THR One year post-op

[alexthecat]

Haldox, the gal in the second photo definitely isn't at 90 degrees in her front knee. If you have a yoga mat, you can use that to check the angle of your front leg. If your body is centered on the mat, your front shin should be parallel to the front edge of the mat.

If you've mastered that, the next step is to lift your torso. If that gives you a pinch in the lower back or you feel any strain, take a break for now and I'll post some stretches to help with that on Monday.

 

[haldox]

Alex-I know I am definitely not getting bottom leg at 90, is it ok to move on to lifting my torso?Or should I just keep working on getting that bottom leg at 90??

 

[alexthecat]

Haldox, go ahead and lift your torso if you want. Look out for any strain in your lower back. That's a really bad sign. As you lift up, visualize a snake stretching out, not a giraffe stretching up. Keep your spine nice and long.

You know, you're doing so well with this. Have you considered taking a yoga class with your new hips? You are such a natural and I think you would really enjoy it.

 

[haldox]

Alex-Thanks!! But I dont know if I would call myself a natural :th_heehee:(check out the pic )

Hope its ok if I post this pic..... I took trying to do this LOL Thats as far as I got lifting and didnt feel any strain in lower back. IF I tried lifting more I didnt feel "right".

Im sure something is wrong here, please let me know. @alexthecat:

 

[Anniepops]

Wow, i haven't got a clue if you're doing it right Haldox but it looks very impressive.

 

[alexthecat]

Haldox, that looks pretty amazing to me... especially for someone less than four months out from THR.

A couple of pointers... try to relax your shoulders and pull your shoulder blades down and back. Then slide your hands down a few inches. There is a tendency to put our hands under our shoulders to lift the torso. We are used to doing pushups, so that feels natural. That's not what we want here though. If you can, start with your hands under your elbows and then press up.

So, give that a try if you want and let me know how it goes. Everyone else, I'll post some photos soon to help you catch up to Haldox. Things have been busy lately but I'll try to find some time in the next few days.

 

[haldox]

Alex-Thank you again! I know your busy and yet your still here helping us

I have to really remind myself to relax the shoulders, I also hyper extend my elbows(and knees) a lot. So I try to not hyper extend and loose track of keeping shoulders relaxed in any yoga pose!:th_heehee:

And thanks Jaycey for tagging Alex:biggrin:

 

[C Mac]

Wow!! Haldox, that is great!!

...more work for me still....I guess it's my psoas that won't allow me to sit down that low to the floor -- with either leg behind me.

Don't worry I won't be sad if I can't achieve this pose. I'm happy to know that it's even an option to work towards with my fake hip!!

Haldox needs to go in the archive with Shugaplum

Take care,
Cardie

 

[alexthecat]

.I guess it's my psoas that won't allow me to sit down that low to the floor -- with either leg behind me.

This pose stretches all the muscles of the hip. It's not just about the psoas or any other muscle in particular. It's all of them working together.


Okay... time for some new pictures...

First, for Haldox, here is the next step for King Pigeon:

You may want to approach it via this:

Please be careful and, when you get there, please share another photo to inspire those coming behind you in recovery. I'll be doing this with you, so we can compare notes!


For everyone else, keep working on the piriformis:

Once you have the hip completely open in the seated stretch, lean forward to deepen the stretch.



This approximates the position of the front leg in Pigeon, so it should give you an idea of how close you are there. Do not twist your knee!


You can also begin trying to open up your back a little. Don't push these to the point of discomfort. If you feel anything more than a stretch, stop! Keep your legs long and your head and chest lifted and strong.

Here are some examples of what Cobra can look like:

Okay, then... keep me posted on how this is working for you. If you're running into difficulties, let me know and I may have suggestions to help with that.

 

[Jamie]

Wow, Alex!!! GREAT STUFF!!!

I know it's bad when even the puppy dogs do it better than I do!!!

 

[alexthecat]

Isn't that puppy adorable! I loved him too much to leave him out.

@Jamie: are all those images looking okay to you? I had a lot of trouble with one of the ones I wanted to use and ending up deleting it.

 

[Anniepops]

Loving the doggie pose...absolutely fab.

 

[Jamie]

They look just fine, Alex!

