THR Reanda on the other side!

[Reanda]

Eman85 - yes we'll never be young again - but we can try...! Ha...

Are you in Tennessee? My cousin lives in Bristol at the foot of mountains, I visited few years ago - really nice.
Titanic Exhibitions cropping up all over the place!

Layla, thanks for your encouraging words as always. Much appreciated.

 

[Eman85]

@Reanda I'm south west of Bristol between Bristol and Knoxville. The Titanic exhibition is in Pigeon Forge and I think it was originally in Branson,MO and they moved it.
I really don't think I want to BE young again but I would like to FEEL young again.

 

[Reanda]

I decided to seek some extra help with the painful muscles around hip which is stubbornly lingering. Not sure how this will work out but I have an appointment for next Wednesday with a soft tissue therapist who is also an aurology acupuncturist! The first session is acupuncture (using my ear..) followed a week or so later by the massage therapy. She said that the continued pain for months and months (as in my case) is a protective mechanism and the brain can be settled down to stop being so protective. The ear contains trigger points for entire body just like feet and being near to the brain can work more quickly (apparently).
I have never experienced acupuncture before but will give it a try, it can't do any harm I guess and maybe it'll help??
I'll let you know what happens..

 

[Mojo333]

Hi @Reanda
I have always been curious.
Would love to know if it helps.

 

[Reanda]

Hi everyone, thought I'd do an update at 7 months post op as to where I am with this continuing discomfort. Well I had my acupuncture session 3 weeks ago which involved tiny needles inserted into my ear, 7 in the right ear and 6 in the left. A bit ouch but not too bad. The ouch ones were on the area of my ear that corresponded to my hip so the therapist knew thats where the problem was! I cant say it made any difference but several sessions are needed and because her room is up 2 flights of steep steps I decided against it. Also because I have since acquired an additional injury walking up some steps at a Jubilee BBQ 2 weeks ago carrying a plate of food, someone called out to me, I lost balance and grabbed a rail twisting myself awkwardly. So I now have a pulled glute muscle on the left side and recovering hip replacement muscles on the right!
I have now sourced an osteopath who seems good and I have been twice. She massages and kneads the painful muscles (on both sides!) and has been able to find the actual muscle that is hindering my recovery from the op which causes pain all around front of hip. It is a glute muscle which is painful under pressure but not otherwise. It causes pain around the front of my hip. The massaging although hurts badly at first gradually eases as she works on these muscles. She says with the 90 deg rule and lack of mobility at first these muscles have not been used much and have become tight and rigid. She observed good flexibility in my new hip and was impressed with the movement I was able to do. So that is something. I now have exercises to do and some with weights (0.5k not too heavy) attached to knees with velcrose. Waiting on Amazon to deliver these. She also suggested aqua aerobics.
In the meantime my life is kind of back to normal, I go about and do things, just have to be careful, particularly not to move suddenly which can throw me off balance (as in example above!) gardening is curtailed as bending and lifting aggravates the hip. So does longer walks. I am hoping the next few weeks/months will improve my situation and I can at last feel good. Wishing you all a speedy recovery.

 

[Klassy]

Hi @Reanda , thanks for updating. Not totally good news but pretty positive overall. The osteopath sounds good. In the circumstances I agree that’s a better bet than the acupuncture, and it’s pleasing that she was impressed with the mobility of the new hip. Sorry to hear about the Jubilee setback. I blame the Queen.

I think I am in a similar state to you. Basically back to normal life, but watchful not to overdo it, as I feel like either leg could easily get upset. Taking it slowly for a month or two more will pay off over the longer term, I reckon.

Besides, today it is too hot to do ANYTHING.

 

[Reanda]

It's 32c here! - I've retreated to an air-conditioned cafe!, with some iced coffee.

 

[Reanda]

Posting as I need an outlet to vent frustration! As much as I am determined to do 'normal' things like shopping, short walks, play with grandkids, basic housework etc it's SO hard when the soreness and heavyness just makes me want to sit down. I'm told my muscles are the problem, and they HURT. Osteopath is expensive and prob won't keep going beyond the next month. The soft tissue massage needs doing more often than I'm going which is once every 1 to 2 weeks. I've bought a roller from amazon, a wooden thing with handle you can use to roll on sore muscles. I've also bought the weights osteopath suggested to fix on knee for certain exercises, don't think it's helping. Yesterday ventured to some beautiful gardens for some soothing respite and wandered around for maybe 2 hours sitting down regularly. Result this morning: hip even worse.
I simply don't know what else I can do. Apart from employing a massage therapist to live in my house! And plod on with the ice packs/heat pads.
Sorry for moan, one day I will be over this I just wish that day would hurry up.
At present it's getting me down.

