THR LTHR small femur fracture during insertion

[Layla]

What a wonderful update! Thanks for sharing. It’s so nice to receive conformation we’re progressing as we should. I hope the next three weeks move swiftly as you continue healing and look forward to dropping restrictions. You’re doing great!
@Kiwihipster

 

[Onestepatatime]

That is a great update! My appointment is tomorrow, fingers crossed

 

[Kiwihipster]

Hi again. Two things are frustrating me so hope someone can help or advise me. I am at 11 weeks post op now.
1) I have been off both crutches since 6 wks post op, I used one crutch for 3 weeks and then started using a walking pole. I feel like I am not any closer to walking unaided. Whenever I try, my body is so reluctant to swing my good leg through. I feel like I have to lean my torso over to my bad side to get the good leg off the ground (my OS told me at 6 weeks that both legs were the same length so I guess that’s not the issue). So although I might not be limping, it’s certainly not a natural gait. If I stand and try to raise my good leg up off the ground it is the same thing: I have to lean sideways to lift and even then, my new hip just feels too weak to hold me up. I’m worried that I might always need a walking aid. Or perhaps because I’ve had dysplasia all my life my pelvis and hip joints are used to being slightly out of alignment and now everything has changed so I need to re-learn how to walk?

2) I am getting a lot of pain (when walking) at the front of my hip that feels like the old pain that I think was in my ligaments/tendons. It is not there for every step though, mainly when I first get up from sitting, for the first 20-30 steps. It does reappear during exercise walks but not for every step, maybe about 50%. This pain started about 2 weeks ago and does seem to coincide with me stepping up my exercise. For the last 2-3 weeks my regime is this: I try to walk briskly (including up and down mild hills) around our neighborhood most days for around 30 minutes. A week ago I started walking up and down our stairs like a normal person (instead of leading with the good leg and the bad leg just going along for the ride) although I do use the stick to lean on a bit. I try to do 10-15 minutes stationary bike most days. I do 3 x 40 mid-depth squats with lateral leg raises, calf raises (trying to build up the shrunken muscle) and some weighted leg lifts (weight machine) most days. Ok, reading that back, it seems pretty obvious that my pain is a result of too much exercise but I just want to be fit and strong again (and wouldn’t mind losing the 5 kgs I put on while waiting 11 months for surgery!). So I guess my question is, which exercises should I pull back on? Should I stop everything? If so, for how long?

I’m just so sick of being restricted; overall it’s been 14 months of pain and limitation and watching my fitness go down the drain. I have exercised most days for the last 30 years of my life and sometimes I get so angry that I have lost so much of the physical fitness that I built up over those years.

Can someone please help me feel a bit better: what is the longest someone has used one walking aid for? Thank you

 

[Jaycey]

- I try to walk briskly (including up and down mild hills) around our neighborhood most days for around 30 minutes.
- A week ago I started walking up and down our stairs like a normal person (instead of leading with the good leg and the bad leg just going along for the ride) although I do use the stick to lean on a bit.
- I try to do 10-15 minutes stationary bike most days.
- I do 3 x 40 mid-depth squats with lateral leg raises, calf raises (trying to build up the shrunken muscle)
- and some weighted leg lifts (weight machine) most days.

Too much too soon! You need to gradually ease into activity. Your hip is telling you it is not ready for all this.

I would definitely stop all the squatting, leg raises and anything using weights. You are not in training - you are healing. Focus on building up the length of your walks at a normal pace.

Regarding use of a walking aid - not it is not permanent. But you should use the pole until you are no longer limping. There is no set timeframe for this. It is different for everyone.

 

[Kiwihipster]

Thanks @Jaycey I really appreciate your advice. I’m going to take it easy for a few days and then I’ll start back with walking on streets that have less hills. I’ll stop the squats and weight work plus take the stairs the old way (good foot up to next step, bad foot up to join it). I might still do 10 minutes on the stationary bike per day and see how that goes. And I will definitely be more patient about trying to get rid of the walking pole. Have a good weekend

 

[Eman85]

I know it's not what you want to hear but it's still early in recovery. I didn't understand with my first THR but the harder you push to get to recovered the longer it takes. Hills were rough for walking so I put that on hold until I could walk better. I found that walking slow with good form and shorter distances produced better results than going for speed, distance or hills. From experience I can say that at 12 weeks I thought I was done with recovery and I over did it and set myself back almost a month in my progress. With my second I avoided a lot of pain and disappointments by using what I learned from my first and took it slow and steady.

 

[Kiwihipster]

I know it's not what you want to hear but it's still early in recovery. I didn't understand with my first THR but the harder you push to get to recovered the longer it takes. Hills were rough for walking so I put that on hold until I could walk better. I found that walking slow with good form and shorter distances produced better results than going for speed, distance or hills. From experience I can say that at 12 weeks I thought I was done with recovery and I over did it and set myself back almost a month in my progress. With my second I avoided a lot of pain and disappointments by using what I learned from my first and took it slow and steady.

Thanks @Eman85 - actually your message was exactly what I needed to hear. I will do as you recommend and cut out the hill walks. I think you’re so right, slower but with better form is what I need to focus on now. I just got carried away thinking it was the right time to increase my exercise. Thank you so much!

 

[Kiwihipster]

14 weeks post surgery now. My restrictions were lifted at week 12 but I have erred on the side of caution when it comes to the 90 degree rule so still don’t put my socks/shoes on normally or cut my toenails. I’ll try in a week or two. But at least I don’t have the raised toilet seat anymore so feel comfortable going out as I know I can use a normal toilet now.

I am still using a walking pole but am seeing a huge improvement in my leg strength (and therefore walking gait) since I started doing my leg lift exercises again about a week ago. I realized that I had a slight trendelenburg gait, which is likely due to weak gluteal muscles.

I have pain in the front of my groin (and deeper inside the joint) when I first start walking after sitting for longer than 20-30 minutes. This pain feels the same as pre-surgery so is disappointing and a bit worrying. Prior to around 8 weeks post-op I had no groin pain. Now I am not be able to walk without leaning heavily on my stick for the first 20 or so steps. I think it’s just the tendons that are painful, and after advice here decided to stop walking up and down hills. Actually, I stopped walking for exercise last week as the pain would come on during my walks. Currently I do 20 minutes most days on the stationary bike, 3 x 10 leg lifts (side and back), and a few gentle bridges if they don’t hurt. I’ll try to get hold of the surgeon’s nurse next week to see what advice she has around this pain.

I started noticing symptoms of a UTI, which I haven’t had for years and years. It was a Friday evening so couldn’t go to the doctor. Normally I would have waited a few days before taking antibiotics, just in case it resolved itself, but obviously I can’t take any risks of the infection going to the joint so had to start on the course of antibiotics (amoxicillin) that I had at home. Before the UTI symptoms started I was having night sweats for about a week. That might have been because I was decreasing my HRT, so I stepped it back up again.

That’s it for today. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday

 

[Onestepatatime]

@Kiwihipster I just read you post, and I can completely relate. And a UTI, ouch! At the moment I am in terrible pain in the hip joint. I had the bright idea since I was feeling better to do some errands this morning. Right now, I cannot bear any weight on it, and the pain is around an 8. I hope I did not do something bad. So many ups and downs with this. If I had not gone through prior surgeries I would be paging the doctor. But I am hoping I just overdid it.

Hope you feel better soon, keep me posted.

 

[Kiwihipster]

16 weeks post-op. Just an update for my records. I am using the walking pole less as I move around the house but really have to concentrate on holding my pelvis level and walking heel to toe otherwise I tend to lean towards the operated side.

I still have intense groin pain when I try to walk after sitting for longer than 30 minutes. I always need to lean heavily on my walking pole when I start walking, otherwise I would not be able to move. I have asked to see the surgeon about this, although his nurse said that it sounded normal. I see him in 2 weeks.

I managed to vacuum the whole house with a proper vacuum cleaner (not the Dyson) on Saturday, plus dusting plus preparing a meal for a dinner party. I was on my feet for 4 hours non-stop, which is the longest since my operation. Although my legs felt incredibly heavy I did not have any new pain, so that was great.

I’m sleeping a lot better, even though I still use a pillow between my legs (my restrictions were lifted 4 weeks ago but it just feels more comfortable) and I don’t seem to wake up when I change positions. It’s probably been at least 9 months since this has been possible. So, yayyyy! Sometimes I lie on the operated side but not every night, as I think my leg feels more stiff after an hour or so on that side.

So overall, I’m feeling pretty happy, but sometimes I get a bit disheartened by the loss of muscle in my operated leg as I know it represents a loss of fitness that will take months to build up again. For exercise I either do 20 minutes on the stationary bike and 15 minutes light weights/strengthening exercises, or 30 minutes walk on the flat. This level of exercise is way below my normal routine so it’s a bit depressing but it’s not life-threatening so I’ll get over it haha

 

[JohnWilky]

Best of luck , contradictions don’t help do they , Bonesmart seems to agree and encourage walking your way back to fitness.

all the very best

 

[Layla]

So overall, I’m feeling pretty happy, but sometimes I get a bit disheartened by the loss of muscle in my operated leg as I know it represents a loss of fitness that will take months to build up again.

But look at it this way, you’re on the up swing, rather than still on the decline, or stuck with the rotten old status quo you were dealing with pre-op. You seem to be doing well and the future looks bright! Enjoy the rest of the week.

 

[Layla]

Happy Three Month Anniversary!
I hope things are progressing nicely for you.
Enjoy the weekend and feel free to leave updates as time allows.
We like hearing from you.
@Kiwihipster

 

[Kiwihipster]

Thank you, @Layla. It’s my 4 month anniversary though haha. I’m happy to report that at 18 weeks I could finally walk without my stick both around the house and on neighbourhood walks of around 30 minutes. It’s taken a lot longer than I ever imagined but at least it’s finally happened. I still need to use my stick if I’ve been sitting for longer than around 40minutes, but only for the first 10 steps, after that the pain disappears.

I’ve been focusing on walking heel to toe and keeping my pelvis level to avoid the Trendelenburg gait that I was starting to develop. If I don’t concentrate while walking I am inclined to lean to my bad side when bringing my good leg through.

I can now put my bad leg into trousers without having to support my weight so that’s been a positive development. I am putting my own socks on and cutting my toenails.

I haven’t tried any yoga yet, I’ll wait until my six month appointment with the OS and ask him whether I can ever do yoga again.

A minor setback today, either because I did a few more hills in my walk yesterday, or because I didn’t use my stick when I first got up this morning. Anyway, I’ve had to use my stick at the mall cos the hip joint pain was similar to before my operation. Oh well, it’ll be better soon.
Wishing you all a lovely weekend

 

[Layla]

Whoopsie, sorry about shorting you a month of hard work and healing.
It sounds like you’re doing really well! Don’t forget the power of ice when you’ve overdone it or are dealing with discomfort. It’s a great pain reliever.
Thanks for updating….stay in touch, it was nice to hear from you!
@Kiwihipster

 

[Hippielife]

Your recovery is coming along just fine. These hips can last for many years as one of mine is over 24 years old And still doing well. Take your time healing, recovery cannot be rushed. Walking as tolerated is all that is needed to get your mobility back. Sending good vibes your way.

 

[Kiwihipster]

Thanks for your support @Layla and @Hippielife. I did get a bit down yesterday - I was talking to someone at the mall who happily told me about their co worker who was back at work in 6 weeks! In retail! I doubt I could do that job now at 18 weeks. I know people mean well but it is very discouraging to hear these kinds of stories. I’d rather hear about people that struggled and took a long time to heal. Funnily enough I have not been told ONE story similar to mine, every story I’ve heard is about someone that found it ‘a breeze’! Oh well, luckily I’ve got you guys to make me feel better

 

[Jaycey]

Funnily enough I have not been told ONE story similar to mine

That's because most of these amazing success stories are greatly exaggerated! Going back to retail work at 6 weeks sounds totally ridiculous to me. On your feet and lifting - nope new hips don't like that.

You are doing great @Kiwihipster !

 

[Hippielife]

I agree with Jaycee… no one could work after THR at 6 weeks. It take 6-10 weeks for the bone just to grow on to the implant components to secure them into place. Many people think that THR is like that series on tv in the 70’s the bionic man… and none of those that repeat such careless remarks have never known anyone personally who have gone thru hip surgery. This is one of my pet peeves and I for one will be the first to debunk anyone who makes wild claims they know nothing about.

This surgery takes physical, spiritual and emotional strength , a lot courage and bravery to get thru period. We are all warriors and if in 6 months your mobility and quality of life has improved then in another 6 months you will be pretty much pain free . Bless you all for the tremendous support and encouragement you share on a daily basis.

Kiwihipster you are doing just fine . It‘s very early in you healing process. There is short term healing -6 months and long term 12 months, plus everyone is different . Just do what you can tolerate and this will soon be a memory you will be proud of. Sending healing vibes your way.

 

[Eman85]

Don't let the 90 day wonder stories get you down. That's the one thing on here we have all been there and done that so no discouragement. Whether they did or didn't go back to work doesn't matter as despite many similarities no 2 of us have the same recovery. I can tell you that my 2 hips were different despite the same OS using the same approach.
Yoga will come a little at a time and it will feel good. I respected my restrictions giving the capsule needed healing time. I see you went back to the hills, they are killers on a new hip. I live in the mountains where cows have short legs on one side so they can graze. I had to drive to town to walk on flat ground. Hills will come but it takes time and if you rush it they will hurt you. Ice can still be your friend and I used it past 12 weeks with my first as I was a slow learner about what can hurt.