Become an Insider

THR Grannyhippy's Recovery Thread

@Josephine, I am doing the exercises I mentioned above as a maintenance program to keep the strength I have gained so far. I am still not walking straight without an aid of some sort. I have been walking around the house a lot without any assistance and sometimes suddenly I will veer off to one side. Especially if I am moving quickly. I want to go in one direction and my body wants to go in another. It is annoying to say the least. I have tried all sorts of styles of walking but still don't have proper control. I actually move faster without any aides. I have not fallen over yet. I keep leaving my crutch behind somewhere around the house or back patio and forget where I put it. The other day I left it out on the front path when I went down there to attach a new garden hose to the tap. I tried a walking stick again yesterday but still feel more stable without it. The last few days I have not done any exercises. I have however been doing some gentle stretching all over and it help with my tight muscles.

I go to see the physiotherapist. She does not come to me. I have never had a physiotherapist come to the house.
They don't offer that service for hip replacement only knee replacements and that is two visits only. My husband had that when he had his knee done.

Thank you for highlighting those articles for me to read. It is appreciated.

I can reach my toes on my left foot when putting on lotion but I have difficulty with my right foot and don't want to push it too far in case I do dislocate my hip. I will ask my surgeon when I see him on Thursday.

Before my surgery, even with my bad back, I could reach my toes from a standing position with straightened legs. Although sitting down to dress my bottom half or put lotion on my feet was a different matter. Especially when trying to put anything on my right foot.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Grannyhippy said:
I tried a walking stick again yesterday but still feel more stable without it.
Click to expand...
Then don't use it! 14 weeks is a perfectly reasonable time to dump it.
Grannyhippy said:
The last few days I have not done any exercises. I have however been doing some gentle stretching all over and it help with my tight muscles.
Click to expand...
That's fine but a lot of what you are describing could very likely be due to the exercises as you are over stressing the very muscles you are seeking to improve. My best suggestion is to quit the physio totally and let time take care of the rest.
 
Hi @Grannyhippy I have just read through your thread and you have been through quite a lot during your recovery.I was wondering if you are still having cramp like pain in the front thigh ? I hope you benefit from a rest from physio
 
@Kim22, I do still get some soreness and a tight feeling in the front of my thigh. Particularly in the top half of my thigh. I also get the same feelings over the top of my Iliac Crest and on the right hand side of my spine in the lumbar region and at the back of my thigh. I get numbness, pins and needles and soreness on the right hand side and front of my right calf which goes in front of my right ankle and across the top of my foot. I don't seem to be getting the pins and needles down my left leg as much as I was. I have a very sore, tight spot near my scar sight on the side of my hip and when I walk it often feels like it wants to give way. There is also a bulging feeling there, especially when I walk. There is also pain in my buttock area in general. I can tolerate the pain though. I am on Lyrica 75mg twice a day for my back but it does not seem to be doing anything for the nerve pain symptoms down my leg. I will ask my surgeon if I need to increase the dose even though I am reluctant to do so as when I tried this medication years ago I felt like I was drunk and did not continue with it. @Josephine thinks it might be Piriformis syndrome and I had been wondering if if might be. Nerves are certainly involved that is for sure whether through tight muscles irritating the sciatic nerve or through surgery I don't know. I am still getting the cricking and crackling in the lumbar area of my back. Before surgery if I were to lie on my right side I would get a stretching feeling on my right hand side from the bottom of my ribs to the top of my Iliac Crest. I still get that, and now have that feeling a good deal of the time. I also get a cold spot in my buttock if I bend a lot. My scar is only about 11 cm long and is slightly L shaped.

How have you been?

@Jamie, @Jaycey What are your opinions on what my problem might be? I am seeing my surgeon tomorrow.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I managed to cut my own toenails on my left foot today by putting my leg up on a chair on my back patio and sitting on another facing it. I bent forward to cut them. I asked my husband to cut the nails on my right foot as I still have trouble reaching it and despite the terrible job he did last time he did a great job this time. Probably because I soaked my feet first to soften any callusus on the ends of my toes. I did manage to cut one slightly thickened toenail on my right foot but felt a real stretch in my back and hip and was not game enough to be in that position for too long. Hubby can't reach his toenails either and I usually cut them.

