitting on the floor. The 90* rule or any other restrictions at all aren't really a big deal.

Not him but I know for me, there's a lot of inadvertent things I do during the day that would break precautions. Just as I opened this up to reply, I looked down and realized I was sitting in my computer chair bent past 90 degrees, and my ankles were crossed. Same thing overnight... I woke up and realized my legs were in a position that is a total no-no.

Obviously I don't know how it feels coming out of surgery and if pain will immediately pull you back from doing something you're not supposed to, but my fear is that muscle memory dies hard. I don't want someone to have to strap me down to sleep, lol.

 

[Jaycey]

In my experience your hip will just not want to move in certain ways. I had no restrictions post RTHR but my new hip would quickly tell me when I moved wrong. Twisting was an absolute no! And I did get out of the habit of crossing my legs.

 

[newlybionic]

Thank you everybody for your insight in having a THR. I will continue to use this site for any questions that come up along the way. Im sure that once she is close to the surgery she will log on for herself. She feels that she can ask me any questions and i will know the answer. Im a currently retired RN. M

 

[newlybionic]

My family uses me to answer all their medical questions. Ive been looking at all the library articles and i am passing along info to her.

 

[nasruddin]

A problem with research, 10x as bad on the internet, is that the search is NOW but the information can be stale. It's hard to sort out what's good - this is a good resource (because it's dynamic). Her surgeon / team should also be - they should provide some guidance on what they expect before, during, and after the surgery in the recovery period.

I'm just a few days down from anterior, I can do quite a bit: some things I want to avoid right now; some things I'm not allowed to do (get in the water - incision must heal) - some things I could do, but hip says NO (like lift it too high). I'm actually a lot more functional than I was in the month before surgery, but using canes and hiking poles for safety and to avoid any more limping (I probably should've been doing that before surgery). Recovery is a time to be careful, to be sure.