THR Hipmom is healing

[Juliep]

Hey Donna,

Glad your appointment went well all and all. It's nice to be able to put full weight on I'm sure and to be able to finally drive, how great that will be for you.

My OS at my 6 week check up measured me for a lift. I'm at 1/4" difference and he said when he measured me that he knew from when he was doing that hip it would be different. I guess when he got in there some of the sizing was different and he had to make adjustments for it. I went to a vendor who does this kind of work and she made me a lift that really fits only in my tennis shoes. I need to get something else like Jaycey said for sandles and so on. Mine has helped a ton with just the 1/4". I no longer have the low back ache and when anyone in the field (PT's, etc) asked to feel my hips, I've had the lift in and they said I was right on the money and if I take it out they can feel I'm not.

I asked my OS about time for it to settle and he basically said it wasn't going to settle much more because the difference was there when the implant was put in.

Heed Jaycey's recommendations as I too need to look into some new shoes and shoes that will work better with the lift in them.

Glad all is well though !!

 

[hipmom]

Thank you, jaycey and julie for the quick responses. Like i said, the doc isn't planning to have me measured until january. He did put his hands on the back of my pelvis and did a quick assessment and told me the lengths were not even. I think he suggested the 3/8" heel lift from the drugstore as something to hold me over until jan when the precise measuring will happen. He said that i will stand on different boards at that time.

It wasn't until the next day when i put the heel thing in my shoe that i felt like i was still way off. I didn't put weight on that leg for 6 weeks and most of the time my knee naturally was held slightly bent. After putting weight on and straightening out that leg, the difference seems close to two inches to me.

There is no way for me to walk right now without an extreme limp (i've limped my whole life, but not like this). Of course, my family keep reminding me that this is only day 2 of putting weight on the leg.

I have been advised to wait to get a "real" lift, but what harm am i doing in the interim? I can't relearn how to walk with my legs off so much and no physical therapy.

Jo, would you please weigh in on this?

 

[Josephine]

Jo will weigh in by telling you not to worry about all this. It will settle in time. No-one can tell you how it will work out now. You need some time to pass - like another 3 or 4 months.

 

[hipmom]

Ok. I will try not to worry about this.

I am having lower back ache and occasional sharp knee pain in the operative leg, though. I just don't want to cause other problems.

 

[Josephine]

Well, pains like that are common when there is a leg length differential (LLD) so it would kind of confirm that there is one, even if it is only an apparent (i.e., not real - see LLD (leg length differential)) on account of the way you held your leg during your NWB phase. I think it likely this is going to take some time to readjust and that you're going to need a lot of patience in the mean time.

The knee pain is more than likely because you have held your knee bent for some time. This can result in contraction of the muscles and also their becoming out of condition; therefore the pain when you try to make it work normally.

Same thing for your back pain because when you hold your knee bent, your hip would be bent too and the muscles will go the same way.

This in only temporary and with some grit and determination on your part, can be reversed eventually. Can you not get some PT? I think even a few sessions of gait training would be helpful.

 

[The Cappuccino Kid]

This in only temporary and with some grit and determination on your part, can be reversed eventually. Can you not get some PT? I think even a few sessions of gait training would be helpful.

How does it feel today Donna? Any better?

Sound like some physio might be the answer - is that an option?

 

[Jaycey]

Hi Donna, just checking to see how you are feeling today. You definitely have some strengthing and stretching to do since you have not been bearing weight. As Jo says - patience and some time. You will start to feel less "unbalanced" when you are full weight bearing.

Hang in there - just a temporary glitch.

 

[hipmom]

Thank you all. My doc seems to be very anti-physical therapy at this time. He said my surgery was closer to revision surgery than primary surgery and that puts me at higher risk for dislocation. He feels that pt could be too aggressive and increase my dislocation risk at this time. He admits that he is very conservative, but he has seen it happen. I did find out that my one neighbor is a physical therapist and i might just ask her for suggestions on gait training.

 

[Jamie]

Talk to your surgeon again.....gait training should not create a situation where dislocation is possible and it really could help you get trough this phase.

Please resist the temptation to put lifts in your shoes until you feel "comfortable" and walk without a limp. You have spent a long time with your hip problems before surgery and that resulted in your pelvis tilting to accommodate your joints. It is going to take time for a readjustment to take place....months probably. If you use lifts over the 3/8", you risk a continuation of that compensation and your hip will not move to a normal position.

Since you are only a month and a half out from surgery and you say you cannot walk without a limp right now, I suggest that you go back to using a cane or crutch as you practice walking. It's not forever, but right now you need assistance so you can retrain your body to walk without that limp. Practice taking a good, long stride where you place your heels down first and then roll onto the ball of your foot and push off with your toes for the next step. You'll have to think about it at first....maybe even say "heel/toe....heel/toe....heel/toe...." for a while. Don't worry that you are taking what feels like exaggerated steps....it's all part of retraining both your body and your brain.

 

[hipmom]

.

