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THR Hip hip hooray - Jane's new hip story!

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Hi Jane,

You are very active and sounds like back to work as well, your report is quite nice!! Is any of the achiness that you feel related to your gym work and activity level? When you are in bed does it help to be on your side with a pillow between your legs or on your back with a thin pillow underneath your knees?

Good to speak with your consultant about these items when you visit next. I hope they are a bit better by next month when you go for your check-up. Healing sure takes a while...

Take care,
Cardie
 
6 month update (can't believe it's gone so fast!)

I went to see the consultant last week for my six month check up. He did an xray which is the first one since the day of the operation. He said that it all looks perfect. Everything where it should be.

He showed me how much longer my left leg is now by comparing the pre op x ray to the post op x ray and it's about a 2cm difference! No wonder it still feels a little bit odd (but nowhere near as strange as it did immediately post op!)

I asked when I should expect to be able to get all my range of movement back and he said it would come in time. I asked what made it difficult to do a prayer stretch and he was shocked that I was trying to do it and said I shouldn't try! I was a bit suprised as at the 6 week appointment when restrictions were lifted he said to try anything carefully, except for crossing my legs. He says now crossing legs is fine but no prayer stretch which seems a bit odd to me.

I am still struggling with muscle pain but he didn't seem too concerned about that and I'm begininng to wonder if I just need to ease off the exercise a bit. I've been having various different muscle pains now since I hurt my leg at pilates at about 10 weeks post op and the pain just seems to move around, sometimes along the front of my thigh, sometimes the outside of my thigh and sometimes just deep inside my bum. It's not too bad - I can still walk, do classes at the gym, pilates and yoga and I'm not taking any pain killers for it but it would be nice to be rid of it. Any other old timers with any tips for me? Maybe it's just my body adjusting to the extra 2cm on my leg?

Every now and again I get a sharp pain when I start walking but it doesn't really last long and isn't everytime but that seems to be worse in this last week since seeing the consultant - maybe just too much thinking about hips again!

Hope everyone else is doing well

Jane
 
Hi Jane,

I agree with what you speculate your rotating muscle pains are related to -- your body's adjusting to the added length that you got with the hardware and also the change in the shape and angle of the joint itself and how this effects all those muscles. One of the helpful professionals that I saw at one point for my post-op issues reassured me by saying that when pains move around it is the body's way of trying to find alternative ways of managing.

There do seem to be some targeted areas that are most affected by the THR surgery and I don't know if you've looked in the library to read up on some of them, IT band for the side of your leg and piriformis for the buttock.

Lastly, just a little reminder that you are only 6 months out from surgery and that is still in the healing phase of the time line. So, while it sounds like you are doing really well and have returned to a lot of different activities do try to take it easy when different parts speak back to you with aches and pains. You have plenty of time to get back to full strength with all your different activities as time progresses. Oh, and when you mention the prayer stretch is it this one?
[Bonesmart.org] Hip hip hooray - Jane's new hip story!

If your OS doesn't want you to do it just now, you can always ask about it at your 1 year check up and see if he'll release you for it then like he did with the leg crossing. It seems that many of us get different suggestions on what types of stretches/activities/movements we are given permission to do after our surgeries. Sometimes those restrictions change as time has passed, healing has occurred more fully and area around the joint has strengthened more.

Take care and keep us posted,
Cardie
 
One year update...

This time last year I was in hospital feeling sore but relieved that the op had gone well. A year has gone by very quickly!

I am still struggling a little with the discomfort (not enough to be called pain) that I have pretty much all the time. It's just a dull ache that seems to move around from the front, to the side and then the back in a random way that is more noticeable when I'm sitting down or in bed. I'm still sticking with the theory that it is still my body getting used to a longer leg so maybe it will fade in time.

The great thing is that it doesn't stop me from doing anything! I can walk as far as I like - did Snowden earlier in the summer and Kinder Scout last weekend. Back to the gym as regularly as I can, cycling as much as I like. Swimming breaststroke isn't all that comfortable still but that's only one activity that isn't good. Range of movement is coming back slowly - still not as flexible as before but getting better.

So no regrets, still pleased I had it done. Just wish that I could have another 12 weeks off work again but this time without the op! I really enjoyed just pottering around for three months but don't think that will be possible ever again!

Hope everyone else is doing well!

Jane
 
[Bonesmart.org] Hip hip hooray - Jane's new hip story! Well done jane. I myself am now 1 yr and 1 month post op and everything is well. I average about 70 mile a week on my proform tour de france exercise bike using Google map technology . I am slowly getting fitter and hip is ok apart from the obvious aches and pains. I did 33.5 miles on it yesterday , a virtual ride from skipton to Ingleton via Horton in Ribblesdale and then onto Ribblehead viaduct, then inIngleton. did 2 hrs 20 mins beating my pb for this course by a massive 20 mins.This is my only form of cycling now as I don't want to put my wife through all the worrying again by going out in traffic.
 
