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THR Grannyhippy's Recovery Thread

Hi everyone, I haven't been on BoneSmart much lately. I hope everyone is doing well with their recovery.

As I mentioned in an earlier part of this thread I have had nerve conduction and muscle function tests done last week on my legs and hips and the results showed moderate chronic partial denervation in all muscles tested, consistent with a lumbar polyradiculopathy, in particular at L5. As a result my orthopaedic surgeon is sending me for an MRI and an x-ray of my lumbar region to find out what the situation is with my spine and what can be done about it.

I may still need to have the stem of my hip prosthesis replaced with a larger size but that depends on the innervation to the gluteus muscles. My doctor has to speak to the neurologist who did the tests.

So, at this point everything is up in the air until all tests are done and the results are in.
 
It wouldn't be so bad if I didn't walk like a drunk when I don't use a crutch. I have noticed that when I walk around the house at times without my crutch I have pain in my operated hip with every step.
 
@Grannyhippy I'm sure you are a cute drunk. I'm so sorry they have not been able to resolve your issues, I am thinking of you and sending happy, healing vibes to you. All the best in your continued recovery.
 
I used one crutch for 9 months post THR....my gait, limp & pain was so bad if I didn't ....but it's great now!!


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Thank you @Plum Perfect and @Hoppy Nanny. I was supposed to have my MRI and Lumbar x-rays taken last Saturday but the MRI machine would not boot up and needed a part to repair it so my appointment was rescheduled for yesterday. They squeezed my new appointment in a few hours before I was to see the doctor and said they would send the report straight up to him but it did not arrive. However, I was given the MRI scans and x-rays to take with me and my OS studied them. It seems I have spinal stenosis which is a narrowing of the spinal canal and I have it in several places, in particular L 1/2 where the space is quite narrow. My hip surgeon gave me a referral to the neurosurgeon who performed my microsdisectomy almost 7 years ago. I will be seeing him in three weeks time. There is the possibility of my having to have a laminectomy but I won't know for sure until I see the specialist. The x-ray report was sent to me today and just stated that I have extensive disc degeneration throughout my spine. The problems with my spine may well be a contributing factor to my being unable to walk properly without a crutch but until this is sorted out I won't know. The nerve supply to the hip muscle is fine if I do need revision surgery or I may just need a shoe lift.
 
I saw the neurosurgeon today and he thinks that the hip surgery stirred things up in my back so I am having a guided L3/4 transforaminal steroid injection tomorrow afternoon. It may take up to a week to take effect but hopefully the injection will settle things down so that I can continue to recover from my hip replacement. I will then go back to see him in a month's time. I am also to continue taking Celebrex for a while. I decided to stop taking Lyrica a few weeks back as it was not doing anything for me and the neurosurgeon agreed when I told him this. A GP put me on Lyrica last year even though I told him that I had tried it a few years ago when it first came on the market and did not even finished the trial packages as it did not help then and I had side effects at the time.

Seven years ago I had an L3/4 microdiscectomy when physiotherapy and a steroid injection failed to relieve the sciatica I had.

These steroid injections are really painful and when having one I have to lie on my stomach and keep very still because the doctor injects next to the nerve coming from my spine. There are two injections one after the other. This will be the third steroid injection in 7 years. The last one was back in 2011.

My MRI report stated that I have grade one spondylolisthesis at three levels, spinal stenosis, radiculopathy, mild scoliosis convex to the left, arthritis and a few disc bulges but my neurosurgeon said that none of these are bad enough to require surgery (thank goodness). I have a small disc bulge where I had my previous surgery but it is not bad enough to require another surgery. My x-ray report states that I have widespread degenerative change throughout the lumbar spine with disc narrowing and bony reaction. No pars defect can be seen. It also mentions my scoliosis.

I have personally noticed a slight improvement in my gait over the last few weeks but I still look a bit like a drunk and veer off to the right when walking. Particularly when I have been on my feet a lot or when I don't use a cane at home.

My hip still feels bit like it will give way when I walk and I do still have pins and needles and a very tight feeling on the right side of my spine, side, buttock, hip, front and back of thigh, calf and foot. I also have a pins and needles in my left leg sometimes as well.

My orthopaedic surgeon gave me the referral to the neurosurgeon as he thought I might need decompression surgery and maybe even a spinal fusion to stabilize my back and he has not done spinal surgery in many years.
 
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awww @Grannyhippy sorry to hear about these issues and I hope the injection is providing some relief with your back. Hope you are having a better day today!
 
Thanks @Hipster Girl. I had the steroid injection a few days ago and this time around it hurt less than the previous two times. The doctor who gave the injection was really good and my leg did not go to sleep as it did before. My back actually felt a bit better the next day and I did about an hour or so of weeding in the garden and felt OK afterwards. I also felt like I was walking a bit straighter, but the next day my limp was worse again and still is today. I also have the pins and needles back. Like many of you hippies my body fatigues easily when I do household chores or gardening and my muscles seem to tighten up and that probably contributes to my limp. Right now I have that overly tight, overly stretched feeling all down my right side and leg and I am just sitting down typing. The crackling in my back had eased off but is back again as well.
 
Hi @Grannyhippy, my condition was very similar to yours, except minus the radi. It was L4-5 for me. Cortisone is my friend and I've been getting it since 2004. I had dropped a Captains bed on myself, with my heard poking out the mattress board. It started the stenosis on top of the degeneration. I started having pins needles in left foot. In 2 yrs I became housebound, as after 5 mins of being upright numbness would spread from my toes to groin area and I would fall. One time I fell in the rd in front of a large passenger tour bus and I couldn't get up fast. It really scared my 9 yr old son. I had a decompression and fusing L 4-5 with 2 rods in 2010. I was doing car & stairs in the second day. I was off a walker and using one crutch within 7 days. I did no physio either, it was a 3 hr surgery. However it was a cake walk compared to this hip!! I was pain free for 7 month, when it snowed, then the hip woke up screaming for attention.

I get about 3 months relief from my cortisone, starting in 20 mins. Its worth 1.5 trip to the city every 3-6 months. I see a couple of rehab specialists. I stay over night as I cant sit for 11 hrs straight. I feel like a new person when I have the shots and can decrease my narcotics more than half for at least 2 months. I had shots into my SI joint 3 weeks prior to hip surgery. I'm sure its why I was pain free with pain meds post surgery. My surgeon said he couldn't guarantee good pain management, as I was on very high does to start. I was pleasantly surprised!

I am very sorry to hear you need to redo the hip! However, I found the back surgery a breeze! I was told my bad hip was aggravating back and knee pain. I spent 8 months in bed, with my son doing everything. My hip had affected everything on my left side. I hope what I've shared helps you when thinking of back surgery! You are a very determined and brave woman. My surgeon loves us determined patients, as we aren't afraid to do the work. I wish you the best and look forward to following your posts. If I can answer any questions just ask.
 
Hi @3rd Dislocation, Sorry I took so long to reply to your post but I somehow could not remember how to get into my own threads. I could click on Alerts and find other people's threads but not mine. Anyway I am here now so I will give an update on what is happening.

First of all though, you call me a brave woman when you have certainly been through the wringer yourself. You really have endured a lot of suffering. Mine is nothing compared to yours. l think you are very brave and determined.

I had my cortisone injection on 18th November and went back to see the neurosurgeon a month later. The injection really did not help much. The neurosurgeon did not do a physical examination or see me walk without a cane but he did look at my MRIs and x-rays and asked questions. He also asked if I had done any physiotherapy to which I replied "yes" and gave him brief details. His advice was not to rush into any surgery hip or back but to start doing hydrotherapy with a physiotherapist and if there is no improvement in three months time to go back and see him. I have not been back to the orthopaedic surgeon since he gave me the referral to the neurosurgeon.

