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TKR Help! I've developed right hip pain 3 months after LTKR.

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Yes, indeed - it was the last straw for me, I developed hip bursitis this spring and it sucks! It was nagging pain for quite some time until I somehow angered it and I was on crutches for a weekend. Asprin creme actually helps a bit, so does extrastrength tylenol. Doc wanted to do a cortizone shot but after all the shots into my knees I skipped it. Took a few weeks but it did go away and now I make certain to do specific hip flexor exercises.
 
@TexasTee Interesting. The nurse thought I had hip bursitis but after looking at the x-rays they could see it was not in that area. I got a cortisone shot into the upper part of my hip, toward the back (where the pain was). I've had cortisone shots in my knee, too. Those are horrible but the one into my hip was a piece of cake in comparison. I mean it was just no big deal at all. Now I just hope it helps. Without the pain in the hip I'll walk more naturally and not throw anything else off. I hope it last for a few months... I'll look for hip flexor exercises, thank you for the tip.
 
My recovery has finally evened out. At 3 months post-op pain is low, sleeping well, ROM 135+, and stamina is returning. However, several weeks ago my right hip started hurting. I assumed it was the result of the right leg overcompensating for the left. I made a conscious effort to walk and stand as naturally as possible, not favoring my right. To no avail; the hip pain just got worse. It hurts when standing or walking, especially when standing; does not hurt when lying down, rarely hurts when sitting. So I called my OS and was given an appt the very next day. That was two days ago. They took x-rays of my hip. Hip looked fine (they had suspected bursitis but found no problem with the bursa). So I was given a cortisone shot into the hip. The shot has helped but not as much as I was hoping it would. The PA said to give it two weeks and if it wasn't helping they would refer me to someone who could give the shot, x-ray guided in order to better target the point of pain. I asked if a new script for PT would make sense and was told they could possibly do that, again, if the shot didn't work.

It's only been two days but I'd expect more relief than this. Doesn't PT make sense??? Anyone have ideas or experience with this?

--> To moderator: Please don't move this to my recovery thread! I tried that already.
 
Hi @sunny-island

I've found with hip pain too much exercise doesn't help.....gentle walking & icing the hip may help if it's inflamed inside.

Do hope you feel some benefits from the injection soon x


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Did they tell you why they injected your hip? Or what they suspect might be an issue? If your hip is "fine" I doubt a cortisone injection will make a difference. And it can take up to 4 days for cortisone to have an impact. Does your hip itself hurt or do you have groin or back pain?

I also have had off & on right hip pain post LTKR. But I had a BTHR in 2012 and know my hip flexors are tight. My entire lower body is off kilter - hip flexors, IT bands and hamstrings are a challenge and my OS tells me I have a new "normal" once the hips were replaced. I would be icing and doing hip stretches - which is what I have been doing and it has made a difference. It never ends... But you'll get thru this too.
 
The surgery and relearning how to walk does sometimes affect other parts of your body. I had hip pain in the operated leg for a while after the surgery. I like @dtmbf 's comment about hip flexors.
 
Are you wearing your pre TKR shoes, by any chance? My go to for most of my aches and pains is Martha Peterson's 'somatic' exercises. Try some of these: broken link removed: https://essentialsomatics.wordpress.com/category/muscle-pain-conditions/hip-pain/
 
@dtmbf Thanks for your advice. Oh I know I'll get through this - I'm not upset or depressed at all. To answer your questions: they gave me the cortisone injection because they said that area was inflamed. It isn't the groin, or along the backbone. I was asked about the groin by everyone. It's more at the side toward the back, but in the upper hip area. I knew there would be a lot of adjustments and I guess this is just the newest one. But it's one that needed to be addressed because it was causing me to continually adjust my gait. It wasn't off and on, it was pretty much all the time I was walking or standing. The cortisone injection seems to be helping, the pain is less today than it was yesterday and it was less yesterday than the day before. I was hoping for total relief and there's still a chance I'll get to that point. Maybe??? Where can I find the exercises you mentioned? I don't want to do anything that will aggravate it but would be happy to know which exercises might help!! This will sound dumb but where exactly are hip flexors?

This is forum is so helpful. I was going to use heat on my hip, but you say ice. Okay!
 
