THR Mydogs Hippy Journey

[mydog]

Thanks. My unoperated thigh pain has lessened a bit. But now I have moderate pain in my operated leg's foot...at the top as well as swelling on the inside ankle. What the heck is going on? Is this normal to have all these unexplained aches and swelling 3 months after surgery? At what point do I start worrying? The foot pain just started today.

 

[mydog]

Hello wonderful bonesmarties! I haven't been on much as I got super busy... just with life....which was wonderful! But I seem to have a few issues and I don't know where they are stemming from. After my late Feb anterior lhr, I went back to work mid April...but I worked from home for the next two weeks. Went back to the commute early May and all seemed to be ok, although I still had some issues going up and down steps smoothly. All was well until late May when I had pain and swelling in my left foot (operated side).

I was diagnosed with a stress fracture in my 2nd and 3rd metatarsal bones. Was in a cast (huge walking shoe) for the next six weeks...two of which I worked from home. The other times I avoided stairs and took alternative methods of getting to work. Have had the boot off for almost three weeks when I start having pain in the knee opposite of operated leg. Pain sometimes where it is incredibly hard/unbearable to walk. Nighttime pain (last night) with pain shooting, pulsing down around the inside of my thigh and curving around the kneecap. With constant icing was better towards the morning.

Still have some tenderness (but no pain on pressing) where the stress fracture was, but have not been going up and down stairs as I thought this was the issue. (BTW - I haven't done physical therapy as my surgeon didn't think it was necessarily important for recovery.) What I really notice is that I feel the operated leg is significantly longer than the other. If I stand straight in shoes, it actually feels that the un-operated leg just barely grazes the floor. I got an insole (with foot elevator coming shortly) yesterday, and I notice a big difference when walking. I also got a knee brace which seems to help. Until my doc appointment in the next two weeks, I plan on seeing a PT on Friday....is there anything else I should be doing?

Do you think it could just be simple as having to wear a quality elevator in my unoperated leg shoe...cause, I could do this. I think I am just afraid that my other hip is going...? I don't know if I would know the symptoms because my left was caused by trauma.

Any advice from you Bonesmarties would be very appreciated. Sorry if I started a new thread...couldn't find the old one....

 

[alexthecat]

Welcome back! I'm sorry things have been so challenging though.

My only suggestion was going to be that you see a PT to get your gait analyzed. It's possible that your stress fractures and pain are caused by some (hopefully) minor issue with your gait. A good PT can help with that. You've already got that covered though.

Please do keep us posted. I'll go see about getting this thread merged with your original recovery thread, so we'll have your story in one place.

 

[referee54]

I merged your two recovery threads as per our forum protocol.

I hope you understand that it is so much easier to follow your progress as well as your issues if there is only one thread---we do not have to bounce back and forth from one thread to another.

By using only one recovery thread, all of the forum members as well as the moderators and admins can easily see where you have been, what has gone on, and where you are now.

Thanks for understanding,

Tim C.

 

[Jamie]

I agree with Alex's advice. It may be that your old walking habits are still with you and causing you at least some of the pain you're experiencing.

I would caution you against wearing a lift for any length of time. You probably still have a bit of perceived leg discrepancy that is really a tilt to your hips from your bad hip. It takes time for that to resolve. And if you've been having some gait issues, then your body cannot make that adjustment correctly. You do need the services of a good therapist with gait analysis experience. Be sure and ask....not all therapists are experts in this.

 

[mydog]

thanks Alex and Jamie - the pt who I am going to go to apparently has expertise in hips/replacement surgery....so I am hopeful they will get me on the right track. I also might have overdone it in the past two months as I am getting my house painted and have been on a purging and cleaning streak. But, also never really felt that my operated leg muscles were strong enough for the stairs I went up and down 3 months after surgery. It is just so sad that my limp was almost gone and now it is back. I do think that at this stage of my recovery, I will need to be very diligent and persistent with physical therapy, stretching and muscle toning. I guess I just thought that after all that I went through, things would just magically change! But my limp was so awful for at least 3 years...gosh knows what my poor body knows what to do now. I am back on the cane for commuting...only because I don't want to cause anymore damage. I've also been icing at night and doing stretches and some resistance training with bands. If anyone has any brilliant ideas...feel free to chime in! Thanks so much.

 

[alexthecat]

If you were limping around for three years, I definitely think you will benefit from some gait training with a PT. You may have picked up some bad habits during that time. Then, as you recovered and got more active, the effects of those habits on your entire body were magnified. I'm very optimistic that the right PT can get you moving in the right direction.