I had an hour long assessment by a physiotherapist on 21st December. He was very thorough and said that I have a lot wrong with me and it will probably be a long recovery. First they will have to work on my motor skills and then after that work on building up the muscles. He also stated that nerves take a long time to grow back. I knew that.

My first session in the pool was on Christmas Eve and the second one was on New Year's Eve. I started each session just walking up and down the pool normally and then from side to side. I had a young lady for the first session and then the young physiotherapist who did my assessment for the second session. He was the only one working on the morning of New Year's Eve. With each pool session I was given an exercise to do and then the physiotherapist would go an help someone else in the small group. I have also been to my local indoor pool between sessions to practice some of the exercises which don't need their equipment. I like the exercise they call seaweeding where they put a floatation collar around my neck and two others under my waist and hips. I then lie back in the water and totally relax while the therapist hangs onto my arms and sways my lower body back and forth in the water. I think this is to free up the back muscles. It did set off the radiculopathy in my back and legs though. Especially the first time. I also had to do scissor crossovers with my legs while in that position.

It's early days yet and time will tell if these sessions will do any good. I certainly hope so. It still hurts when I walk and I feel unstable, especially when I sometimes don't use a cane at home. I sometimes wonder if I do not have an impingement in the hip itself because I get that pinched feeling when I put weight on that leg or lie on that side. I thought the physiotherapist was spot on when he said that it seems as though everyone is giving me a lot of possibilities as to what is wrong but no real answers on how to fix it. My orthopaedic surgeon has made some conflicting statements about my leg length on three different visits to him.

I almost forgot to mention that I have improved vastly going up and down stairs. I can go downstairs in a normal manner without hanging onto anything and am getting better at coming up but am a lot slower and usually have to use the cane or hang onto something.
 
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Just an update on how I am going with my recovery. I have had seven hydrotherapy sessions so far since Christmas Eve 2015. I do think that the hydrotherapy has helped loosen up and strengthened some of the muscles in my back, hip and legs and I find I can do many exercises in the water which I would find difficult to do on land. At the end of my last session the physiotherapist put a weight belt around my hips (not too tight) and gave me a rubber ring and I had to go up into the deep end and just hang for ten minutes or so (I did fifteen). I felt great afterwards. It it a form of traction for my back but in the water. On average I am in the water for two hours with each session and the physiotherapist gives me a couple of exercises to do and when I am finished I go back to her and she gives me something else to do. Each physiotherapist in the pool helps several patients at the same time. Luckily it is a heated pool (I believe about 30 C or 86 F) so it is like getting into a warm bath). Even so, sometimes after about an hour and half it can get a bit chilly and I sometimes put on my rash vest for warmth. It is mid summer here in Australia but we have had a lot of unseasonal wet weather and very hot some days and cold the next. Weird. It is an indoor pool but just has a giant canopy with open sections for a roof. I have not been swimming in that pool before but I like it better than my local pool and may continue to swim in the colder weather for exercise. I will buy a thermal rash vest with a zip when the physiotherapists get more in stock later on. I also go down to my local pool for a practice in between sessions but that pool is not as warm so I cannot stay in there as long.

I still feel discomfort when I walk and my hip still feels unstable. Both the physiotherapists I have had have given my back and hip a massage while I lay on my back with floatation devices to keep me afloat. I also use their massage ball against the pool wall as do other patient.

I still cannot walk straight without a cane but I am trying.
 
@Grannyhippy sounds like you are seeing real results with the pool exercises. Well done! Don't forget - THR recovery can take a year or more. I suspect you will continue to see improvement.

Thanks for keeping us updated!
 
@Grannyhippy, thank you for your very informative posts about your condition. I am hoping that you get results and relief in your search for the cause of your weakness/limp. If it is because of your nerve damage problems, I hope that resolves itself without surgery, and that any other causes that might be discovered can be successfully treated. I will follow your journey with interest, as I have a similar situation. It is no fun to have your mobility so limited after having a surgery that was supposed to make life much better.

