THR Right hip on 9th November.

Koalabear

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I'm not sure if this is the right place. I wanted to post that I had a RTHR on 9th November.
 
Hi @Koalabear and :welome: to BoneSmart. Congratulations on your new hip and would love to hear more about your recovery.

We will also get you a signature added to your name for easy reference to anyone wnating to post to you.

We have some great reading material that will be hopefully help you have the best recovery and will leave them here for you.


Hip Recovery: The Guidelines
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 these


5. At week 4 and after you should follow this

6. Access to these pages on the website

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 the at each member have only one recovery thread. This policy makes it easier to go back and review history before providing advice.
 
Thank you. I've been reading through all your very useful information. I've been doing really well, gently progressing.

I had my physio appointment though today, and I'm feeling quite upset by it. Without asking, she tried to force my knee back to my chest, which I know would have really hurt. Because I was wise as I've read your advice, I stopped her and told her not to do any passive stretches. I told her that she didn't know what I was feeling. She's given me next level exercises, which I'm happy to incorporate gradually, also walking on a single crutch. I'm going to go at my own pace with this and not be bullied into doing 30x a day of 6 exercises with a band, and a single crutch immediately. I know this will hurt. I have strong muscles as I exercised plenty pre surgery, but I know healing needs to happen.

She also started to rip off my dressing (again without asking), when I've already arranged for a practice nurse to do that next week. I stopped her. So all in all it was a rather fraught appointment, and I'm feeling demoralised now.
 
She's given me next level exercises, which I'm happy to incorporate gradually, also walking on a single crutch. I'm going to go at my own pace with this and not be bullied into doing 30x a day of 6 exercises with a band, and a single crutch immediately.
Totally over the top! You are only days out of major surgery. These are strength training exercises - not physio. You need to baby that new hip and let it heal.
 
Thank you. It's hard to resist 'experts', but it really feels too much, and our know that pain is nature's warning that something isn't right. I'm going to listen to my body.
 
Ask your PT how many joints she has had replaced. I'll bet the answer is none! That means you have more expertise than she does! :heehee:
 
Crikey @Koalabear - that physio sounds torturous. I don't think I'd return to her.
Good for you for being assertive and now listening to your body. :)
 
Thanks for the support! I don’t think I’m being lazy or uncooperative, but I’m not exaggerating!
 
I'm so glad you were assertive with that physio @Koalabear. People like her are why I don't go anywhere near physios!
 
Hi lovely people. Just over 2 weeks in now. I took my aqua cell dressing off myself this morning (a bit scary)! The wound looks good, no oozing, just a little bit lumpy. No stitches to come out. I do have a practice nurse appointment to check it tomorrow. I’m just wondering if I should put a new dressing on it now, the hospital gave me some, or leave it to the air. Doesn’t look infected or anything. I’ve seen lots of surgical wounds btw ( retired midwife!). Thank you x
 
@Koalabear Glad your wound is looking good. After both my THRs when the dressing was removed nothing was put on the wound. If you are concerned give your GP a call. But I think you would be fine to just leave the incision site to heal.
 
Thank for your advice Jaycey. It does look good, I’m amazed actually. I think the icing, resting, extra vitamin C , plus of course amazing surgeon skills, have all helped.
 
I think the glue they use now makes for a much neater closure. Let us know what the nurse says tomorrow.
 
Hi. I asked my surgeon for a neat job! He did sub cuticular stitches. I guess there's glue there as well. I'm going to leave the wound uncovered, just be careful not to knock or rub it.
 
The only dressing I had was clear tape over the incision, no external stitches. The tape was OK to be removed at 2 weeks and left like that which to me was great as the tape made me itch.
Also good work by stopping a physio from hurting you. No need or reason for anyone to manipulate your leg especially that early from surgery.
 
It sounds like you had glue. If it’s closed up and not oozing I would imagine it’s fine to leave without a dressing. Mine had staples so when the staples were removed I was advised to keep a dressing over it for 3 more days to let the staple holes close up.
 
Hi there. All fine with the wound. It doesn’t need any more dressing now. No stitches to remove either. It’s rather itchy now though! I assume this is a healing sign?
 
@Koalabear - your wound sounds good.
My surgeons advice was to remove the waterproof dressing after ten days. (Anterior op) So I did and it has been fine.
It was closed with dissolving stitches and glue.
Its been a bit itchy too - like you, I think it's just the healing process. I've recently used a dab of Eight Hour cream on it and it seems to be doing well and the itch has gone..
 
Thanks @Hopper Mine was driving me crazy itching last night. I used an ice pack and took an antihistamine which helped a bit. Eight hour cream is amazing stuff. I’m just a bit nervous about putting anything on it. Glad yours is feeling better.
 
Hey there @Koalabear :wave:
Sometimes the skin around your incision becomes dry and itchy while healing. Although it is okay to put lotion or cream on the surrounding skin if it is uncomfortable, you should not apply anything close to or on the stitches or incision without the approval of your surgeon. It normally takes four to six weeks for the incision to fully heal and close. You don't want to risk infection by applying a product near an open area before that time. Some of the more common creams and lotions used on a healed incision are Bio-Oil, Vitamin E Oil, E45 Cream, Palmer's Cocoa Butter Lotion with Vitamin E, and Coconut Oil.

The one exception to this guidance is a product called ACTIVE Skin Repair Hydrogel. This gel contains hypochlorous (HOCL), a compound made naturally by your body to promote healing. It can be applied to your incision at any point during recovery - it's a germ fighter as well as a healing and moisturizing agent. But you still should discuss its use with your surgeon before using it.

Hope this helps. Have a great week!
 

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