THR Lseven Oct 26, '15

[Lseven]

Doing my second of 2 usual walks yesterday and with about 1km to go got a 'burning' deep in my glute. Felt like muscle spasm but quite intense. Checked into it and pretty sure it is the feared piriformis. Walked home carefully. Oddly focusing on tensing the glute while walking helped it go away. Faded but still there through the night so took a ibuprofen for bed. Looked for magnesium to cease the spasm but couldn't find any. Still there a bit in the morning but mostly gone.

Went to see ortho which was a tale in itself. Office is right down town and I hate going there so I park my car and take a train in. Get on train, no movement. A train hit a car downtown. Finally move then stop again, someone on train ahead has medical emergency. Probably burst an aorta over being late for doc app't. Finally go and good news is accident cleared so can go right in without a shuttle bus. A few snowy blocks to office but feel good and piriformis is loosened. About 40 minutes late for doc, waiting room jammed. Good news is office staff were late too. All the traffic was likely horrible coming in once one area is shut down.

See ortho (3 minutes). Found out what I figured after physio that the issue with cane still is weakness in my gluteous medius. Physio had said glute but I narrowed that down more. Doc confirmed, he went through a portion of that muscle and also removed 1/3 from the bone. That would explain early pain, stiffness and current weakness. On my side I could lift my straight leg up (abduction) which I couldn't do at all a week ago at physio. (clamshells etc helped that). However I could not resist him pushing on it once up there. I couldn't even hold it up there when physio lifted it a week ago. Doc talked about taking time, I'm still early. Many of his patients haven't even got off the couch at this point.

So we talk about 'pushing it' and he says that's good, be patient and careful but 'keep pushing it'. Physio said it best I think. He said a hip will come along fine on it's own if all you want to do is walk around some at work and home, maybe shopping and such. If you want more out of your hip though you're going to have to do more than just let it heal on its own. I'm going to go with the trained hands on opinions here. I've rehabbed surgery before and losing muscle mass and range of motion takes longer to get back than the actual heeling. Protocols change and the mantra I'm getting is move it, move it, move it. When I had ACL reconstruction years ago I was immobilized for 9 days. When the brace came off the leg was the size of my arm. I was training to go bike to bike racing at that point so I can't tell you what a difference in leg girth that was. A couple years later the same surgery they wake patients up with their leg on a passive mobilizer to avoid scar tissue and keep movement/muscle mass. move it, move it, move it. That's my mantra. Off to walk the dog the standard 3.5kms and then to the gym for bike and some weights. Missed the morning dog walk and usual gym session.

 

[Lseven]

@Mtnmama What's going on? You seemed to have dropped out. I hope things went well but I'm not seeing your recovery thread starting up yet.

 

[Mtnmama]

Hi @Lseven I'm here still. Just lurking around reading posts. Surgery went well and I am progressing slowly but surely. Since I was on my own when I got home the kept me an extra night. I was grateful for that. I've been more emotional then I anticipated. It's unlike me but I'm assuming it'll pass. I'm walking daily. It's been cold and my street is icy so a friend has been taking me places indoors to walk, and if course a trip to my favorite bike store! I've read your prior posts for inspiration and encouragement!

Hope you have a happy holiday season!

 

[Mtnmama]

@Lseven, forgot to mention, I asked my doctor for the femur and he said he couldn't give it to me. I told him that was fine but I'm billing him for it. He did take pictures and said he would email them to me. I haven't gotten them yet but will ask him when I see him in the 29th.

 

[3rd Dislocation]

@Lseven Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and hoping you're doing much better after your setback. Look forward to reading your posts.

 

[Lseven]

@Mtnmama good to hear from you. Your disappearance was becoming troubling so good to know all is fine as can be. Sounds like you're coming along fine. I thinking billing the surgeon for the bone is perfect. I'd be drawing up a mock invoice for soup bone payable by photos. I didnt realize you would be on hour own. I stayed with my gf the first 2 weeks. It would be hard alone early on i think. I'll admit i had a brief emotive session. That was very early before i could do anything for myself. Thats a big part of getting out and doing stuff. For me it allows me to gauge and focus on improvement and just keeps me busy. I hope you're perky enough to enjoy your xmas with family and friends.

Xmas day and i just trussed the turkey now im kicked out until gravy. This is the extent of my role since i did the turkey and put black olives in the dressing (gasp) a few years back. We've had snow and increasingly cold this week so walking on snow and ice now. Barely using the cane, it may be just a security blanket now. Do more and more without it around the house and shovelling the drive etc. Still walking and lots of bike although skipped the last couple and now 3 days. Xmas goes that way. Working on the specific weak muscle. More specific direction there early would have been better.

-18 this morning and walked about 4kms with the dogs. I wondered about feeling the cold down the spike in the bone. Oh ya, thats there. Not horrible at that temp but its there, felt the warm up too. Used to feel the staples in my knee in a similar way. Don't notice it now sort of like hitting your thumb with a hammer to get rid of a headache. Went to the courthouse about a parking ticket. The have the airport type security there. Lit that puppy up good. The guy with the wand was laughing with me while confirming location. Those are a couple of things you have to look forward to.

@3rd Dislocation, i didnt really have a 'setback'. I guess you're talking about the burning sensation in my butt the one walk. That didn't amount to anything, i backed off a bit but mostly did some careful stretching to fix that. I'd forgotten all about it. Also went to physio right around then. Not so much about doing less, more about doing more witn specific focus, gluteous medius. Muscle balance and range of motion is key here i think. Hope houre keeping your joint intact and enjoying Christmas with your son and others.

 

[Jaycey]

@Mtnmama Glad to hear you are on the other side. Why don't you start your own recovery thread so that others can follow your journey? If you need help doing this just ask!

 

[Mtnmama]

@Lseven olives in the dressing!? It actually sounds kind of good but I love black olives! Sounds like you had a fun time at the courthouse! I've wondered how that will work. I might just go to my local courthouse for the fun of it!
Yes, I will be taking an invoice to the doc. He has a great sense of humor so it'll be fun to joke with him.
I wouldn't recommend doing this on your own but I didn't want to go anywhere and refused to have any of the kids come home to help out. We all have great vacation plans for the summer and didn't want to impact their ability to get time off work for fun! The first two nights were hard but after that it hasn't been bad.
I went to the gym tonight to walk on the indoor track and that was great. I can't drive so a friends been taking me. I'm using a cane. A few times I've found myself in the middle of a room without the cane.
I haven't noticed the cold on the spike but I've been concentrating on my stride. It seems to take focus. The doctor has said I won't need physical therapy but I think I want some guidance in what I'm doing.
I'm impressed you've been walking in such cold weather and riding consistently! I've gotten emotional myself several times. I read your posts for encouragement!

Hope your gravy was a success!

 

[Lseven]

Ha, worst gravy ever....at least by me. Everyone seemed to like it but I was disappointed. Jalapenos are good in turkey stuffing too. Don't let anyone tell you different. I'm not riding outdoors...yet. That's all been stationary.

GREAT walking this weekend. Did the same 9km loop and felt much stronger and no struggling toward the end. Cold at home (-20) but only -13 up there and warmer at elevation. So today went back to back and did the old standard 13km loop with about 1100' of climbing. A balmy -4 to boot Felt really strong at the start like I barely needed walking poles. By the end still strong and still hardly using the poles. The cane has a much shorter life span now for sure. A bit stiff now but mainly my back and such, certainly not the hip at all although it's a bit tired.

 

[Mtnmama]

Jalapeños are good in everything! If everyone else liked the gravy then I'm sure it was yummy! If they had spit it out then I'd believe it didn't come out

So, if I understand right, 9km is about 5 and a half miles! You're doing more then that with good climbing! I'm impressed. I have not been able to force myself to be out in the cold too much. For some reason I've been very sensitive to the cold! I went to work for about 5 hours today. It was hard to sit. I have my two week follow up tomorrow and will schedule some physical therapy. I'm ready to get serious about increasing strength!

Hope you had great leftovers!

