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post-op pain

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1grampa

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May 28, 2009
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United States--Edgewood, Wa.
Not sure where this goes, please move to proper area. Am 70 yrs. young and always have been very active, not athletic, just active. Have been "waddling" for several years as I thought most of my leg pain was caused by bad lumbar discs for which I had received EPI shots for every couple of years. But an increase in "lightning" leg pain led me back to my Ortho. Surg. who x-rayed the hip, smiled and said "I can fix that, 100%". So on May 11th 2009 I received a new right hip joint. Believe its called an implant as its not cemented, has to let the bone grow into it. Surg. has told me he did not cut and reattach any muscles or ligaments, just had to slice a couple to get into the socket area so they should heal nicely. I have always healed fairly quickly from any injuries and have almost too high a pain threshold to be safe so thought this would be a cake walk. WRONG! Left the hospital on May 13th because I was so full of Percoset I could walk the corridor the proper distance. I seem to have twisted my knee 2 days after coming home and the exercises just seem to keep it from healing. I had home therapy till two weeks ago and then changed to out therapy. The latter therapist said I should NOT have been doing some of the exercises since it was an implant instead of cemented and the bone wasn't strong enough yet due to being drilled out. Anyway after 4 weeks the dull ache in the bone finally left me so I could get off the Percoset. It only masked it anyway, never quite took it away. Then of course I had some withdrawal symptoms from taking that junk for a month. Yes I'm glad it was there, I needed it but cannot believe people take it for fun. Anyway I'm at 6 weeks now and now have a new pain right in the groin area. A moderator has drawn a pic in the "PSOA TENDON" discussion on May 9th and that locates my pain as well. Its an area about 3" wide by 3-4" deep in the #2 and extending to #3. About 1" in from the side of the hip. Really burns when I put any weight on the leg. Seems to be right under the skin, not deep at all.Tylenol doesn't touch it. Any ideas? Believe I have the Anterior type as the incision is high on the hip. Will post a pic in the pic section if I can. Any suggestions will be appreciated. thanks.
 
Hi Granpa. Good job Posting.....I had my knee done so I would be afraid to tell you anything. Im sure the hips will post soon to help you. I sure hope you start to feel better soon and it all goes away. I think if you get this figured out you will be glad you did this...Good luck to you!!!!!!!!
 
Hi, Grampa....welcome to BoneSmart. Our forum nurse, Josephine, will be online here soon and I'm sure will have some comments about your post. We also have many, many folks with hip replacements who will chat with you about your experiences. Hopefully we can get all your questions and concerns addressed quickly!
 
Just a little additional info on the various pain I have--I am wearing a knee brace for now which seems to help somewhat. May be the placebo effect but sugar pills work for me sometimes! Also doing the R.I.C.E.. But the whole problem is that the pain interferes with the rehab. exercises. I'm still on a crutch, the inside adductor (?) muscle is too weak to stand on and still can't raise my leg off the bed when laying on my back. Sideways is not a problem altho I need to stretch some pelvic muscles to get back on a horse! It is possible this is all related to years of not having a proper hip but had hoped for quicker results.
 
hi and welcome. I too am a knee patient. However, may I suggest you call your doctor. He may want you to come in and be checked.

Good luck
 
HI. Gampa! It's nice to get you senior guys on here - makes me feel young again! :hehe:

Since you've nicely diagnosed your problem as psoas tendonitis, you really need to be doing some stretches and getting some massage from the PT to settle it down. You might also take some anti-inflammatories as well to get rid of the - um - inflammation!

Other than that, it's mostly a question of rest and wait. These things can take some time to settle down.Your horse may not be enjoying your company for some time yet, I'm afraid!

Apart from that, I think you've done really well under the circumstances.
 
Hi Grampa
Well I had my right hip replaced last summer. It is a wonderful surgery. I also had knee surgery and back surgery since so understand your issues. Time is needed. A good physical therapist also. Muscles go south so darn quickly too.
Well you got the info from Jo, can't do any better than that.:D
WElcome to this great supportive forum.
I do think 6 weeks after surgery is still the early stages so be kind to yourself.
judy
 
Actually Jo. I hadn't meant to diagnose the problem, only wanted to use the chart to point out the trouble areas where the pain is. But will use that info with my therapist and see where that leads us. Thanks for the quick response from everyone and the kind words. Will let you know down the road how this turns out. For now can only say am really really getting tired of that phrase---no pain no gain!!! At 70 I feel I've kinda paid my dues on that part. GRIN
 
Your gure have, grampa! Please be kind to yourself and don't overdo it! It's so easy to do that!
 
Hi Grampa--welcome!

You didn't say what kind of exercises you were doing to have your therapist "tsk, tsk" about uncemented, but if your surgeon didn't restrict your weight bearing, you very likely didn't do anything awful! I had uncemented and was allowed to use my new hip immediately--"as tolerated"--which basically was whatever felt comfortable. (I also saw the scar pic you posted--looks like you had what's often called "anterolateral"--or "from the side." Man, that's some serious color! BTW--I had anterior--I was on my back for surgery & my incision was right over the top of the joint--about 4" long.)

Anyway, sorry you're having some other muscle/tendon issues, but they do sometimes happen, and as Jo says, do eventually go away.

Glad to have you join us!
 
Grampa, Welcome! You came to the right place for information and support regarding THR. I also had uncemented implants and like PRGal was allowed "full weight bearing as tolerated" immediately after surgery. The uncemented implants are inserted with a "press fit" so they aren't going anywhere even before the bone ingrowth completes. In fact, weight bearing speeds the process of ingrowth as the body reacts to the load. I hope your PT can guide you through the recovery and get you past this pain you are having. You will be there soon! Good luck to you.
Gail
 
My pt says that "no pain no gain" is not true. If you push into the pain TOO much then you could end up doing more damage, so just take it easy and let your body's pain signals tell you when you've pushed hard enough
 
Your PT is a very wise person, Kangaroo!!! The old story of "listen to your body" is the best action.
 
There's many are ruing the day they believed Jane Fonda on that!
 
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