THR John's anterior TLHR recovery
- Thread starter jjfcpa
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77 years old and had THR anterior on February 3rd - a little over 4 months ago.
Just wanted to see if this was normal. The hip is not bothering me at all and I've been able to return to normal activities... gym, golf, walking, etc.
However, the area around the incision is numb. I noticed this mostly when I wake up in the morning. Just feels number to the touch. Gets better as the day wears on and it seems like the numb area gets smaller, but it still numb on top of the incision.
I have noticed a little soreness after golfing too much - like 3 or 4 times during a week, but if I give it a couple days between rounds, it doesn't seem to be a problem.
One thing that really surprised me is I was getting cortisone shots in my left knee due to arthritis and after my THR it does seem to be bothering me... I mean at all! I haven't had a shot since last Fall and I was getting them every 3 months. Could it be that my hip was aggravating my knee???
Just wanted to see if this was normal. The hip is not bothering me at all and I've been able to return to normal activities... gym, golf, walking, etc.
However, the area around the incision is numb. I noticed this mostly when I wake up in the morning. Just feels number to the touch. Gets better as the day wears on and it seems like the numb area gets smaller, but it still numb on top of the incision.
I have noticed a little soreness after golfing too much - like 3 or 4 times during a week, but if I give it a couple days between rounds, it doesn't seem to be a problem.
One thing that really surprised me is I was getting cortisone shots in my left knee due to arthritis and after my THR it does seem to be bothering me... I mean at all! I haven't had a shot since last Fall and I was getting them every 3 months. Could it be that my hip was aggravating my knee???
That numb feeling is totally normal. And, as you are experiencing, it usually gets to be a smaller area with time. Eventually the numbness should go away entirely as nerves in the area regrow. But nerve growth is very slow, so it can take many months to resolve. It’s good to hear your new hip is doing so well!
The disappearing pain in your knee is also something that happens. When a joint is bad, other parts of the body have to change how they work to try and compensate for whatever the misalignment is affecting. Hopefully you fixed the bad hip before any actual damage was done to your knee joint. It certainly sounds like that’s the case. A bad hip can also cause what is known as “referred pain” in another location of the body. This also may have been what you were experiencing. In this case, once the hip pain is resolved, pain in the other area disappears.
Here’s hoping your hip continues to function well and you knee still has many miles to go before it gives you any problems.
The disappearing pain in your knee is also something that happens. When a joint is bad, other parts of the body have to change how they work to try and compensate for whatever the misalignment is affecting. Hopefully you fixed the bad hip before any actual damage was done to your knee joint. It certainly sounds like that’s the case. A bad hip can also cause what is known as “referred pain” in another location of the body. This also may have been what you were experiencing. In this case, once the hip pain is resolved, pain in the other area disappears.
Here’s hoping your hip continues to function well and you knee still has many miles to go before it gives you any problems.
Hi @jjfcpa
Please notice that I've merged your new post today into your original recovery thread. We ask that members maintain just one recovery thread so all your information is in one place. This makes it easy to find and serves as a diary of your recovery.
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Please notice that I've merged your new post today into your original recovery thread. We ask that members maintain just one recovery thread so all your information is in one place. This makes it easy to find and serves as a diary of your recovery.
Having all your information is all in one place enables our staff and other members to advise you better. So, please post any updates, questions or concerns here. If you’d like a new title, let us know and we’ll change it for you. You may want to bookmark your thread to make it easier to find.
For more on how to navigate the forum, you can read through this article:
How can I find my threads and posts?
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Hi there! Thanks for stopping by, I hope you have a great week!
Small sensory nerve fibers are cut with the incision. These nerve fibers run from the inside to the outside of the hip and cutting them causes the hip to feel numb after surgery. It is a temporary sensation that normally resolves over a period of six months to one year post op.
While healing you may experience sensations of tingling, pins and needles, itching, burning and even the feeling of a minor electrical shock. These are usually good signs that the nerves are spontaneously firing through the regeneration process.
BoneSmart's Nurse Emeritus, who retired a few years back after over 50 yrs experience in orthopedics once wrote an article on the post op numbness. She did have a knee replaced, not a hip, but it's an account of how long this post surgery numbness can last.
Small sensory nerve fibers are cut with the incision. These nerve fibers run from the inside to the outside of the hip and cutting them causes the hip to feel numb after surgery. It is a temporary sensation that normally resolves over a period of six months to one year post op.
While healing you may experience sensations of tingling, pins and needles, itching, burning and even the feeling of a minor electrical shock. These are usually good signs that the nerves are spontaneously firing through the regeneration process.
BoneSmart's Nurse Emeritus, who retired a few years back after over 50 yrs experience in orthopedics once wrote an article on the post op numbness. She did have a knee replaced, not a hip, but it's an account of how long this post surgery numbness can last.
@jjfcpa It's perfectly normal to wonder about all these things. This is the stuff that doesn't show up on your pre-op and discharge information. It always amazed me how a bad hip could make a knee hurt and vise-versa. You mentioned getting sore after activity, which is also normal. It's just your hip letting you know when you've asked a bit too much of it. Resting a couple of days like you do is perfect. A little ice would help with that. too. The sore days should just keep getting fewer and farther between, although, sometimes, when you think they're gone, they'll show up again. Here's hoping that knee continues to be happy, again. Sounds like you're doing great!
