@teaandhips Welcome to BoneSmart! And congratulations on your new hip. Yeah that hard feeling under the incision can last for a while. If I recall correctly (it's been almost 12 years since my THRs) it took me about 3 months before I could lie on my side without feeling like I was trying to lie on a brick. And having both hip done at once, sigh, that was along time for me to sleep on my back. But eventually that sensation did go away and I could get back to sleeping on my side comfortably.
You may have seen these on other threads but here are our articles and suggestions for pos top hip replacement folks:
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 discomfort:
rest
elevate
ice
take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)
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
BoneSmart philosophy for sensible post op therapy
5.
At week 4 and after you should follow this
Activity progression for THRs
6.
Access these pages on the website
Oral And Intravenous Pain Medications
Wound Care In Hospital
The Recovery articles:
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 that each member have only one recovery thread. This policy makes it easier to go back and review history before providing advice.