THR Physical Therapy Experiences

BrokenBeaker

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2pm local time and doing important post-op activities: Chipotle.

I’m starving! So far my biggest issue is that I must have scratches the heck out of my eye upon waking. The hip? Indescribable. It’s almost weird. But great weird. My leg just works.
 
Woohoo! New hip for you. :happydance:

2pm local time and doing important post-op activities: Chipotle.
I see a hungry guy with a shiny new hip and sense of humor intact.
They must have your pain well managed and if that changes, let them know. I hope they’re providing ice.

Try to get through the Recovery Guidelines that, Pumpkin, left you above. When you feel up to posting again, please join us on the recovery side where you’ll get a lot more feedback.
Wishing you comfort and a peaceful night!
 
Woohoo! New hip for you. :happydance:

2pm local time and doing important post-op activities: Chipotle.
I see a hungry guy with a shiny new hip and sense of humor intact.
They must have your pain well managed and if that changes, let them know. I hope they’re providing ice.

They handled and responded to my pain amazingly well. With chronic pain for so long it is hard to score what my pain level is. I said something like “6” the nurse looked at me and said, “Yeah no, I’m going to give you a little something.”

I had ice packs in the hospital, stuff going into the U IV and Cheez-Its. Good times.

In recovery, the longest and most annoying part was getting the sedatives flushed out of my system. I was thrilled with the hip. Even with limitations in recovery, I still had more flexibility than before!

I was starving and after I got discharged I got myself a burrito bowl. By “myself” I mean I didn’t do **** and the wife got me food.
 
My timeline:
Arrived at 5:30am. Went back at 5:45. Got into the bed at 6am

7:00-ish surgery start
9:30-ish end; ~2.5 hour surgery

Walking by 1:30pm. About 4 hours post-op

Discharge a bit before 2pm.
Chipotle at 2:10.
 
BrokenBeaker,
You are off to a good start for your recovery, glad your hip already feels better.
Wishing you a restful night.
 
@BrokenBeaker welcome to the recovery side. I moved your post op posts to a recovery thread for you. Please keep all your updates and questions on this thread so that we have all your information in one place if we need to advise you.

Here are your recovery guidelines:
Hip Recovery: The Guidelines
We are all different, as are the approaches to this recovery and rehab. The key is, “Find what works for YOU.“ Your doctor(s), physiotherapist(s) and BoneSmart are here to help. But you have the final decision as to what approach you use.

1. Don’t worry: Your body will heal all by itself. Relax, let it, don't try and hurry it, don’t worry about any symptoms now, they are almost certainly temporary
2. Control discomfort:
rest
ice
take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)​
3. Do what you want to do BUT
a. If it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physical therapist - to do it to you​
b. If your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again.​
4. PT or exercise can be useful BUT take note of this BoneSmart philosophy for sensible post op therapy
5. Here is a week-by-week guide for Activity progression for THRs
6. Access these pages on the website

Pain management and the pain chart
Healing: how long does it take?
Chart representation of THR recovery

Dislocation risk and 90 degree rule
Energy drain for THRs
Pain and swelling control: elevation is the key
Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it
Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds
Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?

BIG TIP: Hips actually don't need any exercise to get better. They do a pretty good job of it all on their own if given half a chance. Trouble is, people don't give them a chance and end up with all sorts of aches and pains and sore spots. All they need is the best therapy which is walking and even then not to excess.

We try to keep the forum a positive and safe place for our members to talk about their questions or concerns and to report successes with their joint replacement surgery.

While members may create as many threads as they like in a majority of BoneSmart's forums, we ask that each member have only one recovery thread. This policy makes it easier to go back and review history before providing advice.
 
I stayed overnight which worked out good for me. They put some kind of pain block inside you when they do the deal. It's all fun and games when that wears off. I was a hero in the hospital on my first walk, then the pain hit.
 
This morning was a bit rough. As I told the wife it seemed like the “good stuff” from the hospital wore off.

I’m on:
Hydrocodone/Acetaminophen (7.5mg
Gabapentin
Predinsone
Aspirin

So I was a bit sore this morning. I use sore to describe my muscles being tight. It didn’t feel painful per se, but like I needed to stretch out my leg but couldn’t. Anyhow, after I took my morning medicine followed by a bit of ice I did my first home exercises. Pretty simple stuff, but some were definitely a bit more difficult. Stretching the muscles via the exercises definitely help. Plus the drugs.
 
Stretching is fine - gentle stretches. But any other "exercise" it not necessary this early out. Walking about your house is enough for a new hip. Remember - you are not in training, you are healing from major trauma.
 
Day 4 Post-Op Recovery:

Things are going well. I've decided to taper back on the hydrocodone/acetaminophen (7.5/325mg) and now taking Tylenol (500mg). I hate how hydrocodone makes me feel in the day. However, I'll still pop the hydrocodone at night to be sure I get a restful sleep. May switch to ibuprofen if acetaminophen doesn't do it for me.

Working on my prescribed exercises. More stretches than anything. I'm able to zoom around the house a bit and occasionally even walk away from the walker. On Day 3 I managed to set myself adrift halfway between the kitchen island and my walker. The wife had to push the walker my way. I can stand well enough, but I still have a little lack of confidence in really walking.

Waiting to hear from the physical therapist, should be today, so we'll see what the next steps are.
 
Because of all that's gone on over pain meds it's become a thing to get off of the pain meds. They are there for a good reason and if used as per prescribed they can make recovery easier. The one thing to watch is the take pain meds so the exercises don't hurt cycle. If you watch the video of what they do to us it just makes sense that we hurt post op and that the muscles really need to just heal and not be worked. You mention a bit of ice, ice is the greatest and it takes long periods of icing to get the benefit. I had an icing machine and used it any time I was stationary.
 
