THR Laura's THR - Tight Knee on Op Side

[Law]

My problems started with groin and adductor pain, I went to my sports dr and he suggested hip X-rays.i was like "oh! Ok..." moderate OA in both, slightly worse on right. Really bad ROM. I've done sports my whole life: Softball, skiing, golf, step aerobics, Pilates, barre, ballet, tap, ice hockey for about 20 yrs. then spent three years working remotely and not getting up off my chair...BIG MISTAKE. Was doing PT on and off and then some dry needling. effects began to last less and less. I made the appt for 2/5/24 in October, and got a cortisone shot to tide me over. It helped a lot.

ff to surgery. I've never had kids, or surgery, so I was rather terrified in general. Then I heard I was having a spinal and was terrified of that. I was also afraid of waking up in the middle. So I told the anesthesiologist. The preop people were great, the nurse asked if I wanted to ride the stretcher or walk into the OR. I chose the latter, it was quite empowering.

Sooooo many machines and monitors in there, yikes. They sat me down across the table for the spinal, put the mask on my face and apparently I was down for the count because I don't remember the "count down from 100." Next thing I knew, I was having a weird dream about 3 people on each side of my bed, urgently tugging on my sheets. And I woke up.

i had pain on the left, found out that was where the pins for the Mako robotic assist went. I'd looked at an animation of the procedure but must've missed that. Small incision. But it's fine now.

i was able to move my feet right away, they'd said the spinal block might last longer, but I guess not, I think they got me up like 2 hours and I walked with walker to hall and back.

i stayed over. I had those electric leg compressor things, not stockings and she said I didn't have to wear overnight if I didn't want to, but I felt safer wearing them. next morning they had me walk up and down a few stairs, "good (unoperated) leg to heaven up (stair first,) bad leg to hell," down stair. Then they showed me how to get in the car and out.
was discharged. Next day was exhausting but I tried to walk a few minutes as instructed every hour or so. today was better, though my thigh is very stiff and sore. Incision spot is a bit sore too.

still exhausted though. It's all a bit surreal to think there's fake parts in there.

 

[mendogal]

You did GREAT for never having surgery before!!!!

Resting, icing, elevating, walking will be the center of your life for a while, and we'll be here with you.

Here are some resources to get you started.

HIP RECOVERY 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.

If you want to use something to assist with healing and scar management, BoneSmart recommends hypochlorous solution. Members in the US can purchase ACTIVE Antimicrobial Hydrogel through BoneSmart at a discount. Similar products should be available in the UK and other countries.

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

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.

 

[benne68]

Welcome to BoneSmart, @Law! Glad to read that you are home and settling in.

The first week following hip replacement can be challenging , so stay ahead of the pain as best you can by taking your meds on schedule. And be prepared for swelling and bruising to set in over the next few days - I was shocked at how my leg looked, but it's normal and no reason to be concerned.

Do read through the articles that Janet shared above; I found them very helpful in my recovery.

Keep us posted on your progress. We are here to support you on your recovery journey.

 

[myglasshalffull]

Welcome, looks like you came through your first surgery like a champ!
Read articles here & do as much as you can handle & when you get tired, rest & ice.
My first week home was up & make pot of coffee, sit at table for coffee. Walk around table 5-10 x's one way then reverse. Clean up coffee mess & back to bed.
Up to use bathroom & take another spin around the house.
Is it boring...YUP! But necessary!
I think when I was about 8 days out of surgery I went to see my primary, she changed bandages & looked at incision. Scheduled me for two week interval to have staples/stitches removed then onto OS for 4 week check up.
I was able to get to market (my partner drove), and walk around using carriage. My first trip I used the electric cart but then Eman (contributor here) said using shopping cart was great activity so I tried & he was right!
Take your time all will heal & you will be good as new.
Any questions or concerns we've probably all encountered any issue you might have so ask away!
I wish you the best.

 

[Law]

I've either just been lucky, or it doesn't take much to kill my pain because I've been fine with just extra strength Tylenol 3x/day and some ice. I'm hoping the worst pain is past?
yeah, ugly bruising for sure.
but, um, hello WEIGHT GAIN? I missed this part in all the brochures!

