THR Herts hippy recovery

[HertsHippy]

Just read that Sir Andy Murray has had metal put in his hip at the tender age of 31 - and there is even speculation about a comeback although I doubt we will see him at Wimbledon again.

 

[Mojo333]

I remember a few months ago his decision not to play in Scotland.
Good on him for thinking about his overall health instead of a tennis title, in my opinion.
Lesson for us all...quoted in the article:
It cannot have been easy for Murray, who has embraced agony of mind and body all his career, to pass up what will almost certainly be his last chance to play in front of his Scottish fans, in the city where he was born. His prospects of playing Davis Cup again, in the shorter format to be introduced next year, are also uncertain. Murray was desperate to play, according to his team, but the medical advice was to continue rehab and, “think sensibly for the longer term”.

 

[HertsHippy]

Just come back from a walk - shattered. 30,000 steps, 12.5 miles, 33 stairs. Do I qualify for ODIC? Now time to make simple version of cassoulet - sausages, chicken thighs and pork belly with beans etc. Oh and a few well deserved drinks.

 

[Layla]

Whew! Wowza!
I guess time will tell whether you've landed yourself in the ODIC.
The drinks may delay any negative effects....only temporarily
Hopefully you're feeling as chipper tomorrow as you are today.
Enjoy the evening, your dinner / drinks and report back tomorrow, or the next day.
Hopefully it will be ALL GOOD NEWS.
@HertsHippy

 

[HertsHippy]

I am aching - Glenlivet might be in order

 

[Carriemay60]

Don't say Glenlivet too loud or you will have husband pounding down the door!

That is one heck of a hike you took on! Did you actually do that on purpose or get lost out there?

 

[allena]

It sounds like you have recovered pretty well.good for you.Mine has been coming along more slowly,but then again I was not the average patient.

 

[Mojo333]

Just come back from a walk - shattered. 30,000 steps, 12.5 miles, 33 stairs. Do I qualify for ODIC?

Oh my stars...(and stairs)
I'd say yes you certainly do!
Just because we can doesn't mean we should you know.

Please do take care..some conditions, such as tendinitis, can take months to get over.

Hope your Sunday is Restful

 

[HertsHippy]

Hope your Sunday is Restful

- It will be - crosswords and reading today.

That is one heck of a hike you took on! Did you actually do that on purpose or get lost out there?

- I did do it on purpose!!! - I was in London and decided to do part of the Thames Path walk which goes all the way from source to sea and can be walked in between 10 and 20 stages (our rivers are relatively short). There were breaks including watching a football match but the longest stretch between breaks was 7 miles. Psychologically good because I know I can walk long enough to go City breaks.

I also had my last physio appointment last week. I said I was concerned about soreness of the various muscles around the hip - she said it was fine and reminded me of what the operation involved and how bad my OA had been and how weak my muscles had got. She said at least a year to feel normal again. She got out the swiss ball for more exercises but said I should just throw some of the exercises in occasionally between other activities.

 

[HertsHippy]

I am now 4 months post-op!! Progress is steady, and appears to be broadly linear, but is still taking longer than I had wanted. However, I am conscious that I am progressing faster than many on this forum although I am not having the very speedy recovery that some have.

I still get aches but they are slowing improving. They are mainly in the quads and glutes and less in the groin than before (so adductors are hopefully getting stronger). I am now able to walk quite long distances at a moderate pace - I have been doing a 10-12 mile walk once a week recently. I plod along at around 3mph but the muscles do become tired after around 5 or 6 miles. Last walk included a baby hill (430 feet - less than 10% of Ben Nevis) and it was fine except where there were high steps I struggled leading on the operated leg. After a beer in the pub I found standing up a nightmare - very stiff - it took a couple of hundred yards to get going again. However the following day I felt better than I had done for a long time so it was worth it.

I have been doing easy level Pilates and Barre which have been good for the hip muscles and went to my first advanced Pilates class post op. Very tough (maybe even for those with real hips) but I was able to do most of the exercises. One that I could not do is balance on the operated leg and lean forward like a stork - mind you I couldn't do that before the op.

I am probably now back to where I was 18 months before the THR but still have a quite a long way to go - my hip muscles deteriorated quite lot. I suspect that it will take me 6 months to get to where I wanted to be in 3 months. And as people keep reminding me it can take 18 months for the muscles to fully recover. Having said that I just need to remind myself where I was in October last year - I couldn't walk half a mile without excruciating pain so I am very pleased to have had the operation - the only regret I have, like others, is that I should have had it a lot earlier. I suspect that my recovery is taking longer because my muscle mass declined.

My next goal is to walk up some hills in the Lake District later this Spring - which walks I do will depend on how much improvement I have in the next few weeks.

 

[Layla]

Happy Four Month Anniversary!
You're doing great.
Keep up the good work and stay in touch. Your updates may be inspiring to those following behind you.
Enjoy the rest of the weekend!
@HertsHippy

 

[Mojo333]

You are doing splendidly @HertsHippy
And, there is alot of improvement yet to come
Things just keep getting better and better for me also..
Your reference to 18 months is fairly spot on in my case.
I'm happy to say the only restrictions I have now are the ones I place on myself in order to keep my good fortune.

