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THR Ray's Right THR Recovery

Thanks, Layla! No major setbacks, but the bad weather has given me a chance for a bit of a rest. No walking yesterday except for another medical appt and daily activities. More rain today may keep me indoors again. But otherwise the new hip is doing OK. However... I am experiencing what many others report here, aches and pains in other parts, notably my other hip and my TKR. I guess my body still needs to adjust to its new part and whatever changes that has induced in my geometry and gait.

Not terrible but annoying. I believe the left hip is a bit of bursitis and I will have to try to keep that from becoming chronic. The big "problem" is that when I get on my bike and get warmed up I can get a little carried away. I am doing 45 minutes at an easy baseline pace but with several 5-minute intervals at a higher resistance. I am going to try to refrain from pushing too hard on those harder intervals.

Although at my age "playing with pain" is pretty much par for the course. Something is always going to be hurting or aching to some extent. Just the way it is.
 
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I accomplished another major milestone yesterday... although this probably could only be thought of as "major" by my fellow BoneSmarties... I went to the grocery store for a few items and just grabbed a hand basket instead of the shopping cart "walker". :)
 
Another question for those who have come before: once the tape comes off of a glued hippy incision has anyone come up with an easy way to protect that area from clothes rubbing or bumping? I don't want to apply any sort of dressing that would create a warm moist environment for the incision, just some sort of protection or padding.
 
Soft oversized articles of clothing for a short time? Soft, breathable materials, comfy fabrics that reduce friction minimizing the risk of skin irritation on sensitive skin. Think - loose-fitting, non-restrictive for maximum comfort.

Look up tear-away shorts and pants for men on Amazon to get an idea of another option.
I guess tear-away is not just an exotic dancer thing, Who Knew?!! :heehee: Hey, a new experience, Ray?!!
Hope your Saturday is a good one!
@raylo
 
@raylo I had staples too (39) and I had an allergic reaction to the adhesive on the steri strips and big bandage. I had to remove both very quickly. I wore shorts or soft fabrics. That wound will heal pretty rapidly now that the staples are out and it won't be an issue.
 
My wound is healed nicely and there is just a tiny bit of tape clinging on. I generally wear loose boxers and those are OK. I wore some jean over that yesterday and those were a little annoying. Mostly i am just staying very aware of the incision walking around the kitchen and such so I don't bang it in a counter top corner. Not that I do that very often. ;-)
 
Well, yesterday I visited the ODIC, not from walking and riding the bike but from driving. I have been wanting to visit family that is a 1000 mile drive but hadn't driven more than a half hour continuously yet until yesterday when I decided to do a bit of a test. I drove 2 1/2 hours up to help friends work at their property. Halfway there I thought that this wasn't a great idea. The hip got stiff and sore and wasn't entirely happy. But I was halfway so kept going. Then when I got there I did about 1 1 /2 hours mowing on a rider, then dinner out, then drove 2 1/2 hours home... and straight to bed. As worn out and gimpy as I was last night I don't feel all that much worse for the wear this morning... but today I won't be venturing far from the recliner. And I learned that I am not ready to take on that long road trip. Maybe in a few weeks? We'll see...
 
At just 4 weeks in to recovery you are doing remarkably well but just remember you are nowhere near healed & very easy to enter ODIC.
What's your hurry? Let the hip lead & you follow, like a slow dance...
I wish you well.
 
I laughed when I read about your 2.5 hrs drive. When I was 2 weeks post op, stapled like crazy, my son and his wife brought their new daughter home from the hospital, in full panic mode. They live in Valparaiso, Ind. and we live in the SW suburbs of Chicago, so it's over an hour drive out there on I80. My son begged me to please drive out and make sure they were feeding and burping her correctly. OMG, utterly clueless. So off we went during rush hour on a Friday afternoon when everybody in the Chicago area wants to head up into Michigan via I80, including every semi truck known to man. Over 2 hours later, we arrive. I propped my leg up and gave them a crash course on babies. Mind you, these are 2 college graduates--- but millennials, LOL. Stayed for 2 hours and thankfully the ride home was fast in less than an hour. And like you, tired and sore, but no worse. He'd better have a pretty good card for me this Mother's Day!
 
I got places to go and things to do! Plus, being 71 years old I don't feel like I have a lot of time for too much of a slow dance with this. And I have always been an every day exerciser so it is really tough to sit around too much and get fat. Well, I am trying not to get too fat, because losing it is waaaay too hard.

Then we have beautiful spring weather (when it isn't raining) and my bikes are calling me. So, I will keep trying to do as much as I can and stay just a tad out of the ODIC and make sure to protect the implants until they are solid. Yesterday was just a little too much activity, but nothing risky. And those bikes that are calling me are going to be lonely until early July. :-(

myglasshalffull said:
At just 4 weeks in to recovery you are doing remarkably well but just remember you are nowhere near healed & very easy to enter ODIC.
What's your hurry? Let the hip lead & you follow, like a slow dance...
I wish you well.
Click to expand...
 
raylo said:
Yesterday was just a little too much activity, but nothing risky. And those bikes that are calling me are going to be lonely until early July. :-(
Click to expand...
Sorry you landed on the ODIC bench. Hope you gave yourself a day off yesterday. Remember that those bikes won't be going anywhere without you!
 
