Sheila-Seattle
junior member
My THR was on January 6. You can read my story on my blog at http://s2cycle.com/sheila/total-hip-replacement/
Unlike most THR candidates I was not bone-on-bone but had some arthritis starting around a 7 year old injury where I broke my femoral neck and had it pinned. So my surgery included removing those pins first. My surgeon said I could've waited a few years but I wanted to do it when I was healthy and also because of Covid.
I found this forum to do a reality check on where I am at one month. Here's my progress report:
I'm doing pretty well overall and have an in-home PT who's been giving me progressively difficult assignments.
I'm 71, healthy and active. I was walking 10+K steps a day up until the day before surgery. I was also doing yoga 3x week. Our new tandem bicycle has finally arrived and my hope is to be able to start riding again by sometime in March or early April.
I never took any oxy for pain and moved from the walker to a cane at about 10 days. I was showering with no problem by myself.
The in-home PT gave me more advanced exercises than the standard post-op set including: hamstring curl, leg extensions, toe raises, clamshells, and most recently squats to name a few. I did them daily along with the 15 minutes of walking followed by ice/elevation every two hours. Once I got on the cane I started to walk on our flat roof and progressed from 1000 steps a day for a week to 2K then 3K.
I still need the cane or I limp which is discouraging me. I'm currently able to raise the leg to my other knee, laying on my back which is one of the hardest things I do. At first I could barely raise it. The other hard thing I do is stand on my right foot for a full minute.
Last Thursday I told my PT that I was discouraged that I have some pain pretty much all the time (4ish) and he suggested that I remember I'm only at 3 weeks and my body needs to heal before I work it so hard. He suggested I take a day off now and then and alternate my walking days with my PT days which I've been doing since then.
I do understand that it's just been a month and that we are ALL different. But I have no basis to understand how I'm doing. I didn't think I was over-doing it and I don't want to "under" do it either so that I can progress well without injury.
My friends who I consulted with pre-op about their experiences said they were walking without aid by about now which I think is part of why I'm discouraged. In fact I'm probably progressing quite well. They were both under 60 so a decade younger than me. Since I was so active I had high hopes for more progress.
I'm also curious about the numbness around the incision areas. There's a pretty large swathe of skin that feels weird. I've heard that it will lessen over time and may or may not go away.
I'm curious to hear your observations and thoughts. Thanks.
Unlike most THR candidates I was not bone-on-bone but had some arthritis starting around a 7 year old injury where I broke my femoral neck and had it pinned. So my surgery included removing those pins first. My surgeon said I could've waited a few years but I wanted to do it when I was healthy and also because of Covid.
I found this forum to do a reality check on where I am at one month. Here's my progress report:
I'm doing pretty well overall and have an in-home PT who's been giving me progressively difficult assignments.
I'm 71, healthy and active. I was walking 10+K steps a day up until the day before surgery. I was also doing yoga 3x week. Our new tandem bicycle has finally arrived and my hope is to be able to start riding again by sometime in March or early April.
I never took any oxy for pain and moved from the walker to a cane at about 10 days. I was showering with no problem by myself.
The in-home PT gave me more advanced exercises than the standard post-op set including: hamstring curl, leg extensions, toe raises, clamshells, and most recently squats to name a few. I did them daily along with the 15 minutes of walking followed by ice/elevation every two hours. Once I got on the cane I started to walk on our flat roof and progressed from 1000 steps a day for a week to 2K then 3K.
I still need the cane or I limp which is discouraging me. I'm currently able to raise the leg to my other knee, laying on my back which is one of the hardest things I do. At first I could barely raise it. The other hard thing I do is stand on my right foot for a full minute.
Last Thursday I told my PT that I was discouraged that I have some pain pretty much all the time (4ish) and he suggested that I remember I'm only at 3 weeks and my body needs to heal before I work it so hard. He suggested I take a day off now and then and alternate my walking days with my PT days which I've been doing since then.
I do understand that it's just been a month and that we are ALL different. But I have no basis to understand how I'm doing. I didn't think I was over-doing it and I don't want to "under" do it either so that I can progress well without injury.
My friends who I consulted with pre-op about their experiences said they were walking without aid by about now which I think is part of why I'm discouraged. In fact I'm probably progressing quite well. They were both under 60 so a decade younger than me. Since I was so active I had high hopes for more progress.
I'm also curious about the numbness around the incision areas. There's a pretty large swathe of skin that feels weird. I've heard that it will lessen over time and may or may not go away.
I'm curious to hear your observations and thoughts. Thanks.
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