 

[HertsHippy]

This has been a bit of a breakthrough week helped with record breaking temperatures (yesterday was the hottest ever February day - 21C (70F)). I started the 75 mile Capital Ring long distance walk round London. It goes round green areas around London and also takes you past various interesting sights (eg Thames Barrier and Eltham Palace) some of which you might not normally have gone to. Over 3 days in the last week I have done almost 30 miles of the walk which added to the walking to get trains to get there etc makes a lot of miles. Yesterday I amassed over 42,000 steps (some people might consider this to be a bit mad). I have found that over the week my hip is feeling much better for the exercise. After the first walk I was incredibly stiff after sitting down. After the third walk much less so. The walking (which I know some will consider excessive) does seem to be helping the muscles. My pace is picking up too - 18 minutes for the 1.1 miles to the station is getting closer to where I used to be. I will have to wait a while to continue the walk due to other commitments - and colder wetter weather.

However I still get lots of aches which seem to move around all over the place and get twinges - but these are very gradually improving. I still cannot lead with the operated leg up high steps - it still feels quite weak. My strides are also shorter than they should be. I think I am probably back to where I was around 18 months pre op but I certainly do not yet feel "normal" (the NHS website says you should feel normal after 3 months although they do not say what they consider normality to be. The worst thing though is that I can feel the FAI in my "good" hip - it is not as smooth as the new one. There was no OA when last x-rayed but I am going to be careful with it and confine myself to low impact activities. I have no plans to go running!

Back in the garden today tidying up. Today is likely to be the last of the current heatwave. I am able to do much more than last year when I could (slowly) walk up ladders and cut big hedges but couldn't dig with a spade, found picking things up hard and had difficulty getting up from kneeling on the ground.

 

[LdnFizz]

When pressed most NHS/ medics seemed to admit that "normal" after 3 months- means you will have resumed normal activities- washing, cooking, driving, shopping and being able to work- but not that you can do them in the way one considers "normal"... that's for the next 12-18 months! Such a shame that this meaning isn't communicated in a way that can be understood!

I have just come in from some spade work and was congratulating myself- I still can't easily weed- no bending from the knees- all from the hips and very stiffly.

 

[Layla]

Hi @HertsHippy Thank you for the update.
It seems as though you're doing really well at 4 months post op. The scenery on your walks sounds lovely. I hope you're enjoying your time outdoors walking and time spent in the garden.
I certainly envy your warm February temps as we have several feet of snow in my neck of the woods with frigid temps in addition. But I have faith, Spring will come again

Transient aches and discomfort do occur and as long as it's not pain that's unrelenting or escalating, I wouldn't worry. Rest, Ice, Elevation and OTC meds when needed should help. As you mentioned healing will continue for many months. May it only get better.
A great rest of the week to you!

 

[HertsHippy]

Quite an active day although some may consider somewhat mad. A bit stiff and sore but much less pain than I had less than 5 months ago walking half a mile into town. Shows that hip replacement works. However still feel a long way off from being back to normal.

 

[Layla]

Wowza!
I hate to see what normal is....if that's not, lol.
THR does work and it's great to jump back into life....fully!
Thanks for the update. Enjoy the weekend!
@HertsHippy

 

[HertsHippy]

First serious hike post op. Up Helvellyn - probably a cute little hill to those across the pond but a mountain to some of us. Tired but hip OK.

 

[Constanze]

Hi @HertsHippy ,
I read your recovery story with great interest because mine sounds similar. I had left hip replacement in April 2015. I had end-stage osteoarthritis (bone-on-bone) and had my op in an excellent orthopaedic hospital at Wiesbaden (Aukamm-Klinik). Like you, I had the leg length differential and muscle atrophy in the left thigh due to unfavourable/non-use of those muscles and had to work on my gait after the operation.
I'm an out-door type and like long distance sport: marathoning, triathlon and - long-distance hiking. I also like pottering around in my garden. I've been given names like extreme sports person, mad, excessive (and similar attributes).
You may find you will even improve months later. I even noticed an improvement after 2 years. In August 2016, I finished a marathon in 5 hours 33 minutes and finished the same marathon in August 2017 in 5 hours 3 minutes. I had to partly walk during the second half of the race. Last year, I took part in the half-ironman in the Kraichgau area near Heidelberg. If you are interested, you can read my recovery story ("Constanze's recovery diary").
I know Hertfordshire quite well. My English husband was brought up in Welwyn Garden City. We also went to St. Albans from time to time, for example shopping and seeing the beautiful cathedral. We like eggs benedict, too. We came to appreciate it during our holiday in New Zealand - you can get excellent eggs benedict for breakfast there at many pubs and restaurants. We ordered an egg poaching device from Amazon and make eggs benedict ourselves from time to time.
Enjoy your walks - this walk around London sounds good. I haven't heard of it before. Do people stay the night in places when they do the entire distance of 75 miles?
One other question: Is your other hip ok? I've been told if someone has arthritis in one hip, the other one will usually "follow". But this hasn't happened to me yet - my right hip is all right.

 

[HertsHippy]

Took my hip on a trip up Scafell Pike today. It is the highest peak in England. For around 30 seconds I was the highest person in England. More significantly my new hip was probably the highest artificial hip in the country for quite a lot of minutes. Being the highest spot in England views can be outstanding but not today - cloud and lots of rain at the top.