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THR left it TOO long: Left THR Posterior

Thanks @Layla @benne68 :loveshwr:

All good and I did opt to have a day in-between my walks and that is helping because it's not just my new hip. My legs, my feet and ankles are all having to get used to doing something they haven't done for over a year. I've managed to increase the length of my walk a little and am up to 300 steps of what I'm calling power walking (raising my knees up). I'm thrilled to be able to do some abduction side leg lifts on both sides. I feel the strength coming back all over, particularly in my lower back.

Other good news, I have an appointment on 20th June to consent to my next surgery on my right hip and get a date. I have no idea what the timing will be. I'm imagining a couple of months minimum.
 
Deni444 said:
I feel the strength coming back all over, particularly in my lower back.
Click to expand...
Wonderful news! You are approaching this recovery in a way the works well for you and getting stronger so the second recovery will be easier.

Be sure to let us know when you get a date for hip #2!
 
Great update, Deni! Thanks for sharing your progress with all.
Good luck with your appointment next week!
@Deni444
 
Opposite leg knee issue question.

Ever since surgery I have been unable to straighten my opposite knee completely. Although I have problems generally with this knee that my surgeon believes are referred from the hip on the same side, before surgeon I could always bend and straighten the knee perfectly. I was hoping that it would resolve but I still can't straighten it. Just wondering if anyone has had a similar experience of this on the opposite side to the replacement.
 
That is rather odd. Does it hurt or is it just that the ROM is somewhat reduced?
 
Hi Deni,
It's easy to assume it is due to your deteriorating hip on the same side, or from added compensating you did to protect your op leg early on, but I don't really know. I'll be curious to see what he says at your appointment in three days and when you're advised to schedule your Right THR. Please keep us posted.
Wishing you comfort, Deni.
@Deni444
 
The knee is always painful because it is very frequently inflamed. It's under pressure because the leg has drifted out due to unusual wearing and some soft tissue issues. I'm very familiar with all of that but the inability to completely straighten it is new and since surgery. @Jamie

@Layla I'll definitely let you know what he says. On the bright side, despite the range of motion issue the leg is now significantly stronger and I think the knee too.

I did a bit of independent research and apparently it can be due to muscle and soft tissue. Also leg length difference. That may be the answer as my gait must be very different. The surgeon added length to my new hip to compensate for a functional and actual shorter leg on my surgery side.

Also I was fascinated to read about proprioception, way the body through the central nervous system can transfer sensation and reaction to the opposite leg. It was very strange how my opposite knee seemed to react to surgery. It was extreme to say the least and that was before I started walking in it. From the first time standing.

Read some fascinating stuff about 'proprioception'. Probably not what's going on but interesting to know.

"The neurological basis of proprioception comes primarily from sensory receptors (mechanoreceptors and proprioceptors) located in your skin, joints, and muscles (muscle spindles with a smaller component from tendon organ afferents, cutaneous receptors and minimal input from joint receptors). These muscle afferents receptors allow for the identification of limb position and movement via neural signalling of a change in muscle, skin or joint stretch. Hence, proprioception is basically a continuous loop of feedforward and feedback inputs between sensory receptors...

(https://www.physio-pedia.com/Proprioception)
 
I’m curious too to hear what your doctor has to say. Thanks for posting the link along with your paragraph. We want folks to do that so we can go to the original source. This is an interesting subject….one I am still learning about. The body is such a miracle.
 
When you are struggling with a body part, you tend to compensate for it by doing all sorts of odd things. I think it’s quite common for left hip problems to impact the right knee, and vice versa. It might be something that resolves over time, but it will be interesting to hear what your surgeon has to say. If you are still having physio, it may be something they can help with.
 
Interestingly, I seem to have improved it doing some gentle quad stretching. Having found out it could possibly be muscle related. I've been concentrating on stretching out the leg and bringing my toes towards me really slowly and releasing really slowly. At first I became aware of instantly tender inner/upper quad area and that eased and then the tight front quad. I'm sitting here now stretching it out. It's a little sore under the patella but it's doable.

