THR Life and freedom on the recovery side

[LeeApril26]

mooriel. It's lovely that your recovery went so well, and it was undoubtably helped by the six weeks of pre-op exercises that you were able to do. Unlike you my pre operative deterioration was so severe that I was ordered by my rehab doctor stop exercising ten weeks prior to surgery, and in fact had to mostly rest while I awaited my replacemènt. Some others were fine in the immediate post op period but were forced to slow down because of muscle pulls or tendonitis. We each follow our own timeline, and at the moment I am thrilled to be walking seven blocks at five weeks with a cane. Congratulations on your excellent outcome.

 

[Josephine]

Today, I decided to step on my Elliptical and see how it would feel. I guess a 25-20 minute mile is fast on a new hip, and 2-3 miles was much too far. after 30 minutes still felt good ... so, I thought 45 minutes ... no, at 35 minutes, I began to feel it in my groin, and got off right away.

You did a 25 minute mile at 4 weeks? Girl, do you like courting trouble?! Someone's not paying attention to the recovery articles Activity progression for THRs.

So for you I made this chart - note that this should not start until week 3 at the earliest.
Also note that these are on alternate days for the three weeks and that if all is well, then you can bump it up to a daily routine. It's deliberately slow in the first couple of weeks because that will be week 6 and 7 and tissues are still healing and very tender. What you want to avoid right now is getting tendinitis and that is awfully easy to develop right now.

 

[C Mac]

Feeling a little frustrated...had my appointment with the PA. He said XRay looked good. I begin physical therapy next week and is scheduled for 3X per for 3-5 weeks. I asked about the treadmill, elliptical, yoga, etc, but said to get through the physical therapy first.

So, it also looks like your answer to the additional exercises in your home gym or community gym is here in the response at your post-op appointment. Between this and what Jo is telling you -- in addition to the groin pain that you are experiencing it would seem that slowing down on the activity level is what is needed!!

You also asked about groin pain being a "normal" part of recovery. I think you will find and may have heard from others that this is frequently experienced after THR. All those adductor muscles/tendons are stretched back into a position that they may not have been in for years due to the OA and collapse of your natural hip. The fake hip installation puts all that soft tissue in to a different alignment that needs slow adjustment to so as to avoid strains, pain and further problems.

Try harder to take it easy,
Cardie

 

[zauberflöte]

Mamarey Suzanne, come out and play with us here on the forum! We do dumb stuff and make crazy jokes, and it keeps our pitiful little minds occupied Of course we also support each other through the bad times ; several are currently experiencing things like what Josephine mentioned in her chart post up there. We miss you from before, and need playmates

 

[ByGosh]

zauberflöte Who is Suzanne? Is it C-Mac? Or Mamarey?
Mamarey I'm glad you're feeling a little better - even more glad that you posted again so we know you're doing okay! Keep taking it easy, you'll get there. Take care.

 

[Mamarey]

ByGosh,
So sorry to hear that you are having trouble with groin pain. Boy can I relate. I will be four weeks tomorrow, and am still trying to find the magic balance of increasing activity/exercise with not doing too much. When I over-do, my groin lets me know. Last week, I had two days when I could not put any weight on my left leg. I had to go out and get crutches. I remember what others have said about all the soft tissue healing taking place. In four weeks, I return to work 3X a week, and then 5X week in August. I do not want to jeopardize my return to work, and I certainly do not want to return to work with a cane. I left work that way, and it was horrible trying to manage all the driving, walking and standing while carrying my laptop and work supplies. I begin PT on Wed, so I am hoping I will learn good stretching/strengthening exercises for my hip, groin and leg. Take good care of yourself and keep us up to date. Today is a brand new day, rejoice and be glad in it!
Suzanne

 

[Maeve]

Hi Mamarey,
Not sure if my groin issue was the same as yours but stretching after applying a heat pad was the absolute answer for me. I was also( probably still am) doing more exercise than advisable. I 've found that while the strengthening exercises are critical so is the stretching.
I've described the two main ones on my thread.
Good luck!