Ice is the best!

I've seen my father struggle with pain medication stuff, and my step-mother ended up killing herself with booze and pain pills. So I'm quite careful with the stuff. But not dumb. I took my hydrocodone at night and plan on for the foreseeable future because I think getting solid sleep is important for recovery. I hate the mental fog that the opioids bring, and frankly I have a lot of reading to catch up on! So trying to balance my mental health and physical health. Ice helps.
 
I just had a right total hip replacement about 5 days ago. I've been feeling pretty darned good and been doing my prescribed home exercises. I was told some conflicting information about PT. Now it seems like they will get back to me after my two-week post-op follow-up.

In some internet reading, as dangerous as that might be, it seems like PT for hip replacements is hit or miss. Meaning not everyone gets formal PT sessions.

I was curious what others experienced in this regard.
 
I started pt a few days after surgery, twice a week at home, for three weeks. The therapist gave me very gentle exercises. He encouraged, but didn't push hard. He was a godsend for his practical advice about ADLs and rest/sleep comfort. The pt practice is in the same group as the surgeon, so my therapist was very familiar with my surgeon's restrictions and expectations.
At 3 weeks I went to the out-patient pt clinic. Again, the therapist was gentle and never pushed when I told her something was uncomfortable or too difficult to do. I experienced what I call workout stiffness, but never pain afterwards.

I had signed up for OneStep before surgery and stuck with it (still!). My programs through OS almost exactly mirror what the local pt had me doing. A couple of times the OS therapist added a couple of exercises that violated my surgeon's restrictions, but replaced them when I told her about it.

I made a lot of progress at pt but stopped because with drive time it was a 3 hour chunk out of my day. I intend to go back for a few sessions soon. I intend to continue with OneStep for a while. I enjoy the program a lot.

I think it's important to know your limits and not be shy about telling your therapist if something is too much. "No." is a complete sentence and I used it with both the in person and OneStep therapy. Both therapists ask(ed) for feedback after sessions, whether something left me in pain, or helped, or whatever.
 
@BrokenBeaker

We have the following tip in the Recovery Guidelines we give to members:

BIG TIP: Hips actually don't need any exercise to get better. They do a pretty good job of it all on their own if given half a chance. Trouble is, people don't give them a chance and end up with all sorts of aches and pains and sore spots. All they need is the best therapy which is walking and even then not to excess.

PT can be useful if it is appropriate PT, but sometimes, depending on the therapist you get, it isn’t always appropriate for your recovery. They all have differing opinions about what you should do. This is why we tell members to listen to their body, as it is the boss of this recovery, and if any exercise causes pain during or after you do it, then your particular hip is not ready for that exercise.

You’re right, not all surgeons send their patients to PT, some surgeons are very confident that just walking is all you need, and their patients do very well.

By the way, I merged your newest thread with your original recovery thread, as we prefer that members in recovery have only one thread.

This benefits you because all your information is in one place, easy to find, and maintains a nice journal for you.

This also benefits our staff, as your information is all in one place, and we often go back through your thread for previous details, so we know what you‘ve been through which helps us advise you better.

So, please keep all your posts in this thread. If you’d like a new title, let us know what you want, and we’ll change it for you.

Many members bookmark their thread in their computer browser, so they can find it when they log on.
How can I find my threads and posts?

Best wishes on your continuing recovery! :flwrysmile:
 
Like you, I’ve heard both sides of the story, good and bad, so mine is just one example. That said, my experience was extremely positive. I did 2 visits in home and then started outpatient. At first it was a combination of stretching and working to get the swelling down. We then progressed to strengthening exercises. I went twice per week for about 9 weeks. I never had a set back. But I stopped going because I got busy with work. I didn’t have time to walk either, which I was doing every day. I started to develop bursitis and a tight IT band. For last 3 weeks I’ve been back to PT, same therapist, once per week and I feel so much better.
Others may not have had a good experience and their stories are very valid too, but my PT really helped me a lot.
 
I had 6 sessions at home PT the two weeks following surgery. I have had no PT since then. On my last doctor visit we discussed it but my OS opinion was based on my current progress he did not feel it was necessary. I did return to gym at three weeks and have been gradually increasing resistance using leg machines. I was hesitant to stretch at first because I did not know if I could cause harm to new hip. My doctor assured me gentle stretching is fine just not to overdue it or stretch to hard. (anterior approach) Since that visit I have been doing gentle stretching. I think their is a lot of different opinions on PT. I had 7 weeks of PT prior to surgery when the goal was to avoid surgery. (did not work) Most of those exercises I am starting to at home now.
 
My OS said I could go to outside PT if I wanted but he warned me that they'd probably hurt me and do more harm than good. Many on here get prescribed PT and suffer, then when they mention it to their OS they tell them to stop going.
 
Hello all, I’m March 1 2021 ( 7 month ) this last 2 week I have rejoined the gym, been almost every day. 30 mins treadmill walk or 30 mins bike, 10 mins cross trainer, leg & calf presses x 15x 3, gluteus 15x 3, some upper weights all on highest notch, lowest resistance. Swimming & pool walking x 4 x 30 mins.
Result still achy, but feel hip is about the best it’s been since op, can stand on one leg x 30 seconds, 30 skips skipping rope. Still someways to go for running. Cardio very encouraging.
68, 11 st 4, never smoked, but got bloody early stage Parkinson’s (only shaky tremor left hand currently)
Hope that’s of some help, everyone different and believe you me you dunna want to look like moi! Good luck everyone.
 

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