FYI, to compare with your experience, I had RTHR in July 2015, am 68, and still have a severe limp and pain in my hip and thigh, so I can very much sympathize with you! I've had x-rays of everything and MRI's of lumbar spine and hips (two MRI's of them, ordered by two different orthopedic surgeons), and a steroid injection into my sacroiliac joint (which did no good). The spine scans showed no damage. I have a bone scan scheduled for Monday just to rule out prosthesis loosening and infection, and the new orthopedist will review the latest hip MRI results (which show much more detail than the first) and the bone scan results with me next week. I strongly suspect that I have tears in my gluteus medius and/or gluteus minimus muscles/tendons, and/or perhaps the obturator externus muscle. They've had plenty of time to heal on their own, and they are still just as bad. I've reviewed what the various muscles in the hips do, and those work primarily to stabilize the hip when walking and balancing on one leg. I have immediate, severe hip drop when trying to balance on the surgical leg. I had the anteriolateral approach, and those gluteal muscles were cut by the surgeon to access my hip joint. For some reason they still aren't working as they should. So for me, it's probably muscle/tendon damage. Or it could be nerve damage, which doesn't seem likely since all my spine scans were normal. I guess there can be problems with the parts of the nerves that are in the hip/thigh. I look forward to what the new surgeon has to say. I have a thread going, and will update it after I see the new orthopedist on Thursday.
 
Hi @Krista, Your case does sound very much like mine. My physiotherapist has mentioned several times that it can take up to six months or a year to recover fully from a hip replacement. I have decided to follow your posts as well so that I can see how your recovery is progressing. Because your surgeon had to cut tendons and muscle to do your surgery you would definitely have weakness in those areas and these sorts of injuries do take up to six months or more to heal. Maybe it would be worth your while to seek out a good physiotherapist so that you can try hydrotherapy. My physiotherapist said she used to work at another pool seven years ago before setting up her own business and low and behold she used to work for the physiotherapist who treated my back before my lumbar microdiscectomy. I had treatment in his clinic at that time and only three sessions in the pool but did not see her or have her for treatment. She has over 20 years experience in hydrotherapy and I have every confidence in her ability to treat me.

Remember also that if you do have nerve damage, nerves take a long time to grow back.
 
I was just reading @AmBlocker's recent post about his late hip dislocation and it brought to mind something my daughter was talking about recently. Apparently one of her neighbour's whom I gather is not young, had a hip replacement some time ago and one day years ago decided to climb up on his roof to clean leaves out of the guttering or something like that. While he was up on his roof he dislocated his hip. Luckily he had his mobile phone and called his son who had to get the rescue team out to get him off the roof. This apparently happened before my daughter moved into the house she is in now and she mentioned it because he recently wanted to get back up on the roof again for some reason and his wife banned him from do so. Do you blame her? So I guess we hippies always have to be aware of the possibility of future dislocation and try not to get ourselves into awkward positions but that is easier said than done.

Last week during hydrotherapy the physiotherapist was bending my leg this way and than and at one time brought my leg back and up to the side a bit. She stopped immediately when I said that it hurt when she did that. I also remembered and told her that that was one position the orthopaedic surgeon said not to get into during the recovery period because of the risk of dislocation.
 
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Yesterday it was a 36 C degree day and I went to the pool where I normally have hydrotherapy to do some of the exercises. Well, the indoor pool was not available until after 12:00 pm because of swimming lessons and the outdoor pool was unavailable because of an RSL club swimming carnival. So when I arrived at the pool around 3:00 pm the small part of the pool which was roped off for leisure swimming was absolutely packed with young families and small kids. The two middle lanes were roped off for those having physio and the last two lanes were for lap swimming only. I walked down the stairs into the general area wondering how I was going to be able to manoeuvre around all those people to do my exercises when my physiotherapist spotted me an called me into their area even though I was not having an official hydroptherapy session. Thank goodness for that. My next session with her is on Wednesday.
 
