THR Pain at 5 months

[Jumeirah]

Hi there.

I am 9 weeks out from surgery and I still have a lot of stiffness and aching. I think it is totally normal what you experience.. My left side also occasionally hurts. My PT Tom’s me that it is because we still don’t walk normally and so many muscles are used in a way, that we normally don’t use them.

Some days are better than others. If I overdo things, I feel like jumping back to 2 weeks after surgery, with pain especially in the back of my thigh all the way down to my knee. Then I have to rest, Ice and take 2 paracetamol . I am also very surprised and so annoyed that this recovery journey seems so endless..All the cram you read that you will be climbing and running around feeling fine after 5-6 weeks is just not true . But this forum is just such a help. I read here that the most of us are feeling the same. We have good and we have bad days .

I still have quit a swelling beneath my scar and that is my biggest problem, because it starts to burn inside that swelling, when I sit down for more than 20 minutes . You can also see that swelling if I where trousers or a dress , when the fabric is tight. It’s like a lupm How are your swelling doing? Icing don’t seem to help for the swelling in my case , it just help for the burning pain, which of cause is nice.

I really don’t think you have to worry

 

[myglasshalffull]

What you are experiencing is quite normal in a recovery that can take some of us longer than others.
Have you considered backing off PT for a few days & just walk & ice when you are relaxing? See if that helps.

 

[Layla]

I'm walking and doing the exercises I was given in PT.

Hi Alabama girl,
Try leaving the exercises out of the mix for a week or more while you continue walking and engaging in the activities of daily living and see if you notice a difference. Also, continue to ice for the pain and swelling which causes the stiffness.

It is not necessary to exercise your injured hip to promote healing. The controlled trauma sustained through THR will heal on its own. Often though, we're impatient and want to move the process along. In doing so we run the risk of struggling with pain and setbacks stalling the healing process. The best therapy for recovery is walking, but not to excess. Start slowly increasing time and distance incrementally in an effort not to overdo it.

Best wishes for your appointment this week! Let us know how it goes.

 

[Alabama girl57]

The swelling is back. It was much better, but last couple days it is worse. Especially right behind my incision going back towards my buttocks. The aching is the entire hip fom top of pelvis to inside of groin. And my lateral knee is giving me fits too. I'm walking on my own and thought this is great, but now feel discouraged

 

[Layla]

Hi again Alabama girl,
Adjust your activity in an effort to reduce the pain so it resolves. Rest and Icing should help. It is still early into your recovery in the entire scheme of things. it doesn't take much to aggravate healing soft tissue. Ice ALL ares that are causing discomfort or pain for as often as you're able, always placing fabric between the ice source and bare skin. This includes icing your knee also. It takes time for our bodies to adjust to the prosthetic and it sometimes causes these migrating pains. I am not certain if the knee issue is new, or ongoing since surgery. If its the latter, the knee is often manipulated rather aggressively during the dislocation process and often results in soreness, tenderness or pain for quite sometime post op. I experienced this myself. Try not to be discouraged, the healing process can take months and I do believe given more time these issues will resolve. Brighter days are on the way!
@Alabama girl57

 

[Hippie Chick]

There is a roller coaster picture on the forum somewhere. Everything seems to be getting easier and then another hill pops up. A great visual of recovery some days.

 

[Jumeirah]

The swelling is back. It was much better, but last couple days it is worse. Especially right behind my incision going back towards my buttocks. The aching is the entire hip fom top of pelvis to inside of groin. And my lateral knee is giving me fits too. I'm walking on my own and thought this is great, but now feel discouraged

Like I said I also have this stupid swelling right behind my incision and a bit below and like you towards my buttocks . I’m 9 weeks out and yesterday morning I really thought that it was a little less. Today it’s back and no difference to all the other weeks If it wasn’t for this swelling I think I would be quit good. Well I still limp, but that’s my smallest problem at the moment. I just want this swelling to go away and never come back.. I have a feeling that the swelling causes my pain and burning feeling … I wish you a painless evening or day. Here in Europe it’s evening now..

 

[benne68]

my groin aches like before surgery occasionally and even the left side aches occasionally too. Is this normal? How long will this stiffness last.

Yes, it is completely normal! The groin pain does go away with time, although I found it would flare up once and a while quite unexpectedly. The stiffness is also something that resolve with time.