Please resist the temptation to put lifts in your shoes until you feel "comfortable" and walk without a limp. You have spent a long time with your hip problems before surgery and that resulted in your pelvis tilting to accommodate your joints. It is going to take time for a readjustment to take place....months probably. If you use lifts over the 3/8", you risk a continuation of that compensation and your hip will not move to normal.

Thank you for your explanation - it is finally making some sense to me. That probably explains why my doc didn't measure me now and didn't seem concern ed about waiting till january to do so. I am worried about messing up my back or something, but if i understand you right, my back (or pelvis) will hurt while it tries to get to a more normal position, right? The doc told me preop that my lengths would be different and that i would probably always limp because i have for so long.

I am walking with the cane as i only started with it on tuesday. I walk like frankenstein - heel toe on the operated leg but a lurch with my good leg.

 

[Jaycey]

I am worried about messing up my back or something, but if i understand you right, my back (or pelvis) will hurt while it tries to get to a more normal position, right?

You are exactly right Donna. Your back is still settling into the new position - no more compensating for that bad hip.

I went through the same phase and had the same advice (thank goodness!) from Jamie. Just keep trying the heel-toe walking. Some very light stretches might also help to get that leg working again.

Try gentle hamstring stretches (sitting or lying down single leg raise like below). I do these all day if I am sitting and it really does help. And there is absolutely no risk of dislocation with that stretch.

 

[Jamie]

Yep, you've got it, Hipmom!!!! It's something you may have to work with for a while to get the results you want. But our bodies are amazing and they can adjust. In this case the adjustment will be back to a more normal stance. It will come. Your job now is to keep working at it and stay patient (easier said than done!!).

 

[hipmom]

Today's big news is that i tried driving! I didn't go too far, but i felt pretty comfortable in the car. My problem is that i have a little toyota corolla and the seats are pretty low. I ended up sitting on two wedge pillows (i only need one to sit in the passenger seat) because i need the seat farther up to reach the pedals and i still have to follow the 90 degree rule. This forces me to have my arms pretty straight to hold the steering wheel. Although i have had some pretty great chauffers helping me out, there is nothing like the freedom to just drive myself! My mom leaves tomorrow, so this couldn't have come at a better time! She was so worried about how i would get around when my husband is at work.

I have tried to concentrate more on walking heel-toe and i can see how much straighter i walk when i do that (still using the cane). I didn't wake up all sore today either. Maybe just a little.

I called the surgeon's office and talked to the nurse. I told her that i understand that the doc doesn't want me to start pt until january, but asked if i could have a session or two to have some gait training. He wasn't in the office today, but she said she would check with him on monday. I hope he writes me an order for that.

 

[Josephine]

All good!

 

[Jaycey]

Great news you are driving! I used a wedge cushion as well and still use it. Positions your back correctly.

Keep up the heal toe walk. It will get easier and feel more natural very soon.

 

[The Cappuccino Kid]

Driving! Well done Donna, it's another step towards "normal"

 

[hipmom]

Well, my mom left yesterday morning and my brother left this morning. The house seems so quiet already even though there are 4 of us in it! Tomorrow will be my first day on my own after the kids leave for school and my husband goes to work. I am happy that i am on the cane (4 prong so it can stand by itself) as i was always afraid that if i dropped a crutch i would be stranded as i can't bend to pick it up (only happened once!). I told my daughter that i would be picking her up at school tomorrow and she was happy. I have lots of straightening up to do as i went so long without the use of my hands (crutches) and couldn't carry anything to where it needed to be. I'm sure tomorrow will go by quickly while i try to figure out how to do things (like laundry and getting to the bottom shelf of the dishwasher) without bending. I have quite the close relationship with my reacher! :th_heehee:

 

[Juliep]

Well Donna I'm sure it was such a help having your mother there and then your brother visiting as well. So great that you have her to help you. My folks live locally by me so that was a help as well.

The reacher was a life saver for me too. Enjoy your day tomorrow and it will be nice to have a little alone time I'm sure too.

 

[Jaycey]

Donna, please don't be doing too much tomorrow will you. Sounds like the list is a bit long.

Here's a thread that shows the golfers reach. Use it to get things on lower shelves or out of the dishwasher. But be sure you are holding onto something with your other hand. It takes a bit of time before you build up the strength to do it without support.

 

[hipmom]

Here's a thread that shows the golfers reach. Use it to get things on lower shelves or out of the dishwasher. But be sure you are holding onto something with your other hand. It takes a bit of time before you build up the strength to do it without support.

thank you for the thread. I did ask my doc if i could reach down by holding my leg straight behind me when i was there last monday - he said yes. I love the "sliding scale of dislocation risk" also shown in that thread. Tomorrow i move down another notch of risk into week 8. It is nice to have a visual of the risk as dislocation was my biggest fear when deciding to do the surgery.

Not to worry - i won't do too much today. I did the grocery shopping yesterday with my son and cooked a dinner that has leftovers for lunch. My mom (God bless her) got the laundry caught up before she left. I was able to unload and reload the dishwasher yesterday. But i really do need to do straightening up today - piles of mail, etc that need to be gone through. I'm looking forward to picking my daughter up from school as a treat! How "normal" is that?

And, julie, you are right - a little alone time is very good :yes 4: