THR One year anniversary THR

[Diamond77]

Looking forward to some community support although I do feel like a bit of an outlier!

I think at the end of the day, we all have to do what’s best for us individually. If you are able and wanting to do PT, that’s fantastic. Just like our surgical approaches, our reasons for needing THR, etc….we are all in our own paths to recovery. Glad your visit today went well for you.

 

[Sohowarrior]

Thank you for your support, sounds as if you had a good day yourself! Hope your headache situation resolves shortly and happy you are not otherwise having hip pain.

 

[subie2021]

I'm sort of an outlier regarding pt also. I started days after surgery and am continuing because I was/am so debilitated from two years avoiding my usual activities due to the pain. PT has done wonders for me and I'm grateful to have it available.

I believe the key is to go slowly and to pay attention to how our new hip reacts to pt or any other activity. I've read on here about people hurting themselves from pushing, or allowing themselves ro be pushed by therapists. I remember one who dislocated from doing bridges very early on. Or clams causing big problems early in recovery. It's a pity that folks allow themselves to be pushed too far because they believe when a therapist says they must, regardless of pain or other problems. One motto that has served me well in life is "'No' is a complete sentence" and it can be applied to post op exercise as well.

We all have different recovery journeys. Isn't it great to have a resource like BoneSmart where we can benefit from the experiences of thousands of hippies? It helps so much to have a map for our journey, with both detours and shortcuts marked for us; we can choose the route we take with lots of advice and input from those who have been down the road before.

Best of luck in meeting all your goals.

 

[newguy]

The PT I did was self administered and much better than dealing with the trip to and from . I had the list of exercises and being a runner and athlete my entire 65 years I knew what to and what not to do . My walking was the key though . I have a jaded view of many PT therapists. Heck the one checking me out of surgery was giving me wrong information and I just kept quiet . Had my replacement at Duke in NC . Head of Orthopedic and Department head at Duke University.

 

[Klassy]

Hi @Sohowarrior . I think that you may be an outlier, on the happy side of the curve. It’s good to hear your experience. I certainly support your doing what feels right for you. If all continues to go as well for you as it has so far (and I sincerely hope it will and see no reason why not), then you will provide a wonderful inspiration for future members wondering whether to go ahead with a hip replacement. And if it goes awry, ( don’t expect so, but if), well, there is always good company in the Over Did It Club

 

[Layla]

Does anyone have any other ideas for some safe things I can do physically at home while I count down the days to May 13? Any links I can look at? I would clear anything new with my surgeon, of course.

Hello and Happy Thursday, SHW
It may be best and save you time if you check with your OS’s office, or your PT for some ideas, just to be on the safe side, rather than filtering our suggestions through them. I’ve never checked, but I’m guessing the HSS would have some informative links online. May be worth checking out. Hope today is a good day!

 

[newguy]

Just go for walks. Enjoy the new hip and no pain. Nothing more needed at this point))

 

[Sohowarrior]

Thanks to you both, I very much appreciate your input and advice and I’ll keep you posted. I do think there are some exercises posted on the “don’t do” list that belong there. And I’m a definite proponent of walking, going to try for 1 and 1/2 later today.

 

[Sohowarrior]

HSS does have quite a bit of info on line, including a portal dedicated to golfers who have had hip and knee replacement. Just found that and sent it to my golf pro. I tried two gentle stretches on the bed this morning which PT suggested, one was an adduction stretch of only 5 or 6 inches, and the other was to slowly let the leg dangle off the side in order to stretch the quad. Both felt really good, just did it a couple of times in order to be cautious and see how they go. I also did about 30 minutes of theraloop and light weights for upper body while seated in a chair. Felt so good to get my shoulders and arms moving, no stress at all on the new hip. Feel like I am in a good place, mentally and physically.

 

[newguy]

Who plays golf in NYC?? Only kidding, but I must tell you there was a course we played on Staten Island in the late 1970s where you needed a sledge hammer to get your tee in and a few broken down cars on the fairways!!

 

[Sohowarrior]

I want to add my thoughts on my incision and scar. Obviously, at 16 days out, it’s still pretty red and nasty. It’s also only 4 inches long and I’m quite sure it will fade over the next few months. I’m not using any kind of ointment or lotion on it as it’s still raw and I don’t want to mess with it. But at 67 years old, I’m far more concerned about getting back to my pre surgery life and sports activities than I am about a 4 inch scar on my still relatively shapely butt. Not my priority!!!

 

[benne68]

I have the utmost respect for your point of view. Nonetheless, it’s not shared by my surgeon nor, I believe, by most of the other THR specialists at HSS, consistently acknowledged as one of the elite orthopedic hospitals in the world. My PT began at home two days after I was discharged from the hospital, with three visits the following week. That is consistent with HSS practice.

Hi @Sohowarrior Happy to hear you are doing so well with your recovery.

However, for the benefit of the many other folks on this forum, I'd like to address your statement about "HSS practice." While this may be what your surgeon recommended, it is not -- in my experience or the experience of my primary care physician who sent me to HSS for my TKR) -- general practice of HSS THR specialists.

I had both my THR and my TKR at HSS. There were a marked differences in the recovery recommendations:

• After my hip surgery, my surgeon said "You do NOT need PT following a hip replacement. Our research shows the best therapy is walking. I want you to start walking as soon as possible and build up until you can are doing at least one mile a day." I followed this advice and my hip recovery was excellent.
  
  
• When I had my TKR, the advice was this: "This recovery is hard and you are going to need some PT. However, I don't want you to do anything except rest, ice and elevate during the first 2 weeks post-op, then you can start therapy." I also followed this advice and am quite happy with my recovery at 7 months post-op.