I'd been trying to stretch but the secret seems to have been concentrating gently on the releasing the foot back down. I'd had it explained to me once that the release was important. That if you feel a judder in the release, to keep repeating stop at the judder and then gently tense and release until you can get past the judder (if that makes sense). It seems to have worked. I think the slight judder you feel in the release is tension. Amazing how concentrating on feet and ankle helped the knee in the end. Truly is a miracle body!
 
Glad you discovered something that seems to help. Our bodies are truly amazing. You're healing, learning and moving forward. Next up...Righty! :wink:
Hope you're having a good one!
@Deni444
 
:wave: Thanks @Layla. I can't decide if I'm hoping the surgeon will say I've got a long or a short wait until my next surgery. My best guess is that it will be October earliest based on the 10 month estimate he gave me for NHS surgery in January. I'll find out tomorrow and get his opinion on my new hip. I'm sure he'll be happy because it feels great. Just slow going getting the soft tissue back into shape.
 
Just arrived home from the hospital. My new hip is doing well and the wound healed well. it was interesting to hear how badly worn my hip was. That explains why I couldn't walk, they said they'd have been more surprised if I could have walked on it :heehee:

I've signed the consent for my right hip, had more x-rays and they took blood. I'm apparently marked as urgent and that gets me a speedy 4 month wait. I should get an exact date shortly but it's looking like October. There's a question mark over wether they'll do any soft tissue release work during the procedure to help fix the issue of the leg drifting out (internal rotation poor and foot now off to the outside), it's soft tissue related. Apparently, it may not ever resolve completely and that was disappointing to hear. I hadn't realised that soft tissue damage could be irreversible. I was hoping that the leg would resume to normal alignment after surgery. I'm still optimistic but it is what it is and I'll research a little more on it.
 
I agree that I would ask a lot of questions about the idea that soft tissue problems cannot be fixed. Find out exactly what is not working properly and why some type of physical therapy won’t improve things.
 
@Jamie Thanks, yes I will dig deeper. I think it's a case of my surgical team are focused on the hip joint and not really interested beyond that. They wash their hands of any improvement post surgery beyond a reduction in pain. They literally state that in writing and verbally. Yesterday I was told that they are not offering me better mobility only a reduction in pain. The same was stated with my left side surgery. I think it's so people can't go back and complain that they can no longer do something or can't do what they wanted to be able to do after surgery. They absolutely know my mobility will be improved.

On the one hand I do believe my surgeon is very good (excellent in his field) but it's not a great approach. I don't really have any options though. Initially there's a choice using the NHS to pick a surgeon but you do that and you're locked in. You can find another but it will set you back to the very beginning of the very long process of getting a referral and going on another list.

I'll have to do the leg work to seek physio help myself post surgery and prior to surgery.
 
12 Week Post Op Update THR Left

I thought I'd have a blow out and just managed a 0.6 mile walk to celebrate 12 weeks recovery. I'm back with my feet up but no swelling. That's been the big improvement over the last couple of weeks. I can finally push my activity and my hip doesn't swell. Two key things had triggered swelling, bending and walking. Now I can do gentle squats without triggering my hip and some knee lifts and side leg raises. With a limited capacity to do significant walking, I've been doing simple physio exercises daily to try and build a little strength and stamina.

My general fitness level and leg strength is pretty poor after being house bound for a long time. It's been tough going but it is also remarkable to be able to walk again and even if it is incredibly slow, to be very gradually improving my range. I'm still on two crutches for outside walking. Mainly I'm nervous of tripping because of the poor alignment of my left leg (not yet fixed). I have a significant limp on that side but my new hip is great. I use one crutch in the house to support my other leg.

I hope to be able to manage a full mile in the not too distant future. I'm reminded that before my surgery things only got significantly worse... Now things only get better.
 
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