To add to Jo's wonderful advice and article...
Hi Kelsey
Oh ! Honey, I would suggest with due respect, that you have a rethink of that 3 month fully recovered expectation. You have had major, complex surgery, and part of this for example was removing bone and replacing it with a prostheses. So forgive me if I prattle on a bit here and delve into the healing of bones which is only one part, albeit a major part of joint replacements long with our muscles etc. etc..
Do we really understand our bones? What they’re made of, how they grow and heal, and all the different health sustaining things they do for us? Most of us are likely a bit “in the dark” when it comes to really understanding and fully appreciating the incredible nature of our bones.
If we could get a really good look at our bones, by peering deep inside, and all along the surfaces, we’d be very amazed at what we’d find. Our bones are not dry and static, but vital and active. In fact, our bones are busy every moment of our lives.
Here’s just one example: our bones house the marrow, which is continually giving birth to millions of red and white blood cells (the very essence of our immune system) every second!
Instead of thinking about our bones as dry, hard and inert – we really should view our bones instead, as a living, regenerating system that changes daily. And this is really good news! It means that it’s never too late in our lives to make a positive difference in the health of our bones. We can intervene with simple, but important steps to support our bones, and the countless things they do to keep our body running smoothly.
All 206 of our bones are very busy, every moment of every day, remaking themselves (they are as close as we come to perpetual motion!). Especially following surgery. Even though our bones reach a state of maturity when we’re young adults, that doesn’t mean our bodies stop growing bone, far from it…
Every year our healthy bones are busy renewing about 10% of their cells. In fact, every 7-10 years our entire skeleton fully regenerates itself through a process called “remodeling”. This means that the bones that allowed you to walk and run, and that kept you erect, and protected your organs just a few years ago -- are nowhere to be found today! They’ve been replaced by fresh new “recruits”.
Bones serve as our primary mineral storehouse, or “bank”. Our bones store hundreds of unique minerals that our body is completely dependent on in order to function and be healthy. Imagine your bones as you would a bustling bank in the center of the city. The bank has a wondrous array of minerals in its vaults, including calcium and the all important magnesium, two minerals that goes hand in hand.
Here’s how our bones shed old bone matrix and replace it with fresh cellular growth. We have two very intelligent, highly specialized sets of bone cells.
One set of cells (called osteoclasts) are designed by nature to break down old bone matrix. These specialists insure that old bone is “retired” and moved away at the end of its lifecycle, literally making room for new growth. And sure enough, as old bone is resorbed, our other bone cell specialists (called osteoblasts) move right in to fill the gaps and build up fresh, new layers of bone.
This is Bone Renewal and is only one part of recovering from joint replacement surgery... We have muscle cells, ligaments, nerve cells, soft tissue cells... All have completely different time frames for healing...
So sadly Kelsey honey, there is no way any of us could be 100% recovered by 3 months, as much as we would like to be.
I set my expectations on the following formula:
12 months = 90% recovered
18 months = not aware of my THR and feeling generally 100% recovered in myself, activities, etc..
At 9 months, I am finally feeling that I am getting close to my 12 month goal, but I know as a Natural Medicine Practitioner that I must keep in mind the time frames for the different body components to heal... But heal they will honey and you will be whole again. You are doing great, just a little patience and you will get there
United Kingdom
