Hemi-Arthroplasty Robinlynnlostut’s Recovery

Robinlynnlostut

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Hi,
I had a left posterior partial hip replacement on 4/23/21. I had fractured my femur a month prior and thought it was just a muscle pain so walked on it until I fell forward again and broke the neck of my hip. I have a rod in my femur and am unsure if that is always the case with hip replacement surgery.

I moved from the hydrocone to Advil and extra strenth Tylenol for the most part. I still take some muscles relaxers at night occasionally but can go with just one dose of OTC meds in the morning. My biggest issue is with groin pain when I am not sitting on the correct chair, which I have trouble finding in this house. I had a terrible time striking a happy medium with the mattress being firm enough where my hips didn't drop but not too firm for my back. I finally thought to use a pad that goes under your sleeping bag when camping and that has been a life saver. I tried removing it but still need it.

I also have pain midway down my thigh when walking any distance. I have not done a lot of walking but am limping if I do. I may have let go of a cane too soon. I do great on a treadmill or an elliptical but not on pavement. I was in a rehab hospital for two weeks afterward and did the prescribed excercises, leg lifts in all directions, for a month or so afterward and sporadically after. I did do some pool exercising, bicycling in the water, leg lifts and squats. I do a lot of standing in the kitchen and going up and down the stairs. I'm still doing one step at a time going us but using both legs going down. The doctor said I have very good range of motion when I saw him at the two month mark. I was relieved to read there that hip replacement does not actually require a lot of exercises. I was never very limber to begin with.

I'm just interested in knowing if others with my type of surgery are still having this much trouble sitting and sleeping at four months and when it might get easier. Thanks so much for any information!
 
Hi and Welcome!

I will give you our Recovery Guidleines. Each article is short but full of great information. Best wishes as you continue to recover.

People are all different, as are the approaches to this recovery and rehab. The key is, “Find what works for you.“ Your doctors, PTs and BoneSmart are available to help, but you are the final judge as to the recovery approach you choose.

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
elevate
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
BoneSmart philosophy for sensible post op therapy
5. At week 4 and after you should follow this
Activity progression for THRs
6. Access these pages on the website
Oral And Intravenous Pain Medications
Wound Care In Hospital
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.
 
@Robinlynnlostut I moved your post, above, from the April Surgery thread and started a Recovery Thread for you. This is where you can post questions and comments about your recovery and interact with fellow members. This is a great group, I hope you enjoy being a part of Bonesmart! :flwrysmile:
 
Jockette,

I'd be very interested in hearing how those who had surgery end of April are doing. I still have groin pain if not sitting on a just right chair and thigh pain when walking any distance on the pavement without a cane. I have no trouble working in the kitchen luckily.

Thank you!
 
I am much more familiar with knee recoveries, but I’m sure you‘ll hear from our hip members.

Hip and knees both take an average of a year for complete recovery, and I know my partial knee took way longer than that, so I think what you are experiencing is probably par for the course, as you are only about a third of the way healed at this point.

If you are very concerned you can alway check with your surgeon for reassurance, but it’s nice to read about other experiences here. Try not to compare your recovery to anyone else’s, as we all heal individually.
 
Hello @Robinlynnlostut

I am sorry to hear of your fractured femur and then subsequent fall and second fracture. That is a lot of trauma in a short amount of time and add to that the repair surgery!
We all heal differently and in fact many of us have had both of our hips replaced and the hips heal differently even on the same person, at least mine sure did.

At 4 months you still have a lot of healing to do and I cringed a little bit when I read your list of exercises that you've been doing. Would you consider backing off on some of that?
I think your injured leg and hip needs some rest. Are you icing still? I iced faithfully even as far out as 5-6 months after surgery.
I always knew when I overdid things because I would get that nagging ache in my groin.

So, I think you are actually doing well for having had trauma on top of the PHR surgery!! :SUNsmile:
 
I'd be very interested in hearing how those who had surgery end of April are doing.
We create our monthly teams so that members can talk with others who are going through recovery at the same time they are....not so much for comparison as to reassure each other that what they are experiencing is within the range of normal. When you're not familiar with joint surgery, it's easy to think you should be further along than you are.

You can go to the April team thread and identify your teammates. Then with some simple forum searches, you can locate each person's recovery thread and follow those that interest you. Talk back and forth with your fellow teammates. We've had some great and lasting friendships develop here on BoneSmart and it does help to have people to talk with that know exactly what you're experiencing.

Here's a short tutorial to help you with the searches:

Finding another member’s threads and posts
 
Hi @Robinlynnlostut
So sorry for your accident that led to this surgery.
I am guessing the partial hip replacement was a hemiarthroplasty, when the ball-like head of the thighbone (the femoral head) has been fractured or traumatically injured. The procedure replaces the femoral head with a prosthetic implant made of a strong polished metal or ceramic material. The original cup of the hip socket, known as the acetabulum, remains intact.

Is this right? I changed the prefix for your thread to reflect this.

This recovery definitely takes time, so slow and steady is the way to go.
Hope today is a Good Day!:flwrysmile:
 
I had left hip partial replacement Nov 1, just starting 4th month recovery, I did pt for 3 month, decided to do on my own. I'm very impatient, the groin pain just pops up. Dr. Today said do what I want to if it hurts dont do it.
Soft tissue damage takes longer to heal.
The pressure from my hip is start to wear on the right knee.

Be PATIENT, IT WILL GET BETTER. Good luck.
 

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