Hello,
Welcome to BoneSmart and Recovery. Thanks for joining us and congratulations on your new hip.
Wondering if you've iced at all since your surgery? Icing not only relieves swelling, but pain also.
If you haven't been icing, please begin icing any / all swollen or painful areas and don't worry, you're not alone in this, swelling can take up to months to resolve. When icing, do so for 40-60 minutes per session, no less. Target 4x daily.
http://bonesmart.org/forum/threads/ice-to-control-pain-and-swelling.5493/
Also elevate, toes above nose, it should help with swelling -
https://bonesmart.org/forum/threads/elevation-the-dos-and-donts.7602/
Try not to get depressed, what you're experiencing is felt by many. Wondering if you're still taking meds for pain and if so, what and how often? The forum Nurse may be able to advise on that if you let us know what you're taking, otherwise you need to phone the office of your OS and have your meds adjusted.
Many are on a cane at 4 weeks post op. You should use an assistive device for as long as you're limping, or feeling the need for the added security. I'm wondering if you've had a follow up visit with your OS yet and raised any of your concerns? If not, hopefully you have one scheduled soon as I believe you'd receive reassurance that all you're experiencing is normal given you're only one month post op.
Please leave the exact date of your surgery and which hip was replaced below. The info will be applied as your signature.
Check out the Recovery Guidelines and pay special attention to the Big Tip toward the bottom of the page. Stop back often, you're never alone here and we'd love to follow your journey and offer support and encouragement along the way.
Wishing you a peaceful day!
Hip Recovery: The Guidelines
1.
Don’t worry: Your body will heal all by itself. Relax, let it, don't try and hurry it, don’t worry about any symptoms now, they are almost certainly temporary
2.
Control discomfo
3.
Do what you want to do BUT
a. If it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physical therapist - to do it to you
b. If your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again.
4.
PT or exercise can be useful BUT take note of these
5.
At week 4 and after you should follow this
6.
Access to these pages on the website
Pain management and the pain chart
Healing: how long does it take?
Chart representation of THR recovery
Dislocation risk and 90 degree rule
Energy drain for THRs
Pain and swelling control: elevation is the key
Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it
Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds
Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?
BIG TIP: Hips actually don't need any exercise to get better. They do a pretty good job of it all on their own if given half a chance. Trouble is, people
don't give them a chance and end up with all sorts of aches and pains and sore spots. All they need is the best therapy which is walking and even then
not to excess.
We try to keep the forum a positive and safe place for our members to talk about their questions or concerns and to report successes with their joint replacement surgery.
While members may create as many threads as they like in a majority of BoneSmart's forums, we ask the at each member have only one recovery thread. This policy makes it easier to go back and review history before providing advice. @zee