 

[Dee205]

Alex,
WOW! Thank you for all the work, inspiration, and great doggie pics! Even if I don't master those moves, you've given me something to shot for. Haldox, keep up the great job, I'm impressed:D
Dee

 

[welshjane]

Alex, thanks to you I had a eureka moment last night. I was lying in bed reading this thread on my phone, when I came across the picture of cobra. My back said 'that's just what I need' so I jumped out of bed and did cobra on the floor. Please note that I haven't done any yoga for 8 years, when I switched to Tai Chi owing to not being able to open my hips wide enough for the wide leg yoga poses. Anyway, after cobra, my back said 'ah now I know what I want: downward dog, and then the pose of the child' (well, my approximation), and wow, my back pain went away, I hopped into bed and slept like a baby! Then did that routine again when I got up this morning. It's amazing when we can actually hear what our bodies are saying. So thank you so, so much for reminding me that there are some yoga poses that I can still do, and that help. It'll be a while (like never??) before I can do the pigeon or anything like that!

 

[alexthecat]

@welshjane: that is incredible! Your body is so wise and good on you for getting down on the floor already!

I don't know how much yoga you remember, but I think your body remembers the sequence of poses called Sun Salutation and that is what it is asking for, since the poses you did form the basis of that sequence.

I'm on my phone, so I can't share a link with you. Why not google "sun salutation" and refresh your memory of that sequence? If you feel drawn to any particular pose, that may be the next thing to add to your little routine. Let me know if you need help coming up with hip-friendly modifications, okay?

 

[Ginette]

Wednesday was my first anniversary with my new hip. I had x-rays and a check up with my OS today. He said that I don't have any wear and the bone/implant interface (uncemented) looks good, so he turned me loose for three years.

He still doesn’t approve of me doing Pilates because he thinks it presents an unreasonable risk of dislocation. I’ve been doing Pilates for more than nine months now (plus about 15 years before my hip fracture) and have gotten a lot of benefit from it, so I don’t intend to give that up. I did promise not to go back to running, so we settled on that as a compromise. He is okay with biking, but told me not to fall. I said I wouldn’t. :rolleyespink:

I was unable to walk for nine months before THR, so I had a lot of atrophy in that leg going into surgery. My THR leg is still somewhat weaker (and skinnier!), but it’s not a problem in day-to-day life. I just notice it on longer bike rides and when I do certain things at the gym. He said that I have made more progress with that leg than he expected and to keep it up, but don’t put any deadlines on it… it’s a long-term project, but I’ll get there. :THUMB:

So, that’s that! After multiple failed surgeries, I never quite felt safe trusting that I would have a good outcome with THR. It’s always been a worry in the back of my mind that something might go wrong or that something was going wrong and I had no way to know. Now I feel like I just let out a big sigh. This is such a load off my mind. :happy dance:

Hello Alex, congrats on your amazing recovery...I think keeping active is a very good thing and you know what's best for you...It will be a year in august for me and i have been doing yoga and biking just like before the operation...I am feeling really strong..it's as if nothing happened ever...i think I got a really good doctor...Best Ginette

 

[welshjane]

Alex, you are so kind. I did as you suggested and yes, on seeing those videos I do remember the sun salutation. My main problem is not being able to do uttanasana, the forward bend, because I can't bend (or only so my hands reach one third of the way down the shin, not lower), and at present I can't squat either - though hopefully that will improve. The not bending must be to do with the arthritis in the lower 3 vertebrae which isn't going to go away. I don't see a way round that, but if you can, or if you can suggest ways I can improve my reach I'd be eternally grateful.

 

[alexthecat]

@welshjane: sorry for the delay in getting back to you on this. We just had our first sunny weekend since October, so I had to get outdoors.

I'm sure you know of various ways to "cheat" that forward bend. For instance, moving your feet farther apart or using yoga blocks under your hands.

It's common to have tight hamstring muscles after hip surgery, especially as you start walking more. Tightness in those muscles can cause pain in your lower back and can decrease your ROM when reaching toward the floor. Here is the thread in the Library on hamstring stretches.

I think this stretch might be good for you as well:

If your shoulders don't move that way, bring your arms in a little. The focus here should be on straightening and elongating your spine.

 

[Poppet]

Hi there Alex... I played in the sand and the waves at the beach today... raised my arms to the sky - does that count for a 'sun salutation' - it is sunny here today