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THR One hip done, one to go!

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Introducing my new hips...

[Bonesmart.org] One hip done, one to go!
 
@bobbi AVN is Avascular Necrosis in the bone. Basically the bone is starved of blood supply and it dies. I had it in my right hip. Had my hip replacement on Dec 2nd. My issue now is the pain in my left hip and the thought of having another surgery is killing me. Anterior approach is a much smaller incision on the front of you leg. Posterior is more towards the back and a much larger incision. Lateral is kind of in between the other too. I have a 10-12 in incision posterior approach. I'm still not able to stand up more than 5 minutes and can only walk around the house with a walker. I took about 4 or 5 steps without the walker yesterday and paid for it with muscle pain on the right side. And today I can't bend my knee on the left leg without pain in the groin and knee.
 
You might find this article helpful:

Talking about sex after hip surgery

Everyone is a bit different in their progress, so the advice to start slowly and pay attention to what is comfortable and what is not is excellent. Eventually everything will be normal again.
 
So far so good! Sharing to encourage those of you who are pre-op or early in their recovery so that you know that there are successful "happy" THR stories too! Stay positive! Your body can hear all your thoughts!

Week 7
-walked 30min with my walking poles, had lunch, walked 30min back slightly uphill (was sore for two days following this long walk)
-did some water therapy and nice hot tub jet massage!
-continuing my home PT
-had a nice full body massage!

Week 8
-attended a yoga class, used lots of props to modify several postures, but did pretty good
-did a 45min Spin class! Actually was able to pedal in and out of the saddle! Felt great to sweat!
-slipped in the stairs, thank God I was holding on to the railing to break my fall! Bruised elbow. Hips are fine.
-taking hot baths every second day to massage my scares, and the muscles that were detached during THR's - trying to reduce the scare tissue as much as I can!




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@Getnfit sounds like your doing fantastic. I am 8 weeks post op right hip replacement. Today I saw my surgeon for a follow up. He said everything is looking great with the hip. They took xrays of both hips and both knees. My left knee cap has shifted to the left. Left hip and knee are showing signs of less cartilage. Will most likely need surgery in the future.
Good luck.
 
@tandmcox88 sorry to hear that more joint replacements will be necessary. Day by day and looking around us to realize how lucky we are! These life challenges make us appreciate little things that much more!
[Bonesmart.org] One hip done, one to go!



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Getnfit,
I saw your post. I'm getting BLHR ....goth on same day. I have 8 weeks to get ready. I am not doing too much or I have more pain, but.........the more I work out p, stretch and lift the less pain I have. I am second guessing my surgery date. What made you make the decision? .


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@catdemar To make a long story short, I've been dealing with chronic pain in both hips for approx 8 years. The pain wasn't keeping me from doing yoga, or working out, I actually believe that staying active is what helped me from being totally disabled. Although my workouts and my yoga weren't as intense anymore, but it kept me strong right to the end (pre-op). The pain was mostly felt while walking, major constant groin pain and sometimes sharp "subluxation" pain, also lots of stiffness from sitting for a while when going to stand. I was moving like a 90 year old, had a limp in my walk and the chronic pain was draining me, I was tired all the time! Three years ago my OS suggested I get the THR done, and again 2 years ago. I had congenital hip dysplasia and arthritis had set in. But I wasn't mentally ready for it! I still believed I could find a therapy of some sort that could get rid of the pain! In January 2014 I had an arthroscopic labral tear surgery with another OS I had consulted. He did warn me that it might not solve my problem, that I lots of cartilage damage and that the torn labrum wasn't necessary the cause of pain. But we gave it a try. 2 months of rehab later, hadn't solved anything. Back to my first OS, no choice but THR. He didn't practice anterior approach, only lateral approach, I had to beg him to do both hips at once. Left hip was done on Dec 1, and Right hip on Dec 4th. 9 weeks later, I am doing great! I believe that having been physically active right up to the day before surgery has helped me in so many ways. Having a strong upper body, back and core was very helpful when moving myself from seated, to standing, to laying down during the first few weeks post op. The yogi "attitude", staying positive, is also very important.

What made me finally decide to do it even tho some days I thought I wasn't doing that bad since I could still workout and do yoga? It is when I ADMITTED that the pain was affecting my daily life that I finally realized that I had no choice. I could no longer go to the supermarket anymore, I couldn't go shopping with my teenage daughter, I couldn't go on holidays, I couldn't walk my dogs, I was always tired and quite embarrassed by my limp. I had tried all the therapies in the book, physio, ostheo, massage, acupuncture, lazer therapy, etc etc. It was time!

