Today was a much better day. Iced last night, 3am, and this morning before work. Also did some stretching and light exercises this morning. Sore tonight, but not as much. The main pain is when I stand. I get a pinching at the top front of the hip. I typically stand, wait a little bit for the muscles to stabilize, then I walk. It’s just a time thing from here on out.
THR Greg555's Recovery Thread
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Mojo333
Former BoneSmart Staff Member
Ice is definitely the ticket.. 
Those "stutter steps" are very common...things tighten while we rest and as you say we feel like we have to let things stabilize before starting off.
This really is normal and, in my humble opinion , you have dropped yourself in the workplace early (full disclosure...I did too
) and your hip is likely to complain even more.
Tomorrow IS Friday...
Hang in there.
Those "stutter steps" are very common...things tighten while we rest and as you say we feel like we have to let things stabilize before starting off.
This really is normal and, in my humble opinion , you have dropped yourself in the workplace early (full disclosure...I did too
) and your hip is likely to complain even more.Tomorrow IS Friday...
Hang in there.
It is Friday!! So far I’ve been feeling pretty good. I made it through the day without any Tylenol. Just the aspirin for blood thinning. Laid down and grabbed a nap. Now I’m icing again. Grocery shopping in a bit.Ice is definitely the ticket..
Those "stutter steps" are very common...things tighten while we rest and as you say we feel like we have to let things stabilize before starting off.
This really is normal and, in my humble opinion , you have dropped yourself in the workplace early (full disclosure...I did too
Tomorrow IS Friday...
Hang in there.
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Grocery shopping was ok. Last night was difficult. Lots of pain that moved around. Dull ache kind of stuff in the knee, calf, and lower thigh. I’m off the aspirin now and I iced, ibuprofen, and Tylenol. I woke up twice throughout the night and iced. A lot of cramping. I think the 90 degree weather dehydrated me. I woke up this morning practically pain free. How glorious. The pain when it comes remains centered around the hip flexors. Besides the inflammation, the dehydration just put it all over the top. I had to run a few errands this morning. I’m a little sore, but not bad. So far it’s a good Sunday.
Sounds like your hip is very vocal when you overdo. Remember to listen to your hip and body and slow down a bit and give it more rest and TLC. Slow and steady will still get you to full recovery without side trips of pain/discomfort. I hope you had a peaceful Sunday.
zauberflöte
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@Greg555 yeah, the pain on startup. Yep! I got into a routine that involved isometrically working all the muscles before getting up. It got so I'd just do this stuff mindlessly while seated. Glute squeezes, quad squeezes, hamstring squeezes, calf squeezes, adductor squeezes with a fist between the knees, rock the foot back and forth to work the ankle-- it seems quite a production, but it really did help me. Another thing I did was to start pushing off from the op leg, so stepping out with the non-op leg. That really made a difference for some reason.
Hard to believe, but it’s been one month today. Mowed the lawn yesterday with a push mower and went out grocery shopping before that. I’ve been driving since day 10. Taking the dogs for a walk is a joy again. Still heavy on the icing and using occasional Tylenol and ibuprofen. Doctor cleared me to do some upper body weight lifting, dips, and stationary bicycle. Still keeping up with the PT exercises.
zauberflöte
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Love the positive update!!!!
Applying some heat to the sore areas of my hip seem to provide me with morning relief of pain. I’ve tried icing in the morning and i received no relief. I discovered this after feeling more loose and pain free following a morning hot shower. I think it’s helping to relax tense muscles.
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Hello Greg, Just noticed it’s one month to date since your surgery.Happy One Month Anniversary!
We normally promote icing over using heat. Icing prevents fluid from pooling in the area whereas heat can stimulate the pooling of fluid which may result in increased swelling, pain and stiffness. This per the recently retired forum nurse who had 50+ yrs experience in Orthopedics.
Nice to hear you’re starting out the morning feeling more relaxed. Hope you have a great day!
@Greg555
Happy One Month Anniversary!
We normally promote icing over using heat. Icing prevents fluid from pooling in the area whereas heat can stimulate the pooling of fluid which may result in increased swelling, pain and stiffness. This per the recently retired forum nurse who had 50+ yrs experience in Orthopedics.
Nice to hear you’re starting out the morning feeling more relaxed. Hope you have a great day!
@Greg555
Thank you. I’m really pleased with the progress so far. I’ve got a lot of rebuilding to do as my left leg looks like a little old man’s leg. lol. The musculature is 50% of the other leg.