Walking is the very best exercise for rehabbing your hip, so keep it up! But remember that you are less than two months into this year-long recovery. Try to be patient. It does get better.

 

[Alabama girl57]

Update: tomorrow I'm 8 weeks out from my RTHR. Overall I'm doing well. I still have good and bad days. Still stiffness in hip, burning pain if I don't take the gabapentin and muscle relaxer. The lateral side of my knee on the rt leg continues to hurt the more active I become. Fatigue is still an issue if I try to do too much. I'm now driving with no issues. I still have to ice and elevate a few times a week.
I'm no longer using any assistance to walk. Having some groin pain still as well. Does all this seem pretty normal for 8 weeks post op?

 

[myglasshalffull]

Yes, to me sounds like a normal recovery so far. Ice & elevation will be your friends for awhile.
My knee was very sore for awhile as well. It all sorts itself out somehow & then you will reach various milestones in your recovery. We like to envision our recovery in days, weeks months & think that there's a magic date that you just wake up & feel perfect.
But you will have various times in your recovery where you will feel great & then some days not so much, you kind of learn to listen to your body & go with the flow & what your body wants/needs each day. That's how it was for me anyway.
And bonesmart contributors really helped ease my anxiety that my recovery was somehow too slow or very different.
I wish you well.

 

[Alabama girl57]

Thank you

 

[Layla]

Good and bad days are normal in this often year long recovery. Comfort level is often dependent on activity level, or lack thereof. Knee pain is a common complaint. I experienced it myself for many months post op. It is likely related to the dislocation process during which the knee may have been manipulated rather aggressively. I suggest icing your knee along with any other areas of swelling, discomfort or pain.

Fatigue is also normal while we are in healing mode after major surgery. Our energy will be used for healing first, not leaving a great reserve for all the other activity of daily life. It is completely normal to feel tired for quite some time. How long....most likely relates to your body's rate of healing. Making our best effort to get adequate sleep and rest is beneficial. Our body does it's best healing while we're sleeping.

Keep up the good work and enjoy the weekend, AG!
@Alabama girl57

 

[Hippie Chick]

Fatigue is real. I also find that I am more tired when the temperature soars. I can feel big weather changes more too. Most non-hippies do not get it I find.

 

[Alabama girl57]

Update: today I am 2 months out from my surgery. I am doing pretty well. Pretty much back to normal activity. I'm driving again, and took a ride last weekend on the motorcycle. (Trike). I still have swelling over my actual hip and the muscle on the outside of my thigh to my knee is still pretty sore. My Sr appointment at 7 weeks went well. Dr said everything is healing well. He told me I lost alot of blood at time of surgery which is partly why I have frequent episodes of fatigue. Also body is still healing. I still elevate and ice pretty frequently. The pain is intermittent depending on my activity, I finally feel like I'm getting my life back. Pain is nothing like it was before surgery.

 

[luvcats]

During my first recovery, I had the strangest cravings. I read up on them and turns out a lot of pregnant women crave ketchup for low iron. I have no idea
why those are connected, but I certainly craved ketchup, so I started taking my preferred iron supplement and it went away and I felt much better. If you are supplement oriented, you might try one out for fatigue, or at least increase red meat and spinach for a while.

 

[mendogal]

A word on oral iron supplements: my primary care doc says current research sees no benefit in taking more than twice weekly. Take with vit. C and don't take a calcium supplement (or dairy) at the same time of day.

 

[Layla]

Happy Two Month Anniversary!
Sounds like you're making steady progress and doing well.
Have a great Thursday and weekend!
@Alabama girl57

 

[myglasshalffull]

Happy 2 month anniversary. Regarding your iron level. We lose a lot of blood during surgery. My iron levels were low as well. My partner & I donate blood every 8 weeks & I was deferred from donating on my first try after surgery (6 months after my surgery). My iron was too low. I consulted my primary who is a very practical no nonsense doctor and asked her if I should take an iron supplement & she told me to go home & eat a steak!
Eat iron rich foods that is best way to build your iron back up.

 

[sportbrown]

Glad to see you're coming along!

 

[Alabama girl57]

My Rthr was on June 7th. Overall I'm doing well, but I continue to have alot of swelling. Finished a round of steroids that reduced the swelling, but now a few days after finishing meds, swelling is back worse than ever. I've been icing and elevating since the surgery.. Any ideas? Is this normal or common?