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Mollyb. If I get very tired it feels like my leg goes sideways. I do follow Poppet 's advice and stop for a few minutes if I'm tired. I used the cane daily until early July when my arm and shoulder hurt so much I had to stop. That's when I walked in a pool a whole lot. It helped my gait. I was advised to use the cane if I was limping so I didn't get in the habit of limping. As I said I bring the collapsible cane if I am planning a long day, but so far have not had to use it.
Being on the Montel Williams show must have been a kick. Glad you had fun. I have not done many of the tours, but when I was a teen my friend's boyfriend ran an elevator at the Empire State Bldg-got to go up to the top so many times! I love walking around the city and people-watching. There are many free things to do especially in the summer.
I have been to Montreal, Quebec, and Halifax but no where else in Canada. Would love to take a train across Canada but it is so pricey. Oh well.
 
LeeApril26 I seem to limp more when I am walking around the house, especially the first few steps after I get up. They are alway painful. My leg seems to go out to the side also. I thought it was maybe my hip popping out or something. It seems especially bad climbing stairs so I am working on that. I am glad I found you cuz u are close to my age and close to my surgery date. That is why I love this site so I can gauge my progress. I made an appointment with physio on Wednesday so I can check with him to see if I need a lift in my shoe. My leg still seems like it is longer and I have mixed reports as to weather that will change.
You must be a nite owl it is midnite here and I think you are 3 hours later than me.
Well you should take some tours. We did the Empire State Building and the Hudson River by boat and helicopter. It was great!!! Next time I am there I will plan so see the Statue of Liberty and see some shows on broadway plus lots more shopping.
 
Mollyb. I haVe troUble sleeping But will try in a few. Do you know what heel slides are? I do them before I get out of bed, and they seem to warm up my legs. google them if you haven't done them, not the ones on the wall, just the kind flat on the bed. I think the leg goes to the side because the muscles around the implant need to be stronger. Walking helps. Good luck with the physio. Let me know how it goes.
'Night!
 
Hi Mollyb, I would wait as long as you can to get that lift. See if physio can help you with stretching and strengthening exercises first. Most hippies find that feeling of leg length disappears around the 4 month mark. If you do decide on a lift be sure physio measure you correctly as illustrated in this thread.
 
Jaycey thanks for the advice I will make sure they measure me properly after reading the article u sent me. I had heard that leg length difference could straighten out in time but I didn't know how much time. So I will wait a bit and see what happens and I will check into stretches. It makes sense that my body is just straightening out after limping for so long post op. by the way I love your picture.
 
I was advised to wait at least 3-4 months before even considering a lift in my shoe. Your muscles atrophy when you are limping around pre-op. Sometimes a bit of strengthening and good stretches does the trick. In the end I needed a small lift but my surgeon confirmed I may have always had one leg longer than the other - just didn't notice it until my hip was corrected. Please let us know how you get on with the physio - and don't forget physio should never hurt!
 
And don't forget the....


First the BoneSmart mantra
- rest, elevate, ice and take your pain meds by the clock
- if it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physiotherapist - to do it to you
- if your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again
- if you won't die if it's not done, don't do it
- never stand when you can sit, never sit when you can lie down, never stay awake when you can go to sleep!
- be active as much as you need to be but not more than is necessary, meaning so much that you end up being in pain, exhausted or desperate to sit down or lay down! :)
 
Another milestone for tomorrow - when I go to physio tomorrow I will be returning all the aids that I have for my hip recovery. There is a volunteer organization that stocks All the things you would need for recovery from any kinda of operation. You just borrow them for as long as u need them and then bring them back. It is a great organization and they pretty much had everything I needed so I was set up at home when I returned from the hospital. It is called The lending cupboard for anyone who is having a hip replacement in central Alberta i didn't even know there was such a place until my doctor told me about it.
 
What a great idea Mollyb! There should be more of that lending type of organization. I certainly would have donated all my post op kit! I think they just hand things out here and never see it again.
 
