THR Made it to the Hip Side!

[Hippie Chick]

I had knee pain- strange moment going up the stairs prior to knowing I had osteoarthritis in both hips. I was then swimming in a heated therapy pool. X-ray did not show anything and couldn’t afford to pay for the MRI. My knee healed when I stopped exercising except walking at work 8-10k steps. In hindsight I believe the injury was from compensation for my hips. Hope you are feeling better soon!

 

[Momo Lee]

Hi @Hippie Chick! Thank you for your quick response!

So interesting that you knew you had OA in both hips.

You walk a LOT during your work day!

I‘ll cut back on the exercises and see how it goes.

Hope your healing journey is progressing well! Please take care!

 

[Hippie Chick]

I found out about the osteoarthritis in February of this year. It was severe stage at that appointment in both hips. When removed it showed bone on bone in many areas. I think many of us don’t recognize the early signs of osteoarthritis. I think I had developed many coping strategies by this point.

 

[Momo Lee]

Oh my, you were suffering a while before you were diagnosed.
I agree that X-rays aren’t very reliable in terms of an accurate diagnosis.

 

[springs12]

@Momo Lee How's the hip doing? I agree with @Hippie Chick that there could be a compensatory deal going on. Prior to my hip replacement, I had something happen with one of my knees. Excruciating pain. I did get a cortisone shot, which helped, but I really believe the root was my hips creating super tight calf and hamstring muscles. I went to PT weekly to have them work on my muscles, and I stretched my calves several times throughout the day. It's good you have been getting things checked out, but if they don't have answers, it's possible it could be muscles contributing????

I hope everything else is going well!

 

[Momo Lee]

Hi @springs12!

Thank You for sharing! How is everything going with your recovery?

It makes total sense that hip issues can contribute to knee issues.

I would also like to discuss further with my OS, since I’ve had knee issues for over 10 years. There might be something going on that isn’t reflected in the X-ray. My right knee is starting to buckle while standing. It would be ideal if my OS could connect the dots by considering the hip replacement, combined with the current knee issues and come up with an actionable plan. Her current recommendation is getting a cortisone shot, which isn’t getting to the root issue.

Anyway, enough of my rant.

Thank you to @springs12 and @Hippie Chick for sharing! I appreciate it a lot!

I welcome and appreciate all comments from everyone in this forum.

 

[benne68]

My right knee is starting to buckle while standing.

That sounds like a new symptom! Have you mentioned it to your OS?

You might want to take a look at this article, which can help you figure out if knee replacement might be in order:

Score Chart: How bad is my arthritic knee?

 

[Momo Lee]

@benne68, the buckling is a new symptom. I will mention it to my OS, but based on our last communication, she feels the pain is minor since the X-ray doesn’t indicate joint narrowing. She is driven by imaging evidence vs symptoms.

 

[Hippie Chick]

Have you had an MRI of your problem knee- that shows more than standard X-ray. Hang in there- this has to be frustrating for you.

 

[Momo Lee]

No MRI yet. Need to convince the OS to order an MRI.

 

[Momo Lee]

Hi @benne68, here are my Knee Scores:

Tegner Lysholm - 39 (poor)
Oxford - 23 (moderate to severe knee arthritis)

I will work on my OS to get her to order the MRI.

 

[benne68]

I will work on my OS

You now have more data to share with her.

Good luck. Please let us know how it goes.

 

[springs12]

@Momo Lee You are doing a great job advocating for yourself. Keep up the great work! I hope you get some answers soon.