 

[hhhooray]

Well, Reanda, this IS the place to vent!!!

I struggle with similar issues with my muscle strength and soreness. Apparently muscle strength takes time but the soft tissue is really what takes a very long time, we're talking months and months. In my experience, it is the truly limiting factor in allowing me to see significant muscular improvement. I've found that consistency in my exercise regimen is the most important thing. Better to do a little bit everyday or every other day than to overdo it every couple days. I'd also think you'd find dynamic stretching (you basically want to lengthen AND strengthen at the same time) would be beneficial and hopefully your osteopath has included some of that. Self massage is extremely important and I've heard good things about those massage "guns" as they really allow you to dig in whereas your hands get tired.


Chin up young lady!!

 

[Reanda]

Thanks for offering advice hhhoray. The stretching you refer to, I do stretch, or attempt to stretch every day but my operated leg strikes up immediately with pain in front thigh. Really horrid so I don't push that, and only stretch so far. I can do side bends, and touch toes without pain. It's been 7.5 months now. I see you're only at 3 months. But you seem to know a bit about soft tissue/muscle issues.
Unfortunately my osteopath appt for today got cancelled with a message saying the clinic has been damaged by a fire and is closed for the foreseeable future! So I'm back to the drawing board to find another good practitioner.
I've noticed since wearing sandles (and can see my foot) , a distinct outward turn of my foot on operated side. My foot turns outward. It's been like this since the op but only now do I see it more clearly.
Any advice would be appreciated? I try to train that foot to walk evenly and have religiously worn supportive sketchers trainers. Could this be contributing to my painful muscles? What type of practitioner could help with this? Thank you.

 

[hhhooray]

Hi Reanda! I've seen others here say they've experienced the external rotation you're experiencing. I have but mine has been very small. They say it goes away with time and I'm thinking the more you walk, the stronger your muscles become and it kind of takes care of itself but your OS is the person to talk to about it. Maybe you can speak to your OS, explain the issues and request (demand.. lol) PT and have them create a longterm plan for you.
I'm definitely not the person to ask about shoes, I've not worn any type of athletic or regular shoes for a long time now. I'm one of those "barefoot/minimalist" shoe people as "regular" shoes have messed up my feet.
I'd like to see the wonderful advice the bonesmart staff has for you.

 

[Reanda]

Hi everyone, thought I'd post an update on how I'm doing as I'm 9 months in 5 days time.
Certainly there's improvement from my last posts which reading through I can see my level of pain/discomfort was really bothering me even at 7.5 months. Well now it's over a month later, I am noticing the improvement in my walking and standing ability, I can stand for extended periods without the annoying need to sit down due to muscle aches. I can walk quite fast on the flat, or tackle hills going more slowly and carefully without undue pain. My right foot still turns outward slightly. My osteopath told me not to worry that my muscles will eventually strengthen and correct that. Not sure if it will..
Unlike some hippies who say they can jog a bit or even get back to running and sporting activities, I cannot do any activity that causes jarring of the hip, which includes any small skip/jog/ stumble etc without awful sudden groin pain. I was crossing the road couple of weeks ago and stumbled slightly with some new sandles which were a tad too big - just a slight stumble, I put out my right leg to save/steady myself, and oh my goodness, a very sharp pain in the groin area almost incapacitated me. It wore off quickly, but left me with worsened muscles aches for 2-3 days. At present I don't know what to do about this, osteopath away for 4 weeks, anyone else experiencing sharp groin pains like this at my stage of recovery?
Otherwise, things are good (as long as I don't stumble.. Haa). Life has opened up and I even managed my first party in the garden yesterday, for family members, preparing and doing everything myself - and kept going right through to evening when last people left.
And I'm not suffering this morning! Haa..
So if you're like me and it's taking forever to feel totally recovered, there is hope!

 

[CricketHip]

Gosh, I am sorry to read about your slight stumble and the sharp pain that followed.
Not sure that I have any great advice or insight, other than to tell you that I had lingering groin pain with certain movements or activities that stayed with me past my first year anniversary.
I can still feel a twinge occasionally but it's nothing that slows me down or is a chronic pain.
Are you still icing? That was my 'go to' treatment whenever I had residual aches and pains.

Your osteopath sounds very helpful, so glad you found her. Like she said, it takes a long time for muscles to recover, especially when you factor in how you were struggling and limping along in your Pre Op days.

Continued best wished for your full recovery, I have faith that you will get there!

 

[CricketHip]

Reading your latest update piqued my interest, so I returned to my recovery thread to refresh my memory.

Here is a portion of my one year update, maybe it will be relatable to you.