 

[mendogal]

Retained fluid from the ivs and trauma will do that!
(The implants themselves are well under a pound.)

 

[Freyagirl]

The whole surgical process is a lot even if you’ve been through it before. It’s good that you had nurses around to help you with your anxiety prior to surgery. I am a week and a half out from left hip replacement and it’s only today that I am seeing some of the fluid retention diminish. I strongly encourage you to keep up with the ice and the elevation so that you will slide through the days of swelling with the least amount of discomfort.
This site has been a big help to me not just for answering questions but for the encouragement to know that each day, I will feel a little better, and that what I am currently feeling is really pretty normal , good luck. I hope you baby yourself a lot. Take lots of naps eat something you really like and just get through the next few days as smoothly as you can.

 

[benne68]

WEIGHT GAIN? I missed this part in all the brochures!

Don't worry, it all drops off as you recover. Think of how nice it will be to step on the scale and suddenly weigh less than you did before surgery!

 

[Law]

So, I'm drinking water all day long. I try to stop by 8, but then need to take the last ES Tylenol before bed. Anyway, then I have to get up to pee three times a night, which is a production. It's exhausting.

 

[benne68]

hen I have to get up to pee three times a night

I had a similar problem during my first few weeks post-op -- I was walking up every two hours to empty my bladder. I agree; it IS a production, but it's also a good sign that your body is doing what it needs to do! Try to be patient -- as the swelling goes down, so will the number of bathroom trips!

 

[Law]

And then hopefully that weight gain!! Just wanted to make sure this, too, was normal.

 

[Law]

Mine was 2/5., anterior. So I just was sitting down, putting on my socks and I automatically pulled my operative leg up to my knee to pull it up and then realized what I was doing and I put it back down. Scared the **** out of myself. If I had done something like dislocated it, i sure wouldn't just be sitting here calmly typing this, right??

 

[djklaugh]

@Law Right! If you had dislocated that hip you would be in severe pain AND unable to walk or put any weight on the leg! That you were able to get the leg up like that to put on a sock is a good sign though - and shows that you already have good range of motion. But do wait to do this again until your surgeon says it's OK to do so.

 

[djklaugh]

@Law Just for your information here is the chart showing how likely it is to dislocate a hip. While the possibility of doing that is never zero - not even for a natural hip - it does lessen significantly as the hip heals.

 

[Law]

I scared myself to death lol but yeah it's kind of fantastic I was able to do it but I won't be doing it again anytime soon. I'm not even quite two weeks yet.
I feel OK relatively speaking but I feel like I dodged a huge bullet. I find all of this so nerve-wracking.

 

[Law]

Here's what makes me nervous every day: should I be sitting this way? Can I turn that way? Should I have bent over to pick that up? All my dr told me was don't kick leg straight out in front or straight behind me. And no "figure 4."

 

[Layla]

The best advice I received was to move s-l-o-w-l-y and thoughtfully and if anything hurt, STOP.
I had no restrictions.

Sitting - Sturdy chairs with arm rests are best. Make sure hips are higher than knees.
Turning - Turn slowly without twisting your upper body too much in these early weeks.
Picking things up - Use the golfers reach to pick things up off the floor, while holding onto something.

Hope this helps! Congrats and best wishes!

 

[Law]

Thanks, yes, I've been going slowly.

but actually I have two very specific restrictions: one is I cannot swing my leg forward and the others I cannot swing my leg back like that golfer reach. Luckily I have the grabber.

 

[myglasshalffull]

The grabber will be another one of your best friends for awhile!

 

[Law]

I seem to have the dropsies today, it's so annoying!

but more concerning is my blood pressure has been pretty low, today it was 97/64. And I have high blood pressure to begin with. I've been reading on here and it looks like it was a thing with a lot of people but I'm two weeks out so I'm not sure if this is still normal or not. I put in a message to my doctor but of course tomorrow is a holiday so I have to wait till Tuesday.