Nursing diagnosis, impaired gait with resulting pain due to wearing shoes adapted to old, dysfunctional gait patterns. I'll send you a bill.

Martha gets a little deep sometimes with the the 'trauma reflex' theory but the exercises are free on her site and on Youtube and they are wonderfully helpful.
 
Advice that I got from the home PT that helped with hip and low back pain was to wear your most supportive shoes during the day even if you are not going out. I was used to just wearing socks around the house but when I started wearing my athletic shoes (New Balance with arch supports for overpronation) even when I was not having a PT session, there were fewer aches and pains. Also, I had ultrasound on my hip at outpatient PT when the hip pain flared up again. I've had bursitis before and had steroid injections but the one ultrasound treatment worked just as well if not better.
 
@referee54 The pain in/near my hip isn't joint pain, I don't think. I know the hip is a joint but the pain isn't exactly there, not in the joint. Ice or heat? Either would feel good but heat would feel better.
 
Heat or ice - since you're not putting it on a healing wound, I think you could try either. I even heard of some people alternating the two, with good effect.
 
@sunny-island just a couple of thoughts. I would initially use ice on the hip area since your MD thought there was inflammation present. Everyone is asking you about groin pain cuz thats one of the major areas for referred hip issues. I never had hip pain before my BTHR, I had wicked groin and back pain, with some referred knee pain thrown in.

And it does seem as of the cortisone is working - if each day you are feeling a bit better. There's no real Big Bang with cortisone. I second the dump the old shoes recommendation, especially those you wore a lot preop. I kept the shoes I wore infrequently, but those I wore almost daily are gone. I always wear shoes in the house - for me it's a safety issue as I have all wood or tile floors.

Onto the hip flexors - there are several muscles that comprise the hip flexors. I would do a search - wikipedia probably has a pretty good illustration. There are a ton of exercises you an do to stretch them and unfortunately I cannot remember the name of the 2 that were the most helpful to me - one was a yoga move (just remembered the name - the Warrior pose!) where you go into a standing lunge and swivel your upper body. And the second one I can describe. You need to be able to slide your butt slightly off the edge of a table or high bed (one leg needs to be able to drop down & not be stopped by the floor). Bring one leg up to your chest to decrease the strain on your lower back & drop the other leg off the edge towards the floor. You will feel the stretch at the top of your thigh and may not be able to drop the leg all the way down. This stretch has a name but I can never remember it. The hip replacement forum may have other helpful exercises. Hope these help!
 
@dtmbf You are a wealth of information!

I'm not sure about dumping the shoes. When I look at the wear pattern on the shoes I wear most often, it appears to be even. It's a possibility that I should replace them though. What I definitely will need to replace is orthotics. I see a PT who specializes in orthotics. She's is Maryland where I used to live and I fly up there to see her every other year. She really knows what she's doing. I've never found anyone else as good and I've looked in each place we've lived since moving away from MD (CA, GA, FL). I'm sure there has got to be someone around here who IS as good but having had no luck finding anyone, I'm willing to travel! Most PTs just have you step into a box with a mold. Phyllis, my PT extraordinaire, takes detailed measurements digitally before sending that info to a lab where the orthotics are made. She knows I've had tkr and wants to see me after I've healed. Long story to say that I intend to replace my orthotics but maybe not my shoes. I have very slight scoliosis which the orthotics help to address. I can't adequately explain what she does.

I'll try the exercises you've described. Thank you for taking the time to describe them for me. If the cortisone fully kicks in that will make the biggest difference, though.
 
dtmbf said:
There's no real Big Bang with cortisone.
Click to expand...
Actually there is. Every time I've had a cortisone shot, the response has generally been pretty instant. And I've had scores over the years.
sunny-island said:
--> To moderator: Please don't move this to my recovery thread! I tried that already.
Click to expand...
Sorry, but I'm not a moderator and I needed to read all your previous recovery stuff.
sunny-island said:
It's more at the side toward the back, but in the upper hip area.
Click to expand...
Can you tell me the exact site of your pain using this chart?
Please note the instructions in the smaller image

[Bonesmart.org] Help! I've developed right hip pain 3 months after LTKR.


[Bonesmart.org] Help! I've developed right hip pain 3 months after LTKR.
 
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