 

[zauberflöte]

Mamarey hey! PT will be full of good stuff, I'll bet. I am waiting for stretching clearance... Some muscles not been stretched in over a year-- keep us posted so I can steal your exercises
Rainy day here... cats inside and bored. Just like little kids bored.... LOL

 

[Nannyannie]

Mamarey looks like you had a smack from Josephine - she has very long arms! We've all had to learn patience, that has been the hardest part for most of us. Healing takes time, especially the deep tissues and more is certainly not better when it comes to exercise post-op. Gentle stretching and exercise, build up slowly - that's the way to do it. It took years for the hip to get so bad, shouldn't take years to get better but will take a while!
Treat yourself gently - happy healing.
Anne

 

[Mamarey]

zauberflöte, beautiful sunny clear day here, but only 61...burr...but the sun makes such a difference.
I agree, been a long time since my muscles have been stretched too. Really look forward to when I can go back to yoga. I am sore today, and I knew that I would be, because yesterday I did a lot. I was on my elliptical for 45 minutes, went to the gym for my weight workout, then Sunday being Sunday, meant some chores, and I made my first family dinner in five weeks. It was a good day. I did a wee bit more than I should, but overall handling it ok. Taking it easy today, so tomorrow, leg and groin should feel better. Elevating and icing now as I type.
Have another question to put out there. I have began using Vitamin E cream on my incision, but am curious as to how long the upper leg remains hard and swollen and the ends of my incision are very raised and bumpy. The PA did not seem concerned, but am wondering how long before it doesn't look so angry and raised. I do scare easily, so hoping the vitamin E cream helps, I also have Arnica ointment.

 

[zauberflöte]

Mamarey that sun makes all the difference-- we're far enough south of you that the sun can make us hot in November and February! Our front porch has a due south exposure, so with the low sun, and maybe no wind, you can get a sunburn in the winter while toasting your sinuses!
Sounds like you had a great day yesterday My incision may be looking better than yours, but it sits up on quite the goose egg of a lump-- like I fell and hit my head only on the thigh. I'm just going by my hysterectomy scar from 25 yrs ago-- it took months-- maybe nearly a year?-- to get to the "thin line" stage, and 5-10 years to go from angry red to pink to white to silver. I think all is well with yours, especially if the PA was not worried. I've been told not to put anything on mine yet-- and it's still got a piece of tape over it, so that's moot. Are you fair skinned or darker? i think skin type has a lot to do with how we scar. I'm pretty fair, and don't make keloids (or haven't yet anyway...) and it seems i read that these scars don't form adhesions, thank goodness!
I'm waiting for an ok from Poppet or Josephine before using arnica anywhere (and I have some epic bruises...)-- I really want to use it because in my little trial the other day the pain and burning tightness just WENT AWAY in 10 seconds!!! Unbelievable! I've never used it before, but I can see it becoming a staple in the first aid kit for sure.

 

[ByGosh]

Hi Mamarey Glad you're feeling a bit better. But please be extra careful not to overdo it. I'm still suffereing with groin pain and today is 13 weeks post-op. It keeps happening to me - when I feel better and do anything (last week I went to the pool, walked 5 min. and paddled back and forth, no leg kicking), the pain returns. It's maddening. This is just a friendly word of caution, hon. Hopefully you won't end up like me, and your groin pain will be long gone soon.
I also use the vit E oil on my incision lines. A plastic surgeon's nurse once told me to apply it 2-3 times a day and massage it in pretty good with your thumb, putting a little, little pressure on the incison. She said that helps disperse the scar tissue and those lumps. Just don't over-massage and hurt it. The Arnica cream, as per Poppet, shouldn't be used on an incision unless it's totally healed - no scabs or anything (that's true for the Vit E, too), but the Arnica can be used around the actual incision if there's soreness, she said.
We've had rain this AM, but it's nice and sunny now, beautiful out. Keep healing well Mamarey and keep your spirits up! I'm thinking of you.