 

[Lseven]

2 weeks out I was walking about 1.6kms (1mile) flat and I was the king of delicious afternoon naps. I sure wasn't going to work for 5 hours. Those midday naps continued until 4 weeks or so. It wasn't so cold back then but the naps kept my energy up and probably helped keep my furnace regulated. Sitting for 5 hours sure wouldn't have happened for me.

 

[Mtnmama]

Saw the surgeon today and he said I'm doing to much except for walking. I could walk more. I didn't have stitches or staples, just tape and he took that off. Also told me not to drive my car (manual). I stopped at the store, came home, slept for a few hours. It's dark now so I'll miss an afternoon hike is freezing weather :-(

 

[Lseven]

The car thing is really a pain. Not sure which leg you had done now but mine was left. I drive an auto now so don't need that leg. I started driving after 2 weeks. They were saying no driving for 6 but gave no real or good reason for that. Pretty sure it was a malpractice lawyer thing which amounts to a lawyer making a medical decision. The manual makes a difference though. Get out and walk. Didn't use my cane for large portions of today's walk. Good to have on the snow and ice at a dog park but can get along without it quite a bit now.

 

[Lseven]

Another weekend of hiking. 9km on Fri and 13km on sat. Strava says I was much faster and second day was a bit longer doubling back for a dog that went missing and to get some bike pictures. Sunday went for a long dog walk (4+km) that is pretty flat. Forgot my cane but walked it fine without and little limping. Today did two dog walks for 7km also fairly flat and didn't use the cane at all. Carried it just in case but the cane days appear to be pretty much done. Won't miss that. Physio tomorrow and maybe go renew my gym card to get another month of stationary bike.

 

[Jaycey]

Sounds like you are doing great @Lseven ! Long may it continue!

 

[Mtnmama]

Good to hear you are doing so well! I was hit with some depression that surprised me. Stopped the pain meds and suffering through the pain but feel more optimistic without. My anterior approach was changed due to the deterioration of the joint and amount of bone spurs so my recovery is talking longer then anticipated. Walking up to a mile (could do more but daylight and ice are issues). Working 5 or 6 hours a day this week but exhausted after. I can walk without my can but boy do I limp! Do your dogs walk with you off leash? One of mine pulls too much to walk her and I am afraid she will take off about a rabbit if I let her off. She looks at me with horrible sad eyes when I leave to walk without her. Do you like the Strava app for tracking distance? I have a Fitbit but haven't used it yet.

Happy to hear about your walks. You should post some pictures!

 

[Lseven]

I've thought of posting pics but find it a bit arduous on this site. Starva works great for distance and also gets elevation and gives comparative times for segments of the same route. I used to use mapmyride but it stopped connecting to the GPS. I think strava is better now anyway. The dogs come off leash and my daily regular walks are at the off leash park. My dog comes to a whistle even if she's after a fox/rabbit/deer/'yote. If she's on point on a bird I have to go put the bird up or eventually it goes up and then she'll come. My GF's dog has an e-collar for when she gets too 'independent'. That's the one I had to double back for. Eventually my dog figured out what we were doing and tore back and got her before I had to go all the way.

Sorry to hear you got a bit down. I guess pain meds could be part of that. Getting exhausted at work may play a part too. I've taken flak for doing a lot of physical stuff early but I'll tell you the afternoon naps were critical I think. I'm guessing napping isn't part of your workday routine. Rehab needs to come first for a while.

I'll try pics, maybe cropped ones will load without a bunch of resizing.

 

[Mtnmama]

Great pictures and they look like they are having great fun! Hope your recovery is moving along. I'm still dealing with a limp and am going to start pool therapy next week. Hopefully that helps.

 

[Lseven]

Plugging along and hardly even using the walking sticks on hikes anymore. Allows me to use my camera more again. No cane for 2 weeks now and walking with very little to no limp most of the time now. Physio today and a couple of new exercises again. The one is quite a killer and really feels like it will perk things up where needed most.

 

[Mtnmama]

Yay! Sounds like great improvement. It must feel nice to not be using the cane and to take pictures again. I'm doing much better. I got off the pain medication. It was depressing me and within 48 hours of stopping I was returning to my usual upbeat self! I started warm water pool therapy today and I think it'll help a lot. I got on the stationary bike yesterday! It felt good.