I was still walking with a slight limp after 3 months but no pain in my right hip. i was at the chiropractor and he said I have a 1 inch difference in leg length with the operated side being longer. is that normal to have such a difference? so i got a lift to insert into the shoe. this helped me with my walking and i am getting used to some different muscles being used. i was a little sore, but not too bad - i have walked with the lift for a few days. Yesterday I went on a treadmill as I had to have a stress test for my heart. After awhile, I had to make them stop the treadmill as I was having a hard time keeping up after about 15 minutes of gradually increasing the speeds. Today I am really sore and get severe pain in the top of my thigh both front and back. I hope I haven't done something detrimental cuz I was doing so good. I am back on rest and ice today.
 
Adding any new activity often results in soreness Mollyb. Rest, ice and elevate. Take something for the pain if needed. Recovery is all about trying and finding you limits. Rest and try again.
 
Quick update - I am now at 4.5 months, and as you can see from my avatar - I participated in the Color Run today. What a fantastic day - and I wouldn't have been able to do this a year ago. I am back to work full-time and starting to feel myself again. So if there is anyone who is scared about having a hip replacement - don't be, as you only have one life to live - and you should live it to the fullest!! It is wonderful to be active again - and probably why people stop posting here as often, as we're out having fun!!! Good luck to all those waiting for your surgery date. Patience is the key, each day gets better - and before you know it someone will be throwing paint on you too. LOL :egypdance: :dancy:
 
Finally found a good physio therapist she uses the "Muscle Activation Technique" I had my first treatment today and I feel that it really helped me. I have been having a lot of problems and discomfort due to the leg length difference so I am really hoping this can help me with some of my problems. Has anyone else heard about this type of treatment?
 
Hi Molly, I have heard that while most traditional therapies focus on treating symptoms, MAT focuses on the underlying issues causing muscular discomfort and tightness. It does this by addressing muscle weakness rather than muscle tightness. MAT views muscle tightness as a form of protection in the body. Weak or inhibited muscles can create the need for other muscles to excessively tighten in order to help stabilize the joints. The goal of MAT is to identify the inhibited or weak muscles that are creating the protective response and then ‘jumpstart’ these muscles in order to improve ability and restore function.

It is great if you have found a specific treatment that you feel may help - good for you :)
 
Poppet the whole idea of treating the underlying issues makes a lot so sense to me. Her evaluation of the compensations that my body has made over the years seemed relevant to the problems that I have been having, plus the 1 inch difference in leg length hasn't helped to speed my recovery. It is a different concept but my research indicates it is certainly worth pursuing for a couple more treatments. Unfortunately my health insurance doesn't cover this cost so I hope it works.
 
BionicWoman2 good for you for your color run. That gives me hope. I am just over three months but there is no way that I could even think about running. In fact as I was trying to keep up with my grand kids on the weekend I was wondering if I would ever be able to run again. I guess we should never give up hope.
 
I am coming up on 4 months and my dr says that I can start to ride my horses for short periods of time. Has anyone got any tips or suggestions/precautions, etc. for riding after THR.
 
When I get there, my plan is to aim for just a few minutes, to be sure I have adult supervision :wink: and to be sure I'm on the quietest pony around. Also I plan to have a serious mounting block to help with mounting. I don't know if you used to stretch before and after riding, but at least some abductor stretches would be a good idea too, I think. That's my two cents worth. :heehee:
 
Oops! That should have been adductor stretches ( inner thigh)!
 
Thanks for the advise. I think I will get my daughter to ride the quietest of my horses first as they haven't been ridden for 2 years. Then I will get on. I will try to build some sort of mounting block first cuz that makes sense. I do have a round pen for training so I think most of my riding will be done in there for the first while. I didn't stretch before I rode, but I may need some Extra mobility before I swing my leg over first time that is what scares me. My horses are also very fat due to lack of exercise so I don't know how that is going to work but I guess I won't know until I try.
 
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