I can bend down passed the 90 degree angle in general but am reluctant to do that too often until I ask my doctor if it is OK. I get a cold feeling in my back and buttock when I do that.

It will be fifteen weeks tomorrow since my RTHR
 
Last edited by a moderator:
@Grannyhippy I am ok thank you but it is still early days for me.Sorry that you are having so much discomfort but it does sound a bit like sciatica to me but of course I am no expert.What does your GP say ? Congratulations on being able to cut your toenails that is a big milestone in your recovery.
 
Grannyhippy said:
@Josephine thinks
Click to expand...
Granny, whilst you are perfectly at liberty to tag me if you need anything specific, please don't make my name into a tag in the course of general conversation. I already get around 15-20 tags a day and don't need to be brought here for no reason.
 
I saw my orthopaedic surgeon today and it looks like he will have to replace my femoral stem with a bigger one. The stem I have has not subsided any further since my last x-rays but I do have a pronounced Trendelenburg Gait. He apologized for that. I was sent to have Nuromuscular electrodiagnosis conduction studies on 4 or more nerves with or without electromyography or recordings from single fibres of nerves and muscles or both of these examinations. The reason I had the nerves and muscle function tests is that if the nerve is not functioning properly I will still have a Trendelenburg Gait after femoral stem replacement. Anyway so be it.

The Neurologist did mention radiculopathy a few times to his assistant who conducted the first part of the test. He also mentioned L5/S1 to her. The report won't be ready until Monday and they will send it on to my doctor and post a copy to me as well.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
So sorry that you have to go through all this @Granny hippy....hoping that the tests come back with less problems than you think. Will be thinking of you...Chrissie x


Sent from my iPad using BoneSmart Forum
 
Hello @Grannyhippy so sorry to read your news, I hope you get some good test results. I don't know much about the Trendelenburg gait. My thoughts are with you that there is a noninvasive way to improve. Sending extra special healing vibes to you now.:angel:
 
Hi @Plum Perfect, @Hoppy Nanny and @Hipster Girl, Thank you all for your kind thoughts. The doctor does seem to think that I will need a larger stem but the nerve tests are just to make sure that there has been no damage done to the one of the main nerves during the surgery. I guess I will find out if any of my problems are coming from my spine as well. That tight feeling I have in my leg, back and buttock muscles are from the muscles working overtime to keep my balance. Below is a Wikipedia site which gives a brief description of what a Trendelenburg Gait is . Basically it is an abnormal gait where a person leans their body over to one side to compensate for weakness on the other side. Usually due to weak gluteus muscles and or damage to the superior gluteal nerve or radiculopathy of the L5 nerve in the spine. This results in a severe limp.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trendelenburg_gait
 
Here is another website with an animated video explaining Trendelenburg gait.

 
My friend has an abnormal gait & they found out that it was due to scoliosis in her spine ........she leans very much to the left, they initially thought it was due to her hip. Physio, apparently is the only aid to this. X


Sent from my iPad using BoneSmart Forum
 
@Hoppy Nanny It has been noted in the past that I do have some scoliosis convex to the left but a more recent x-ray said everything was in alignment so I asked my surgeon if I had scoliosis and he said no. My physiotherapist sister-in-law (who has not seen any of my x-rays) said that sometimes it can appear to be that way because of the way I am placed on the table when the x-rays were taken and the angle from which they are viewed. I do know I have slippage of L5/S1 disc and degeneration and arthritis in other discs in my spine. I guess it is wait and see at the moment.

Thank you for the information about your friend.
 
You're welcome @Grannyhippy
I hope you get some definitive answers very soon and can move on with relevant treatments x


Sent from my iPad using BoneSmart Forum
 
I'm 2 years post THR @Grannyhippy & my hip is now 'forgotten'
My recovery was very slow & a bit fraught at times....a real roller coaster ...but it all worked out great in no small part BoneSmart was my saviour during that time....the support & advice kept me sane.
Now if the rest of my body was as good as my new hip!! Well.....that's another story!!


Sent from my iPad using BoneSmart Forum
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Corganics CBD
Active Antimicrobial Hydrogel

Members online

No members online now.
Total: 2,660 (members: 0, guests: 2,660)

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom