THR Marvellous Marvin's New Home

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Carol, the stretches are pretty basic and you may already be doing them.

Note: These stretches are on my surgeon's list to do only after the hip precautions/restrictions are lifted (6 weeks for me). I didn't start doing them until after I saw him for a follow up and got his blessing to go ahead with them.

First one--put your foot of the operated leg on top of the knee of the opposite leg. Let the knee kind of "drop" down to the outside --don't be tense. If you can tolerate it, add some gentle downward pressure on the knee to kind of "flatten" out the leg more, but you don't have to be aggressive to get results with this one--it just takes a while. Doing this while sitting is more effective than lying down, at least for me. Try to get in at least 20 seconds with each stretch and do at least 5 twice a day.

The other one is simply a hip flexor exercise that stretches out muscles that prevent the hip from flexing (again, you would need to wait until your hip precautions are lifted). While lying on your back and grasp your operated leg knee and bring it up towards your chest as far as you comfortably can and hold it for about 20 seconds. I find this one to be easier than the first exercise, so I spend more time on the first one.

Just an FYI for anyone interested, my surgeon gave me a handout with only 4 exercises he "required" patients to do. I thought this was interesting because I had a bunch of exercises that the PT had told me to do that took a lot of time to get through the list. After I started doing the ones my surgeon gave me, I realized that doing just these exercises used all the muscles and/or stretched out all the areas than the longer list of exercises the PT gave me to do. The surgeon's were more difficult at first but they took less time.

--At the 2 week mark--start working on lying-on-your-back straight leg raises, bringing the foot up as high as you can. At first I could only do an inch or two if I was lucky. The second exercise he wanted patients to start at the 2 week mark was a side-lying leg lift. I couldn't do this much at all and I ended up starting with clamshells. I could do a partial clam shell at around 3 weeks and built up to a few inches of the side lying leg raise probably within a week after that. It wasn't until probably 5 weeks that I could do a full straight leg and side lying leg raise.

Those were tough exercises for me, but I found that once I started doing them, my walking got much better very quickly. I had a lot of weakness in my leg--probably a combination of all the muscle cutting they did during surgery and how weak the leg had become from general disuse before surgery. My right leg is not too weak now, so I'm hoping that that one will recovery quicker than the left did, although generally I was pleased with how the left leg did.

At 6 weeks (after he saw me and lifted my hip precautions), I added the 2 stretches and started seeing a rapid improvement in my general range of motion of the leg. It kind of loosened up.

Hope this helps.

Dorothy
 
Don't worry about that feeling around your incision Carol. Nerves "waking up" again after the trauma of the procedure. Ice if it helps. Things will calm down again soon!
 
Hi Carol, just checking up on you. Chin up, girl. Maybe one of these days I will have to come up to your neck of the woods and we can go jogging together!! Or maybe, at our ages, just sit for a glass of wine! Or maybe tea.... Good luck my friend, chin up, don't let the pain win!
 
Hi Carol

Just checking in with you..

The research I did about recovery and healing led me to an article about cross linkage of the collagen fibres. Essentially the fibres run longitudinally, but when we have the surgery the collagen fibres immediately start the healing, particularly Round the incision by cross linking the collagen. Then as we start to mobilize, the cross linkages break so that they can become straight again.. hence we get more pain around he incision, sort of like scar tissue..

Hang in there hon, you are doing it tough, but it will improve xxxxx
 
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Day 92 POP Day 48 PIN<o:p></o:p>
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Am I stupid or just a sucker for punishment? I have been up since 3:47am because of pain. Hip and back pain for crying out loud!<o:p></o:p>
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I checked my posts pre-surgery and one of the things that I noticed is the lack of mentioning pain. I know that I rated my days on a scale of 1-10 pain wise but I knew I was getting a THR and my pain would be gone. Nope! Not gone just now I hurt in 15 different places including my hip! Nuts!<o:p></o:p>
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My med reduction is definitely not working. I have been off my nite time morphine dose for 3 nites the first two nites were OK but not tonite (or do you call it last nite…I get confused.) So here it is I took my Percocet at 12:30am so it should hold me and it only did until 3:47 (but I did take two XS Tylenol at 4:00 and that was like taking water.) I will take more Percocet shortly but this is just not fun anymore.<o:p></o:p>
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I am going to see my POP group PT today for a re-assessment. I am hoping that she discharges me from the POP program. I have also been in contact with an outfit that may be an answer for me. I am only going to go for an assessment. I talked to the director yesterday and he specializes in hip and shoulder problems. I told him about the injury and he wants to check for infection. I know I said that I was going to take the rest of the month off. (I am restless and with the pain just not thinking clearly but I need to do something as darn it I am just not doing so good. :frown:)<o:p></o:p>
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I had such high expectations that the pain would be better and here it is 12 weeks in and I have had level 5-6 pain for the past 6 weeks (since the injury.) I guess that an appointment with my GP is in order. <o:p></o:p>
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Sorry I’m just a little lost today…………<o:p></o:p>
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Take care Everyone and be comfortable:ATT637464:<o:p></o:p>
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Hi Carol,
Sorry to hear of all the problems you are having, and to let you are not alone in being injured. My ankle tendon muscles were injured, it is very frustrating.
I keep thinking that you should ask if anyone knows strain/counterstrain, or positional release methods. They are gentle and put you in a position of comfort to release your muscles.
Go easy and take good care.:friends:
 
Hi Carol,
Sorry to hear of all the problems you are having, and to let you are not alone in being injured. My ankle tendon muscles were injured, it is very frustrating.
I keep thinking that you should ask if anyone knows strain/counterstrain, or positional release methods. They are gentle and put you in a position of comfort to release your muscles.
Go easy and take good care.:friends:

Is this something that a PT would know about or who?

Thanks for your support
 
PT, Osteopath, or Chriopractor, also massage therapists with advanced training. Strain counterstrain came out of osteopathy.
Good luck!
 
So sorry you are having issues. I (11wks) just went through a couple of bad wks and decided except for going to my PT I was going to chill out a bit at home and just concentrate on my walking and was taking the time to lay down with heat a couple times a day. I also had started the simple stretch Dorothy mentioned, though I could not do it sitting right away without torquing my body too much so my PT suggested starting it on my back, with my feet at a 90 degree on the wall and that worked. Now I can do it sitting for a little bit and it seems to really be helping.

Also, have you seen these Deep seat garden kneelers http://www.gardeners.com/Gardening-Tools/GardeningTools,default,sc.html
Amazing for getting up and down easily. Gardening is really grounding for me and this enables me to do some at this point with less stress.

Hang in there, I'll send some healing energy your way. Cathy
 
Hiya Carol, I'm so sorry you are having such a bad time of it at the moment. Hope your GP can sort you out with some suitable pain meds....sometimes life's just not fair is it?

Stay strong...big hugs

Ann.xxx
 
Carol,

Thinking of you and hoping you will get this sorted out and get some answers sooner than later. Missing your humor and hope it returns soon...Love and hugs to you.
 
.

Also, have you seen these Deep seat garden kneelers http://www.gardeners.com/Gardening-Tools/GardeningTools,default,sc.html
Amazing for getting up and down easily. Gardening is really grounding for me and this enables me to do some at this point with less stress.

Hang in there, I'll send some healing energy your way. Cathy

Thanks for the energy I'm running on empty today.

Also I have the garden stool. As a matter of fact I fell off of it on the weekend. Picture this I'm trying to stand (therefore bracing myself to get up) didn't have myself balanced and butt over tea kettle. Landed hard on my left knee and hand and rolled onto my side like a big ole teddy bear. Looked hilarious but I gave myself a boo-boo on my knee. So now I get to limp on both sides. At least now I'm a matching pair. :th_heehee:
 
Oh dear Carol! No wonder you are feeling weary. A fall can really get things unsettled. Hope you are getting some rest!

Have you every tried an osteopath? Worked a charm for me!
 
Oh Carol

No wonder you are feeling down, totally understandable.

Sorry to hear you toppled over, that would give all of us a scare.

I am so looking forward to reading that you have turned the corner with your recovery....

Universe, give Carol a break... Sending hugs and love xx
 
Carol....so sorry you took a tumble. Guess we're going to need to order that bubble wrap suit for you also!!! Maybe we can get them with the BoneSmart logo printed front and back....

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Carol,

Sorry to hear about the tumble. I think we all get a to experience a couple of those...glad yours ended up with a boo-boo and not a week long stay in the hospital like our very own Charlie.

Catch your breath and take a couple well deserved days off...

Z
 
Love the bubble wrap.. Where can we buy them...

Sending hugs and love Carol xx
 
Hello everyone

Just a short post now...

I heard (and I rarely trust anything that I hear unless its from my mommy or another trusted source of information such as CNN or the Mayo Clinic) but you know how something kindof niggles in your brain casting doubt? Well someone told me that TENS should not be used anywhere near my new hip joint as it could cause heat issues from the electrical current. Now it sounds ridiculous :hysterical: but I'm needing reassurance that it is ridiculous as I want to get a TENS for over my hp joint and other Owie spots on my bodee.

Thanks and don't laugh---I'm feeling particularly vulnerable today. :sigh:
 
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