I'm very glad your surgeon's advice is working for you -- and it's absolutely fine to share that information with others on this forum. But recognize that HSS has a lot of surgeons on staff and they all have their own preferences for patient recovery, so it's misleading to make blanket statements like this about hospital's practice.

Good luck with your continued recovery.

 

[Sohowarrior]

Yes, it’s not exactly the golf capital of the world. The public course you remember on Staten Island is still horrible but the private Staten Island CC is gorgeous. We belong to a club on Long Island. Have dear friends in Greensboro and have played quite a bit in that area.

 

[Sohowarrior]

I have the utmost respect for your point of view. Nonetheless, it’s not shared by my surgeon nor, I believe, by most of the other THR specialists at HSS, consistently acknowledged as one of the elite orthopedic hospitals in the world. My PT began at home two days after I was discharged from the hospital, with three visits the following week. That is consistent with HSS practice.

Hi @Sohowarrior Happy to hear you are doing so well with your recovery.

However, for the benefit of the many other folks on this forum, I'd like to address your statement about "HSS practice." While this may be what your surgeon recommended, it is not -- in my experience or the experience of my primary care physician who sent me to HSS for my TKR) -- general practice of HSS THR specialists.

I had both my THR and my TKR at HSS. There were a marked differences in the recovery recommendations:

• After my hip surgery, my surgeon said "You do NOT need PT following a hip replacement. Our research shows the best therapy is walking. I want you to start walking as soon as possible and build up until you can are doing at least one mile a day." I followed this advice and my hip recovery was excellent.
  
  
• When I had my TKR, the advice was this: "This recovery is hard and you are going to need some PT. However, I don't want you to do anything except rest, ice and elevate during the first 2 weeks post-op, then you can start therapy." I also followed this advice and am quite happy with my recovery at 7 months post-op.

I'm very glad your surgeon's advice is working for you -- and it's absolutely fine to share that information with others on this forum. But recognize that HSS has a lot of surgeons on staff and they all have their own preferences for patient recovery, so it's misleading to make blanket statements like this about hospital's practice.

Good luck with your continued recovery.

If I’m incorrect, and that may well be the case, then I stand corrected. When I went for my surgery prescreening, my last stop was at PT at the hospital. I was given a generic pamphlet with exercises to do after posterior hip replacement. It was not confined to my specific surgeon. It actually included standing adduction exercises which my at home PT said was no longer advised, yet it was still in the pamphlet and not redacted, he said it must have been an old pamphlet. I was told I would have at home PT which was arranged by HSS and then I could choose outpatient at HSS or on my own. No one ever suggested to me that PT was not needed other than walking. So I assumed (always a mistake) that this was standard HSS practice with a posterior approach. I’m doing well and will stick with this for now, but you can be sure I will bring this up at the appropriate time. Thanks for sharing, this is good to know. On a more positive note, I went out for lunch today and no Tylenol since noon!

 

[benne68]

I was given a generic pamphlet with exercises to do after posterior hip replacement. It was not confined to my specific surgeon. It actually included standing adduction exercises which my at home PT said was no longer advised, yet it was still in the pamphlet and not redacted, he said it must have been an old pamphlet.

Oh, those pamphlets! I was given the exact same one for my THR and TKR -- and they were almost two years apart! I know HSS is a non-profit, but you would think a hospital that size would update their handouts occasionally.

 

[Layla]

So I assumed (always a mistake) that this was standard HSS practice with a posterior approach. I’m doing well and will stick with this for now, but you can be sure I will bring this up at the appropriate time. Thanks for sharing, this is good to know. On a more positive note, I went out for lunch today and no Tylenol since noon!

If you’re interested in typing HSS into the SEARCH at the top of the page, posts where the Hospital for Special Surgery is mentioned will pop up…and there are many pages worth. I’m sure each members account of their PT experience, or healing without PT varies as widely as each recovery does.

Hope you enjoyed your lunch away from home. A change of scenery does a body good.
Happy Saturday!

 

[Sohowarrior]

Sunday update at almost 3 weeks past surgery. Everything is improving, even my bruises, which were extensive. I had some tightness in my quad which has decreased quite a bit with ice and elevation and a gentle static stretch with leg dangling off the bed while I’m lying flat. Swelling also has begun to reduce, I may even try leggings instead of sweat pants later in the week!
I’m walking about 2 and 1/2 miles a day plus doing my bed and standing exercises. Stairs maybe twice a day. I have a very slight tightness on inside of ankle with minimal swelling that also abates with ice and elevation, but I have no pain and I have full foot flexion and can do prescribed calf raises (which I do slowly). I’m going to wear an ankle wrap today for my afternoon jaunt and show the ankle a bit more love!
Most important: pain level is close to zero. More grateful than I can explain!

 

[Sohowarrior]

One month and one day out and all is good. Progressing beautifully in my humble opinion, and that of my PT. Bruising has gone from eggplant purple to almost nonexistent. My last bandages fell off a couple of days ago and I’m starting to gently massage lotion into the area where my dissolvable stitches are to keep the area supple, loosen the tightness and break up scar tissue. Just a bit of minimal tenderness in the area and swelling almost gone. I’m walking and doing all my exercises, all pain free. Taking Tylenol in the morning and maybe once more during the day. Sleeping is fine, I’ve always been an insomniac but I’m actually sleeping better now. And my left hip, which I assume will need to be addressed at some point, has been completely pain free. Go figure! Don’t know why or how long that will continue but I’ll take it! Best to all!

 

[Mojo333]

Good to hear things are going well.
Happy One Month Hipversary!

 

[Layla]

All good news! Thanks for the update and a Happy One Month Anniversary to you!
@Sohowarrior