Hi zauberflöte It's wonderful that the Arnica worked so well for you! I'm glad. I was concerned about using it, too, because I'm on an NSAID - meloxicam. I actually did question Poppet about it, but for some reason she didn't respond, so eventually I just used it. (bad me) But I'm ok as far as nothing happened, that I can tell. I use it faithfully 3x/d but I can't really notice a big difference for me. I don't blame you for waiting for her to respond, though. And I'm happy it worked for you so nicely.

 

[octopus]

Have another question to put out there. I have began using Vitamin E cream on my incision, but am curious as to how long the upper leg remains hard and swollen and the ends of my incision are very raised and bumpy. The PA did not seem concerned, but am wondering how long before it doesn't look so angry and raised. I do scare easily, so hoping the vitamin E cream helps, I also have Arnica ointment.

I'm 13 weeks and my scar has flattened out quite a bit now, but there's still a couple of lumpy places. It is still red, with staple marks visible. But I haven't been using anything on it.

 

[ByGosh]

octopus Mamarey Mine is a red line, too, even though I use the Vit E oil. I think that takes a long time to turn white, like zauberflote said.

 

[Mamarey]

ByGosh, another question about your groin pain. Have you asked your OS why this is an ongoing occurrence? It must be very frustrating for you. Hard to strengthen and move forward with groin pain. Healing truly is in its own time. I do not return to my OS until 10 weeks post op. I am hoping that the exercises I learn in PT will help with the groin pain

 

[ByGosh]

Yes Mamarey I saw him last week for my 12 week check up. He found nothing wrong, xrays good, physical exam good, ROM good, strength good, walking good. He feels the pain is 'soft tissue inflammation' and will get better. I don't know, I'm just really, really tired of this..

 

[Mamarey]

ByGosh...I completely understand, I would be so frustrated too. I get frustrated at 4 weeks, so if I am still hurting like this at 12, yes, very discouraging. Hang in there, some of us have more healing to go through, because there was more damage going in. My Mom came over today, and she said that I was walking my pre-surgery, foot in, leg in way. Upsetting, but makes sense, because I have had groin, nerve pain today, and have bee unable to walk without a pronounced limp. Sometimes I worry, will it always be this way??? Have to keep the faith and hope alive and a huge dose of PATIENCE and acceptance for where you are today. Know that you are not alone and so many BS friends here to love and support you

 

[Mamarey]

ByGosh...I completely understand, I would be so frustrated too. I get frustrated at 4 weeks, so if I am still hurting like this at 12, yes, very discouraging. Hang in there, some of us have more healing to go through, because there was more damage going in. My Mom came over today, and she said that I was walking my pre-surgery, foot in, leg in way. Upsetting, but makes sense, because I have had groin, nerve pain today, and have bee unable to walk without a pronounced limp. Sometimes I worry, will it always be this way??? Have to keep the faith and hope alive and a huge dose of PATIENCE and acceptance for where you are today. Know that you are not alone and so many BS friends here to love and support you

 

[ByGosh]

Awww Mamarey You're so sweet to say that. I appreciate it, and agree in all that you said. I also worry about the future, but try not to. It's so hard, and this is dragging on for so long for me. I hate to complain, and have been very positive and patient until yesterday, when the pain returned. But Josephine just responded to us over on zauberflote's thread that we can't do this much yet. So... she's been doing this a long, long time, she must know a lot about THR patients and their recovery. I'll have to try harder to be mindful of overdoing it, although I didn't think I was these past few days. I was very careful just paddling around in the pool, no leg work. But, I guess if the pain returned, it was too much. Maybe it's that simple.

Sorry you've got a little limp going on now. You're right, it's from the groin pain. It'll resolve again. I still use my cane, do you? It helps take the stress off of the joint. How do you know when you have nerve pain? Is it different than your groin pain, or is it all just one pain? (yeah, a pain in the you-know-what!)

Patience, you're right. Thanks for your support. You're right, BS provides alot of that for us. Take care, I hope you feel better soon! Keep me posted.

 

[Josephine]

I am sore today, and I knew that I would be, because yesterday I did a lot. I was on my elliptical for 45 minutes, went to the gym for my weight workout

Mamarey And did you even look at that nice chart I created especially for you? I think not!