one week post surgery thr

[ironmike]

hi everybody
i came across this forum yesterday, was glad to find it and read others experiences with recovery
as for me(thr 12/2), i guess i'm about where i ought to be. i'm moving carefully around the house with a cane and spending considerable time on the couch.
i was wondering if anyone had any insight into developing good range of motion during the recovery. due to underuse, the muscles on the arthritic side were underdeveloped (favored the other side for about 5 years)
now,the muscles have to recover from the surgery and the underuse.
presently, aweek after the surgery, i can hardly flex at the knee but it seems to be from swelling and tightness around the thigh and knee. the hip itself seems to be moving pretty smoothly when i walk,tho
was wondering when i might expect to lift that knee a little higher and start getting on and off the bed easier etc. then get into some exercises that increase range of motion. im 50yo, in good shape otherwise and feel up to the challenge
good luck to everyone
IM

 

[JudyS]

Hi and welcome ironmike.
Congratulatios on the surgery. I am 51 and had my hip replaced on June 6th. Do you have physical therapy coming to your home? I had a therapist for 3 weeks. She showed me the beginning exerciseds to gain some strength and be able to get off the bed a little easier. Each day it will get easier.
I think my great range of motion was obtained through swimming. At 3 weeks post op I was allowed to swim and went about 5 times per week. I was definately not a swimmer, but soon got up to a mile at a time doing all different strokes.
I had and still have muscle atrophy from not using the right leg. I have been working on it although I have knee problems too and squats were out. A lot of things were out as it caused knee pain. I am having a knee scope next week.

The hip is awesome, I am not even aware that I had the surgery or have a prosthetic joint. I have been biking, swimming, hiking most of all. No problems at all with the hip!!

Do you have the exercises to do? I was also given them at the hospital by the pt dept.

Judy

 

[Josephine]

Welcome to BoneSmart, Mike. You sound like you are doing pretty well for one week out! Many of the members here will chime in with personal experience which will be far better than my nurse's point of view! But I'll keep and eye and chip in if the need arises.

All the best.

 

[ironmike]

hi again and thanks for response
its encouraging to hear your new hip is working so well Judy
i have a pt coming to the house for a few weeks to get going with some exercises. at this stage (day 7) i'm moving a little easier each day but still waiting for some of the swelling to ease.
i appreciate the tip about swimming, i too feel this will be the best work out as the joints dont get pounded. i guess i'll be joining a gym and familiarize myself with machines that target the thigh/butt
looking fwd to long walks its been a while
Mike

 

[JudyS]

Mike
At about 3 1/2 weeks, I started walking with a cane. What I did was walk too far too soon and created some major painful steps. The pt told me I was supposed to go out with the cane for maybe a few house lengths. I took off for close to a mile. I never did slow down, but had some increased pain for a while. Just a word of caution.

I do know until my 2 week apt with the doc I stayed in the house, pretty much vegged out in my recliner or bed. I had a major swelling issue. I think the majority of it was gone at about 2 weeks. At your point, my pt told me to stay in bed one weekend to reduce swelling. She said the recliner would not do it. It worked. I had 24 extra pounds of fluid!!! I could not believe how swollen I was!!!

Rest for now
Judy

 

[Laurie]

Hi there, At one week you sound like you are doing well. That time is a little blurry at this point. I had RTHR on August 26--remember the swelling. It took awhile to go down. The soreness around the incision takes a very long time to completely go away. I still have a little soreness when I press (so don't press as my mother would say!!)

I am still working on flexibility and building back the muscles in my right leg from years of overcompensating with my left side. Wonder if my right leg will always look a little smaller (fortunately the length is balanced) My strength is good and I feel 10 years younger with no pain at all and walking at a pace that I haven't for years (just turned 56). I go to the gym about 5 times a week and now can use the treadmill w/o pain. The surgery is great.

For me, I had very little pain after surgery. As with most others, just found it hard in the first few weeks getting comfortable to sleep.

Good luck in your recovery.

Laurie

 

[ironmike]

thanks for relating your experiences J and L
its not quite the big production getting in and out of bed today and i'm noticing less pain. still got a puffy foot and tight knee though
anyway, i see the idea is to not push too hard with the recovery,so i expect to be laying around until the swelling goes down
the situation w the skinnier leg is what concerns me also, and i'll be looking into exercises to develop just that, i think its still possible for folks in our age group. ...oh well, gonna elevate the leg (i'm a righty too)
Mike

 

[BigDog Mom]

Hi Mike,
It sounds like you need to make ICE packs your friend for a while. I had ice on my incisions every time I was seated for the first two weeks and it made a tremendous difference. I even took them to bed with me. I had very little swelling, mostly it was at the incision area where the tissue was traumatized. Large bags of frozen peas wrapped in a dish towel work great.

Best wishes,
Donna

 

[UTdave]

Mike,

Agree with the BigDog. My PT showed me a cool trick, which is just to make or buy a couple of slurry ice packs (one that is water and alcohol mix) about 6x3x1 inch so one is always in the freezer. As soon as you're ready to sit down after PT, throw one in your pocket. When you're sitting, it will fall pretty much over your incision. If you're like me, it's likely you're spending a lot of time in PJs now anyhow and the pockets should easily accommodate an ice pack. Otherwise, it's hard to strap something onto that area (maybe a gun holster? ;-)