Hi Stemaka,

I'll be up that way for real supporting one of my friends who is doing the Three Peaks Cyclocross race at the weekend. Up Ingleborough, Whernside and Pen-y-Ghent on a bike - makes road cycling look safe! broken link removed: https://www.3peakscyclocross.org.uk/photos_2012.htm

I'll just be walking and maybe a small bike ride in between support stops. Makes a difference to last year when I was stuck at home watching the progress via the internet while on my crutches!

Jane
 
Oh yes those crutches. I was the same this time last year.I was on crutches for 3 months as I had to have a bone graft as well. I couldn't ride a bike but I enjoyed watching the cycling on tv.
Take care.
 
Update after 17 months.

I've made an appointment to go back to see the consultant tomorrow as I am still getting the aching and it doesn't seem to be getting any better. It's still way better than it was pre-op and I have no regrets about having the operation but I thought that I would be pain free by now.

When people talk about a "forgotten hip" do they really mean no pain? The pain I have is very low level but it never really goes away and I'm aware of it all the time. I'm not sure if I have unrealistic expectations or if I still have some damage in there that is causing the pain. We'll see what the consultant has to say tomorrow...
 
Do let us know how your appointment goes @JaneyGS ! You sound like you have been very active. Does rest ease this at all?
 
Hi Jane, To answer your question about the "forgotten hip" - I had both hips replaced last year, January and May, and from about 12 weeks with each I have had no pain at all. I am active to the extent of walking my dog daily for about 4 miles through woods and fields and am also able to swim and cycle with no problem. I had no physio to speak of and relied on walking to regain muscle strength. I think it is entirely reasonable and normal to expect to be pain free and I hope you are able to get to the bottom of what is causing you the discomfort.
 
Janey, after about 12 weeks, the only discomfort I felt was "start-up" twinge when taking the first steps after sitting for a while. Somewhere between 5 and 6 months out, even that disappeared and never returned.

However, I had simple OA and had never had hip pain until about 7 months before my THR. I had always been very active, in good shape, etc. Of course I think my surgeon is brilliant, but I don't think I was much of a challenge.

Everyone's pre-op conditions and post-op recover is different, but I do think you should be able to expect to be pain free.
 
I have forgotten that I had both done and Im a few weeks after you, I have had a few ups and downs along the way but the trend has always been improvement. My surgeon did say the full healing can be expected to take up to two years.
 
Well I went for my appointment last night. As soon as I said that I had some pain the consultant wanted me to have x rays and didn't really say much more than that other than sometimes people do end up with pain that doesn't go away and that's just the way it is. Wasn't really what I wanted to hear. I've been back this morning for my x ray and then I'll see if I can get hold of him later this week to see if anything shows up on the x ray.

I'm not really expecting anything from the x ray as I'm fairly certain that the joint is OK as I'm sure I would have a lot more pain if it was loose or something. It's probably a soft tissue problem but having read everything on here nothing seems to fit to my symptoms.

I have an ache that moves around from the front of my thigh, to the side, in my groin and also deep in my bum. I feel it more when I'm sitting down or lying in bed. I can walk, cycle, go to the gym, do yoga without it causing any problems, although it does get worse after a gym session or a long walk. Everything that I read talks about pain that gets worse with activity but mine is better when I actually move about and I only really notice it when I'm still.

Because I have dsyplasia the consultant did need to stretch my leg a bit to even me up but I thought that that would have started to wear off off now after 17 months and I've always been very flexible so I thought that that would help.

Oh well, I'll see if the x ray brings any answers or if I just need to accept that this is a good at is gets.

Jane
 
Gosh, I hope they find something that they can fix to get you pain free. I hate to think that at age 42 you're being told "that's just the way it is."
Please keep everyone posted when you get the X-ray results.
 
Sorry you are continuing to have those wandering aches and pains. You are lucky to be able to do all those activities and experience no problem from them!!

At two years post-op my OS stated that there is a small percentage of people that are not happy with the results from their surgery. My x-rays always showed the appliance to be fine, however, I've had on-going discomfort.

Hope you get some better answers,
Cardie
 
Well I got an email today from the consultant that just said that the x rays looked perfect and that he assumes it is soft tissue issue and suggested more physio. Basically I think he only does bones and my bones are fine.

I'll see if I can get a referral for some more physio but if not I guess I just have to make the most of where I am. It's still better than pre-op and my assumption is that this will likely get better over time rather than pre-op when it was only ever going to get worse.

Jane
 
I got my referral for physio and went on Monday. For the first time in this whole process someone actually touched me and felt around the hip joint and watched me move. The consultant has only watched me walk from the waiting room into his office and has never actually touched me (apart from the actual op when I was asleep!)

The physio believes that I have some knots and some weakness in my glute medius and rectus femoris muscles and thinks that with a bit of work it can be fixed which is good news. He did some massage on the knotted muscles and has given me some exercises to do and I go back in two weeks.

Part of me is a bit annoyed that I have put up with the pain, waiting for it to get better by itself when I could have perhaps been getting this sorted a year ago but I am where I am so I will just do what I've been told to do and see if I can sort it out now.

Jane
 
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