I’m quite familiar with the difference between icing and heat. Yet at the same time I had a very nice effect from the application of heat. I know that heat brings blood to the area through the dilation of blood vessels and icing just the opposite. I continue to struggle with pain at the top of the hip when I get up from a seated position. The heat reduced the pain by a fair margin
zauberflöte
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@Greg555 it's hard for me to remember exact timelines, but I'm pretty sure that this little flexor-area pain plagued me for more than a month. I can't even remember how long of a "meds-free" interval I had between hips. Possibly none. So I guess I accomplished with ibuprofen or tylenol what you are accomplishing with that morning shower! It will go away. One month is still early days inside there, and the hip pulls lots of body-energy from wherever it can (making this phrasing up as I go along) to accomplish the healing of whatever's next in line. So for example, and for me this is absolutely the way I live, if the bone is healing today, an insulted tendon's comfort may be robbed. For example: Monday I gave a new-ish hernia repair a bigger workout than it had yet had. No pain there thank goodness, but yesterday I dragged through the things I had to do -- no pain but to me my body was clearly stealing physical oomph from my larger self to take care of the abs. Am I making any sense? And is it even relevant in your situation?
Yes. That does make sense. I was informed about fatigue and needing extra rest as the body uses energy to heal the surgical site. I am impatient with the pain and instability in the upper hip area. It’s usually when I stand from a period of sitting. I took a mile walk today. Some of it was grass and uneven. While the muscles were fatigued, I didn’t have that particular pain. I need to remember that it’s been only 4 weeks. I have my second follow up with the surgeon next Friday. He plans more imaging of the hip to make sure all is good. I’ll talk with him then about the pain, but I’m guessing he’s going to say give it time.
I see you are much younger than me but when walking on uneven ground this early in recovery I would suggest hiking poles- two. They keep you aligned and ensure there are no accidents if there is a hole in the grass that you cannot see. I have used mine extensively as I live on 70 acres and it is not manicured. They also helped me get a good gait. They also provide upper arm exercise of sorts so all good things as far as I am concerned. I still use mine when heading out around the fields.
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I will bet you a chocolate cake your OS will say something along the lines of "give it time"! Impatience with pain is totally useless and probably expends energy you could use for healing 
Just roll with it....
I well remember the first time I had the nerve to walk around in my hillocky bumpy molehill-ridden back yard for first hip. Talk about treading on eggs that might turn into quicksand! It was a real milestone to me for each hip when I felt confident looking up/out when walking on iffy outdoors surfaces. Leejaa's poles are a fine idea for those of you who don't have to save their hands for music lol.
Another big (and much later) milestone was puddle- or ditch-jumping, to land on op leg. Second hip found me living in a house with a steeply down sloped front yard, with a lumpy wide ditch next to the road. I reveled in getting the mail "the overland route" (not using the driveway). But that was several months out, for sure. Also, after we took out the gigantic ground hornet nest.
(the chocolate cake example. It's an anniversary model)
Just roll with it....I well remember the first time I had the nerve to walk around in my hillocky bumpy molehill-ridden back yard for first hip. Talk about treading on eggs that might turn into quicksand! It was a real milestone to me for each hip when I felt confident looking up/out when walking on iffy outdoors surfaces. Leejaa's poles are a fine idea for those of you who don't have to save their hands for music lol.
Another big (and much later) milestone was puddle- or ditch-jumping, to land on op leg. Second hip found me living in a house with a steeply down sloped front yard, with a lumpy wide ditch next to the road. I reveled in getting the mail "the overland route" (not using the driveway). But that was several months out, for sure. Also, after we took out the gigantic ground hornet nest.
(the chocolate cake example. It's an anniversary model)Poles are a very good idea. Besides stability it would allow me to take a small amount of weight off the leg. All I have to do is slightly push myself up with one finger on the desk to take away the pain. I remember having this exact same pain a few years ago when I strained a hip flexor muscle.
Decided to go back to the cane. The pain I feel when I stand after being seated for a period is eliminated with the assist of a cane. Once I’m moving and take 5-6 steps the pain vanishes and the cane isn’t needed. I think all the struggling and instability when I stand is causing unnecessary stress on the musculature and causing inflammation. So I’ll keep the cane by my side for awhile. Like anything else, this is a journey.
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Great decision, @Greg555 You are being wise.. you are your best judge of what you need and how long you will need it. Your body tells you that currently, you need help after sitting.
Struggling for positions will indeed stress and anger the soft tissues recently impacted by your surgery.
Hey, Happy Friday! By this time next week you will make some more progress..
Struggling for positions will indeed stress and anger the soft tissues recently impacted by your surgery.
Hey, Happy Friday! By this time next week you will make some more progress..
That is how I decided when to move away from assitive devices. As long as it would help the pain or limp, I used them. I regarded them as tools not signs of weakness. I really didn’t care what other people thought or said because they didn’t know or feel what I felt. It worked out beautifully.