Overall I am doing very well, righty doesn't behave as well as lefty but good enough to give me my life back. I can walk for exercise and for the first time in about 6 or 7 years I am able to ride my bike for exercise.
The thing that bothers me with the hip are the hip flexor(s). I notice when I am leaning over to pull a weed or plant something in the garden that I get a distinct pinch type pain when straightening back up. By pain I mean that it's immediate and usually fleeting, but occurs each time I bend over or reach over something and then straighten up. I'm not sure what would happen if I had to do that for a long part of each day that it would flare up and get painful but I'm not going to push it or test it!!

I had asked my OS about it at my last visit, maybe at 3 months post op? Or maybe at 6 months.. I don't remember now but he said to give it the full year and check back in. I think I'll give it 18 months, I believe that this hip is just slower to recover and had significant impingement issues pre op.
I also have a wee bit of a limitation with leg abduction, like when throwing my leg up and over my bike. That does annoy me and have stepped up gentle stretching and yoga for that. Which has been helping, I've been stretching more and more and it's getting easier with time.

It's now little over 3 years post op. Righty isn't as limber as Lefty, but I'm okay with it. I'm also several years older!

My theory continues to be that it's because the surgeon opted for a larger acetabular cup to be placed, which probably impinges slightly on my hip flexors. I had hip dysplasia so am guessing they fitted me the best that they could, given that I have shallow hip sockets.
There aren't any real limitations these days. No pain, just the above mentioned hip flexor twinges.

Life is good for this 67 y.o. who is still working part time (because I love what I do) and I owe it to my THR's!

 

[Klassy]

Otherwise, things are good (as long as I don't stumble.. Haa). Life has opened up and I even managed my first party in the garden yesterday, for family members, preparing and doing everything myself - and kept going right through to evening when last people left.
And I'm not suffering this morning! Haa

Hi @Reanda . It’s good to hear that there has been improvement over the past couple of months. And you can expect more to come. I was still improving into my second year after Hip 1.

Even if your recovery remains a work in progress, being able to party as you describe is fantastic.

Wasn’t it a great day for a garden party yesterday!

 

[Reanda]

Hi Klassy, yes, blue sky and occasional fluffy cloud, and perfect temperature (23c).
(good for parties but some rain would be helpful as everything is bone dry..). Hope your garden is surviving OK and thanks for your encouraging words.

 

[Reanda]

Hi CricketHip,
Thanks for responding and it's interesting you had similar groin pain and you believe it may be due to hip flexor impingement. Mine may also be that. It does really hurt when moving at certain angles abruptly.
It's good to hear that you are not plagued by that problem now. Gives me hope. All I want now is to solve this last bit of the jigsaw.

 

[Klassy]

Thanks @Reanda . My garden is surviving so far, but yes, desperate for rain here too. I squeezed the last drops out of our water butts yesterday. We don’t have the hosepipe ban that you have down in Kent, but I am sure it will come soon.

 

[Reanda]

Hi fellow Hippies, Its been more than 2 months since my last update so I wanted to post how things are doing.
Its now 11 months since my THR. It has definitely been a long journey for me, not everyone takes this long to recover and become pain free, but I can say - and I hope I'm not jinxing things - that the last 4-5 weeks have seen a tremendous improvement. Suddenly I am not feeling the pains and aches which have lingered and bothered me over the months, and the jarring movements which previously created sharp pains in the groin area, fingers crossed I've not been plagued with any for several weeks. (I am being careful not to do jarring movements though).
I went on holiday in September and walked 6 miles round Lake Bled in Slovenia! (Its very beautiful). I thought it was only 4 miles but not so, and I had to walk very briskly at the end to catch a bus back to hotel! This was a real trial for my hip and my stamina, but I did it. And no repercussions the next day which I expected. On this holiday I also did some coastal path walks, which I so loved, with stops here and there, and I was surprised how well my new hip coped with the whole thing.
My osteopath believes that my lingering pain and aches over the months was because some hip muscles had become weakened, and other muscles were compensating, resulting in pain. The exercises she gave me with ankle/knee weights and stretchy bands probably helped, but I also think in my case it was a matter of time.
Things are not perfect, and I'm still careful with sudden movements, but I am no longer experiencing pain, and for that I am very, very grateful. In fact I can hardly believe it.

Good wishes to everyone whether your journey is short or long!

 

[Layla]

Nice to hear from you, Reanda. Thanks for the update!
I'm happy to hear you're doing better and especially over the past month or so. The fact that you're no longer experiencing pain is wonderful! May it only get better.

Just weeks until your one year anniversary, wohoo!
Have a great week and happy healthy holiday season. Yep, its creeping up fast and you don't stop by that often these days so I want to sneak best wishes in!
@Reanda