TODAY... I am pretty much pain free!!! Still a bit stiffness, still doing physio daily, working on getting back my strength and my range of motion. I'm not quite where I want to be when it comes to working out and yoga, BUT when it comes to everyday stuff, I would say I'm 98% there!!! Although my goal is to feel like 30 again, lets say that I'm happy to feel like a 47 years old and not like a 90 years old anymore!

Good luck @catdemar, you won't regret it! Stay strong and positive!
 
Hi!
I am almost 4 months post op bi-lateral THR. I started teaching fitness and yoga classes again about 4 weeks ago and I am now experiencing a bit of issues in my left hip. I feel a tendon rolling forward over the greater trochanter when I squat or flex forward and I feel it rolling back in place when I extend the hip back to a standing position. It is not painful, but it feels awkward and I know that if this continues, the tendon will get inflamed. What muscle is it? IT band, Gluteal, TFL??? Does it mean that the tendon is too tight? I'm not sure what to do do? Stretch or strengthen?
2. I also still have deep pain in the area between the groin the sits bones when I bend over to touch my toes. It's sometimes there too when I walk.
3. Thank God I practice yoga and stretch a lot, I'm still so stiff in the front and side of hips, wonder what it would be like if I didn't stretch? Is it normal to feel this tightness around the hips and thighs at 4 months post-op?
@Josephine @Jacey or anyone who has experience these problems, do you have any feedback regarding these issues I've been recently experiencing?
 
Sounds to me like you started back far too soon and your hips were not yet ready for it. I figure you started back at 12 weeks, yes? Can you describe to me what your fitness and yoga classes actually involve? In terms of days, hours and activity, I mean.

Can you also tell me the exact site of your pain using this chart?
Please note the instructions in the smaller image

[Bonesmart.org] One hip done, one to go!


[Bonesmart.org] One hip done, one to go!



I'm also going to ask you some questions and it would be very helpful if you would answer each one individually - numbered as I have done - in as much detail as you can then I'll come back as see where you are ....

1. what approach did you have for your surgery? Anterior, posterior, lateral? You can look here to see the various types THR approaches or incisions

2. what are your pain levels right now? (remember the 1-10 scale: 1 = no pain and 10 = the worst you can imagine. And don't compare this with the bone-on-bone pain you had before surgery!
[Bonesmart.org] One hip done, one to go!
) Also don't forget to include other forms of pain such as soreness, burning, stabbing, throbbing, aching, swelling and stiffness

3. what pain medications have you been prescribed, how much are you taking (in mg please) and how often?

4. what is your activity level? What do you do in the way of housework, cooking, cleaning, shopping, etc., and

5. what kind of PT exercises and exercises at home are you doing (other than at work)? How much and how often? (and detailed details would be appreciated, please! **Reps, sets and sessions** and all that)

** If you're not familiar with this, it goes like so:
1 lift of your leg = 1 rep (repetition)
5 reps and then a brief rest = 1 set
5 sets and finishing = 1 session.
 
@Getnfit PLEASE NOTE THE ANNOUNCEMENT AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE
I merged your threads as per this request One thread for your recovery please?
Please don't keep starting new threads about your recovery.

The reasons for this are that it
1. makes it easier for guests to read the continuous story of a member's recovery - the most important reason
2. avoids people duplicating and repeating things like links to articles
3. helps us to refresh on what you've had done and when, plus what advice was given previously
5. keeps all advice previously given on hand for the poster
6. makes it unnecessary for the member to keep repeating surgery details
7. just makes it easier for everyone all round!

Thank you very much!
 
Thank you for your quick reply Josephine!

I had both hips done with lateral approach, Left on December 1st and Right on December 4th. Can you change my Thread title to "48 years young with bilateral THR"

E-R3F into F-R4B & E-L4F into F-L3B is the inner groin up into sits bones area pain(soreness/achy) and,
D-L6F into D-L1B is where there is a tendon rolling over the greater trochanter (not really painful… yet).
I also have sharp pain sometimes in my right knee, under knee cap and behind the knee where the hamstrings would attached. It's a sharp pain when I fully extend the knee as well as when I go to maximum flexion.
The other pain is more of a stiffness all around the thigh, kinda like if i was wearing a bikini bottom too small for my thighs and the elastic was numbing my thigh and hip area.

I started teaching 2 classes per day, 5 days per week at 12 weeks post-op. When I teach yoga (5 x week), I am careful to not over stretch and I definitely am very aware of my limitations. The harder part is to go down and up from the floor, I use a block to sit on when I'm in a cross-legged position and I am very careful when crossing one leg over the other. My standing forward folds (touching toes with straight legs) has gotten much easier, it use to hurt a little (sharp pain) in and under the sits bones, but it has gotten a lot better. I believe I've been improving strength and R.O.M. a lot thanks to all the yoga postures I do daily.