GrannyHippy, thanks for the idea about hydrotherapy. Once I get a diagnosis, I'll be finding out what is best for treatment, and doing things in a pool might be recommended. And it might just feel good. Glad you are having a good experience with it! I can hardly imagine dislocating a hip while on a roof! And he wanted to go up there again. Dislocation can happen to anyone, whether they have a hip replacement or not. I have no restrictions, but I don't do anything the least bit risky.
 
I have still been attending hydrotherapy in the pool once a week and had a session today. I do think that there has been improvement in my gait since I started the therapy and I am walking a lot straighter but I am still having issues with both my back and my hip so the physiotherapist said she would like me to have a session in the clinic instead of the water so that she can address these issues. I have arranged a session with her tomorrow afternoon.

On the whole I really enjoy the hydrotherapy although some of the exercises such as walking up and down the pool many times to warm up at the beginning of a session can be boring. The exercises can vary slightly from week to week and my therapist has given me a few to do at home as well.

Towards the end of each session each client gets some one on one time with their therapist who works with them to manipulate their leg, back or whatever needs to be worked on. In my case among other things my therapist has literally pulled my leg (no pun intended). I lay back in the water with all the floatation gear around my neck and under my back and leg/s and she has among other things put a strap around my operated leg up near the top of my thigh and pulled it ever so slightly but firmly out to the side while holding onto the side of my hip with her other hand. With another manoeuvre she gets me to place my good leg against her body while she pulls on my operated leg. She also bends the leg up toward my chest and back many times. I also get finger massages up my spine. She feels her way up from the base of my spine and works her way up massaging each area. I hook my other leg under the pool lane divider and hang on to it while she does this. This is to keep me in one place while this is happening.

Today and a few other times I have finished my session by having traction in the pool. I have a weighted belt strapped around my waist and I am given a rubber ring to keep me afloat. I go up to the deep end of the pool and just hang there for about ten minutes. I am happy to do this as it is quite comfortable.

I am getting much better at balancing on the underwater balancing board and I find this rather fun to do. The last two weeks my therapist suggested I put me feet closer together on the board to make it harder but I actually found it easier to do with my legs close together. I initially found this exercise extremely hard to do and I fell of frequently.

One other exercise I do is use a blue piece of Theraband elastic, stand on it with both feet, hold onto the ends and slowly walk sideways up and down the pool while keeping my bottom tucked in. Twice up and twice back. Of course I only go as far as chest deep in the water before coming back. These are just a few of the exercises I do. That one is not easy.

Anyway, the last few weeks I have had catching and sharp twinges in my back, the top of my thigh and other areas when being manipulated so that is why I am having a session in the clinic instead of the pool as she wants to try other things which cannot be done in the pool.

Yesterday I had a backache all day and today my back wanted to spasm when doing some of the simple exercises such as the reaching out to the front and sides while holding onto a small rubber ring.

I also find that my hip still hurts when I walk and some days the pins and needles in my legs are quite noticeable. Other times not so. I noticed a lot of crackling in my lower back yesterday but not today.

The therapist does think that part of my trouble could be a tight iliotibial band but she said last week she was not sure whether some of my issues were from my joints or whether they were muscular. I do feel as though something is being pinched or that something sharp is sticking into my hip near where my scar is. This is especially so when I put my weight on it when walking. I no longer seem to have that cold feeling in my right buttock though. I still find it uncomfortable to lie on my right side as I have this pulling feeling from my ribs to my hips and discomfort in my hip. I did have this problem before my hip surgery.

I do try to go down to my local pool once or twice a week in between my hydrotherapy sessions so that I can practice some of these exercises.

It will be interesting to see what the physiotherapist does during tomorrow's session.
 
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