Yes, I took Sunday off completely and feel more rested today, for sure. Just did a short walk and grocery run today, nothing too demanding. And don't worry, the bikes will stay in the house for now. I won't be like my brother who did some rides too early after his THRs and TKRs, even though he got away with it. I always say my mama didn't raise any dummies... except for my brother! ;-)
 
6 week update and some observations...

My new hip continues to do great. No swelling, minimal pain, and I am walking without aids. They say hips are easier than knees and they are correct. This 6 week old hip already feels as good as my 7 month old TKR, which itself feels pretty good. I saw my knee OS yesterday for a routine check and he thought I was doing "amazing" with the hip.

Just about 2 weeks ago when I started to walk the area under and around the anterior incision would get this sore/tired feeling after maybe 1/4 mile and this would persist the rest of the walk. Then about a week ago it would still start out that way but go away after awhile. Now I don't get that feeling at all anymore, so pretty steady progress that way.

Medications... I decided to stop the Celebrex yesterday and also walked 3 miles total between OS visit, grocery store run, and long walk at the park... where I met Otto, the wirehaired dachshund. He just came trotting over to me like we were long lost friends. I told his owner that this made my day. :). Then last night I rolled over and thought, darn, my hip is a little sore. So, maybe partly ODIC from walking so much, maybe partly from stopping the Celebrex? IDK. This is nothing terrible, just noticeable. So I'll probably resume the Celebrex starting with 1 per day and see if that makes a difference.
 
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Today is my 6-week anniversary, rehab still coming along smoothly, and I "celebrated" it by doing a harder walk. ~6000 steps in one walk which is not far off my highest total for a whole day so far, but I took the park perimeter path that has a lot of hills, a few approaching 10%. Oof. Last time I did this walk was back in January for my TKR rehab before the hip really went off.

The new hip did fine, actually felt better going up the hills than down, and honestly was one of the best feeling parts of my old worn out body. Lower back aching, newish left TKR clunking, other arthritic hip maybe having some bursitis, possibly due to having to adjust to the other two new body parts. LOL. But it felt good to get hot and sweaty.

Now counting down the weeks until I can get on my bikes. Beautiful days like today make it tough to just ride indoors.
 
Week 7 anniversary and nothing much to report... which is good thing. My walking and indoor cycling regimen is pretty much steady state with no setbacks or major advances. I feel like I am ready and I am itching to take my bike out on the towpath, but curbing my enthusiasm, at least for now, to follow doctor's orders.

So, stretching... One thing I am struggling with a bit is walking posture. My lower back isn't great and now with the new hip being a little tight in the flexors still and maybe some LLD I tend to walk hunched over more than I like. Yesterday I began some very easy stretching, like knee to the chest (knees not really getting very close to my chest!) and rolling the knees across my body to stretch outer thighs and butt. Also approaching this very easy. But last night I woke up a couple of times with mild pulsing pain in my butt... but it was both sides so I immediately thought my stretching not hip issue. That went away as soon as I got up and moved around so no worries.

One other thing I want to try is to gently stretch the hip flexors with a lunge like movement, but again anything I do will be VERY gentle. Not just because of the hip but because I might be the least flexible person in the world. Silly story: once upon a time in my 40s I tried a free beginners yoga class at my gym... and for most of the exercises I couldn't even get into the starting positions BEFORE they did the movements! Needless to say that was the end of my yoga career. LOL.

Anyone else have some other easy stretches for our new hips?
 
Hi @raylo! Have you tried any of these from our Library?
bonesmart.org

Simple stretch routine to loosen up in the am

Mayo Clinic Guide to Basic Stretches Stretching can be a key part of your exercise regimen. Stretching may increase flexibility and improve the range of motion of your joints. Follow these points 1. keep stretching gentle. 2. don't bounce. 3. if you feel pain, you've stretched too far. 4...
bonesmart.org bonesmart.org
bonesmart.org

Psoas Release for psoas impingement

Article updated July 28, 2022, by Jamie and CricketHip. Release for psoas impingement The psoas is a large muscle beginning in the lower lumbar region of the spine and extending through the pelvis to the femur as shown in the illustration on the left. It works to flex the hip joint and lift...
bonesmart.org bonesmart.org
bonesmart.org

Piriformis syndrome

Basically, simply a muscle spasm with consequences, piriformis syndrome is far more common than people (including doctors) realise and really is a pain in the butt on two fronts. First it's extremely distressing and can almost totally disable the sufferer Secondly it can be a long term problem...
bonesmart.org bonesmart.org
 
I am also 7 weeks today and just about ready to leave for my PT appt. My hip flexors and abductors are very tight and the abductor is atrophied from years of compensating. My PT puts a big bouncy ball under my thighs and has me rotate my hips/thighs side to side--like you were doing but with the ball under my thighs. He does many other stretches for the flexors and I'm noticing an improvement in my ROM--still not enough to cross my leg ankle on knee or put on a sock-- but putting on and taking off my pants and underwear is easier to get my leg in the hole. I know going forward that this will be the focus of my PT work-- those darn flexors.
 
I am now almost 10 weeks post-op. At 7 weeks post-op I could not put my ankle over knee. Today I can put my socks on ankle over knee. The transition happened silently and with no special effort on my part. For me the rom to put socks on returned with time and normal daily movements.
 
Thank you Alan. I follow your progress because you are a few weeks ahead of me. Happy to hear that positive changes are happening for you!
 
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