Fitness wise, I teach a ballet style of fitness classs (3 x week), where I do pliés (bending knees with hips, knees and feet externally rotated), lateral leg lifts (abduction), front kicks( approx 90 degree flexion) and relevés (calf raises) as well as a lot of abdominal and core work such as Pilates mat exercises, which also challenge the hip flexors quite a bit too.

The other fitness class I teach 2 x week is a 30 minute interval class where we do 30 exercises in 30 minutes. I rarely demonstrate the whole minute, I will do just a few repetitions and then coach my participants. Exercises include squats, lunges, planks, sit-ups, air skipping, jumping jacks, burpies, push-ups, etc.

I also do 2 x week physio exercises at home. Including Abduction with a toner band (3 sets of 15 repetitions R & L), Isometric Adduction with my knee against a railing (3 sets holding 10-15 sec R&L), hip extensions with toner bands (3 sets of 20 repetitions R & L), lateral walks with toner bands around my ankles (3 sets right and left of 12 repetitions). And I take a "spin" class once per week (indoor cycling)

Everyday life: I'm back to all my regular duties, stairs, wash, meal preps, grocery shopping, dog poop clean up in back yard :0)

I take at least 3-4 hot baths per week to massage the scars and it has helped a lot in reducing adhesions.

The scars are still a bit tender, I can't sleep on my sides for more than 15-20 minutes. And I must admit the inner groin soreness wakes me up when I move in bed at night.

I am just concerned a bit since I was doing great up to 14 weeks post op (with the exception of the stiffness and the knee pain). It's now like taking two steps back, with this groin and sits bone ache and the snapping tendon on the left hip. I know the body is going through a lot of compensation, but should I continue strengthening as much as I can or should I only stretch, or should I rest? The "snapping" tendon is of most concern right now, because I know that if this continues it can become chronic. The knee pain too, I guess!

I haven't taken any prescription medication(occicodone) since 10 days post-op, yes! that's how good I was doing! But I now have been taking Advil every night before bedtime and there are days where I ice and take Tylenol. I don't have any swelling though.

Also, my pain isn't worse after exercise, it is a bit better in the morning but it remains pretty much the same 24/7.

Any recommendations will be greatly appreciated!

Cheers!

G
 
All the aches and pain described above are now almost inexistent after consulting with my PT. She's given me a few new exercises to incorporate in my routine and has released my adductors with massage and acupuncture. The needles hurt like hell in the inner thigh area but was worth it! I'm happy with my progress... In first picture below I am sitting cross legged at 2 months post-op and then at 4 months post-op. My external rotation of hip has improved lots! In second picture I haven't improved my hip extension much, but that's ok, taking it one day at a time!

ATTACH=full]30992[/ATTACH]
[Bonesmart.org] One hip done, one to go!



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@Josephine Wondering if you read my replies and if you have any insight regarding the snapping TFL over the greater trochanter? It now started hurting, burning level 3-4 kind of pain. Yesterday that left hip also clicked a few times while I was going down to my knees, but that was not painful. It sounded like it came from the groin area slightly in front of ischium. Thank you in advance!


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@Getnfit read your recovery thread, love the yoga pics at the end!! I am 3 weeks out from my 2nd thr and can't wait to get back to it! :) Hope you are still doing well!!
 
I've wondered how possible yoga would be after thr, thanks for the inspiration! But sis you hurt yourself doing yoga? That last post sounds painful. Hope it's just a tiny flare up and goes away with a bit of ice.


RTHR, posterior, 15JUN2015
 
Not sure if many are still following my status, I have been absent for quite a while. I do want to share with you that I'm doing GREAT! It did take 13 months tho. I saw a big improvement at month 11 when I started doing more "spin" workouts. Once my muscles got stronger, the body seemed ok to allow for the flexibility to follow. At 14 months post-op I can finally say that I'm pleased with my ROM and there are many times where I think "wow! I feel like I never had my hips done!"
In hindsight... If you have the option, find an OS that does the anterior approach (way less damage to the soft tissue). Don't stretch too much too soon in your recovery(I did). Once you've graduated from water physiotherapy get on a stationary bike! Pedal away! As often as you can! With resistance to challenge your muscles! Take spin classes, you will not only get your hips back in shape, you also get an amazing cardio workout and burn calories, lots of calories! Time does make everything better :0)


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