cthipster
member
- Joined
- May 22, 2013
- Messages
- 168
- Age
- 61
- Gender
- Female
- Country
United States
@Sharri, thanks for catching me up on your situation. I had to have both hips replaced due to dysplasia as well. I was a three-sport athlete in college and got diagnosed in my 20s with arthritis in the hips due to dysplasia. It went progressively downhill from there. One hip was definitely worse than another, so that one was replaced in April 2013. We thought the left hip would last a few more years, but it gave up soon after the first hip replacement, so I had that one replaced almost three weeks ago.
While my biomechanics are off from limping so long and one leg is more atrophied than the other, I didn't have a leg length differential to contend with, back issues, and trauma from multiple car accidents. I can completely understand why you need more time. In addition to healing from the surgery, you have to, as you said, really relearn to walk properly. Your muscles are probably very contracted and/or underused in places. Most of your muscles have been shaped from the day you took your first steps as a baby to walk in a way that accommodated the leg length differential. They are rebelling to the new regime.
I have heard that the common advice for hip replacement rehab is to walk. In your case, do you think you would benefit from working more closely with a physical therapist or someone else who can evaluate your muscle structure and get you rebalanced? That is usually outside of the OS' expertise.
I can share with you what I'm doing, which I was also doing before the surgeries to manage pain and prepare for the surgery. Once I hit the six-week mark and am freed from the hip precautions, I am going to see my kinesiologist. I will have him test my muscles and make sure they are all functioning. If you don't know what kinesiology is, it's a sub-specialty of chiropracty and focuses on soft tissue function. This guy has been a lifesaver to me the last couple years, as my muscles were so unhappy from all the limping. etc. I had joint pain, but the muscle pain also added up to a lot of pain. He minimized my pain coming from the muscles vs. the joint itself.
My kinesiologist is also certified in Graston technique, so I will have have him do that to break down the scar tissue and adhesions that happened as a result of surgery and can impede range of motion. I will also see the masseuse to work out any contracted muscles, and she can also break down scar tissue. I imagine this would be two-three visits and not a forever kind of thing.
I am then going to do individual Pilates sessions (probably 10 over a 6-week period) to restore symmetry and balance to the way I move. I did five sessions before I went for the second hip replacement, and I was amazed at how helpful it was. I'm going to do DPP Yoga (https://ddpyoga.com/ -- watch the video on the website page if you haven't seen it. It's so inspiring! DPP developed this program to deal with multiple back issues, so you may be interested in it.) DDP Yoga, which is reasonably priced, will be for balance, flexibility, and strength. Then I will do my regular elliptical workout at the gym for additional cardio.
You may wonder why I am tapping on so many people. From my experience of managing pain before the surgery and going through the first hip replacement, I know the joint replacement is only part of the solution and that you can't ignore the muscles and also poor biomechanics that have become habitual. If your muscles aren't functioning well, then PT and even walking can be counterproductive. Any way (and there are many) you can pursue to get muscles un-contracted and moving smoothly is so helpful. The other piece is restoring balance and symmetry to your gait. A great physical therapist can accomplish this, but in my case, I believe the Pilates trainer will be more successful based on what the trainer was able to do for me before the second hip replacement.
In any case, I thought I would mention my strategy to you, since you and I have the same congenital abnormality, and the condition may warrant some special attention to the muscles and biomechanics. Best wishes that every day gets a little better!
While my biomechanics are off from limping so long and one leg is more atrophied than the other, I didn't have a leg length differential to contend with, back issues, and trauma from multiple car accidents. I can completely understand why you need more time. In addition to healing from the surgery, you have to, as you said, really relearn to walk properly. Your muscles are probably very contracted and/or underused in places. Most of your muscles have been shaped from the day you took your first steps as a baby to walk in a way that accommodated the leg length differential. They are rebelling to the new regime.
I have heard that the common advice for hip replacement rehab is to walk. In your case, do you think you would benefit from working more closely with a physical therapist or someone else who can evaluate your muscle structure and get you rebalanced? That is usually outside of the OS' expertise.
I can share with you what I'm doing, which I was also doing before the surgeries to manage pain and prepare for the surgery. Once I hit the six-week mark and am freed from the hip precautions, I am going to see my kinesiologist. I will have him test my muscles and make sure they are all functioning. If you don't know what kinesiology is, it's a sub-specialty of chiropracty and focuses on soft tissue function. This guy has been a lifesaver to me the last couple years, as my muscles were so unhappy from all the limping. etc. I had joint pain, but the muscle pain also added up to a lot of pain. He minimized my pain coming from the muscles vs. the joint itself.
My kinesiologist is also certified in Graston technique, so I will have have him do that to break down the scar tissue and adhesions that happened as a result of surgery and can impede range of motion. I will also see the masseuse to work out any contracted muscles, and she can also break down scar tissue. I imagine this would be two-three visits and not a forever kind of thing.
I am then going to do individual Pilates sessions (probably 10 over a 6-week period) to restore symmetry and balance to the way I move. I did five sessions before I went for the second hip replacement, and I was amazed at how helpful it was. I'm going to do DPP Yoga (https://ddpyoga.com/ -- watch the video on the website page if you haven't seen it. It's so inspiring! DPP developed this program to deal with multiple back issues, so you may be interested in it.) DDP Yoga, which is reasonably priced, will be for balance, flexibility, and strength. Then I will do my regular elliptical workout at the gym for additional cardio.
You may wonder why I am tapping on so many people. From my experience of managing pain before the surgery and going through the first hip replacement, I know the joint replacement is only part of the solution and that you can't ignore the muscles and also poor biomechanics that have become habitual. If your muscles aren't functioning well, then PT and even walking can be counterproductive. Any way (and there are many) you can pursue to get muscles un-contracted and moving smoothly is so helpful. The other piece is restoring balance and symmetry to your gait. A great physical therapist can accomplish this, but in my case, I believe the Pilates trainer will be more successful based on what the trainer was able to do for me before the second hip replacement.
In any case, I thought I would mention my strategy to you, since you and I have the same congenital abnormality, and the condition may warrant some special attention to the muscles and biomechanics. Best wishes that every day gets a little better!
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