THR Still struggling<

Final meeting with OS yesterday. All good with mechanics of the op but he had no explanation of the bilateral pain in bum, hamstrings, calves plus lower back that I am still experiencing. Suggested polymyalgia rheumatica (!) and gave me a note for my GP for a blood test. Went to PT appt straight afterwards, a bit reluctantly having read Josephine's advice and the experience of others but persuaded by my family. She had me doing bridges, sideways extensions and moving from sit to stand without using my arms. I was completely wrecked in the afternoon and still feel in pain and very depressed this morning. I really don't think I want any more of this but family keep nagging me to 'work through the pain' . I know they have my best interests at heart but I am at the end of my tether dealing with the pain of all this. Suggestions welcome!
 
Please do not go to anymore PT. All it is doing is making you sore. Tell your family to come here and do a bit of reading. Walking is the best exercise for a new hip. The exercises your PT is giving you are for core stability - not the hip. Plenty of time for that when you hip is healed.
 
@fanny23 so sorry you are having such a rough time, I feel for you. Please don’t do the physio, it is obvious you are not ready. Walking heel to toe and trying to keep the back straight with small steps should help. And the step stride gradually increases naturally. Keep icing too..... if you read my story you will see I had problems at work with peoples expectations 3-4 months out. It was so frustrating. people were so well meaning but just didn’t get it! To be honest, it was around 6 months that I saw real progress.

Even now if I do too much exercising I can still get some muscle pain where weak muscles are still recovering. I overdid the swimming yesterday!

I wish you all the best for a better and happier recovery. You will have a lot of support here because, in our different ways, we do understand .
 
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@fanny23 just to let you know -if it does come to that- my mother was diagnosed with polymyalgia rheumatica in her 70s. Apart from pain she had many bizarre symptoms including a very low haemoglobin count so that we thought she had leukaemia. But she did very well on steroids.
 
Thank you for your replies everyone. PT is definitely out now!! More walking and swimming will be my go-to activities, hopefully once I get over the PT aches and pains I will start to feel more positive and optimistic that 6 months will mark the upturn in my recovery.
I was really interested to hear about your mother bickeypeg. I am 70 and also have some odd symptoms apart from the pain, e.g. V low bp, so it will be interesting to see if the test is positive and whether steroids help.
 
Hi, @fanny23 I am taking gentle strolls with my friend and have noticed a marked improvement in my muscle strength. Hang on in there.. It comes in the end as long as we are kind and gentle with ourselves.
 
Gentle strolls sound an excellent idea, especially with someone to chat to! I'm currently doing mini strolls round our living room while watching the golf and athletics - H is out walking the dog!
 
Hello @fanny23 I just want to chime in on the PT opinion. Just to reinforce your decision.

I am only a couple weeks behind you. I was on 24 weeks of non- weight barring and have been slower to recover. I listened to the advice of many friends, coworkers to get PT involved. Third visit pulled, and hurt a tendon and now I am in time out hoping the damage isn’t permanent. Really wish I’d just let my body heal. It’s hard to be patient, but as many can attest too, pushing usually ends badly.

Hope you find some great walking companions. Take care. ❤️
 
Thank you for your support. My rugby playing son keeps saying 'no pain, no gain' but I know it's sensible to have no pain full stop! Gentle walks for me! Probably on 2 sticks rather than 1 since a friend suggested this morning that the backache I am experiencing might be due to twisting my back using just 1.
 
As I am still experiencing painful legs (burning pain groin down, aching lower back and tight calves), and am getting depressed about my lack of progress, I have just read some of the more recent contributions - trying to not look at those of you walking 8 miles after only 4 weeks post op!! I have taken heart hearing about the aches and pains that some of you have endured and that have gradually got better. My husband has been so supportive but I think he also thought I would be walking and leading a more normal life again by now. I do wonder if lack of sleep is complicating things, I usually have to make at least 3 loo trips each night and find it difficult to get back to sleep. I do have some meds to try to help with this so hope for some improvement soon.
Tests for polymyalgia rheumatica have been negative. I would love to know if any of you have suffered from similar aches and pains, how you coped with them and when you noticed improvement. Thank you!
 
@fanny23 Glad to hear that the Polymyalgia R tests were negative. My husband is currently on year 2 of steroids for that and we are hoping he is almost over it.
But back to your aches and pains, did your Dr suggest anything else? I can't help but wonder about your back and if you are getting referred pain from an issue there?
I tend to go to that theory, because I have lower back issues and when it flares up it gives me similar symptoms like you describe.
It might be worth asking your Doctor.
Good luck and continue to be kind to yourself, find things to help your outlook, for me that involves a nice drive somewhere with my husband with ice packs in tow. Other days, it means staying in bed all morning and watching junk on TV! You actually may have better ideas than me,, :heehee: now that I've typed them I realize they aren't anything to brag about.. :flwrysmile:
 
Hi Carol, thank you for your thoughts. I must admit I hoped it was PR as my Dr said that it was well treated with steroids. I am back to square one now. I think you're correct in suspecting residual back issues, probably compounded by my bracing against the leg pains. It is what Josephine thought. How do you deal with your back pain? I don't really want to take tramadol as I have had issues with it. I seem to be in more pain now than in the couple of weeks immediately following the op which is what I don't understand. It's not as if I have thrown myself into everyday activities, I do rest a lot interspersed with walking around the house and bouts on my exercise bike.
 
Well, my back issues are well diagnosed and I have a bit of stenosis in my lumbar region, from some old back fractures, which can refer to my legs when it's flared up or irritated. What I usually do is go to my well trusted spine Doctor and get an epidural injection. So far, and I hope it will continue, it helps me immensely and keeps me very active. But you need a thorough exam to establish that, right?
Then for my maintenance it's exercise to keep my back toned and I do chiropractic and massage.
But for you, first have you ever seen a physician in regards to what might be spine issues? Mid to lower back? You mentioned residual back issues, so that makes me think you may have had an episode with your lower spine recently?

Thinking back,, with my first THR my OS sent me to a physiatrist to assess everything. At that point and time- which was 4 years ago- he was pleased with how I was doing but did recommend some PT for my upper back, not my hip. (but he did help me with my gait as time went on)

I'm guessing I will be back for reassessment after I get further into my healing with this new hip since we all know that this surgery is hard on the rest of our bodies, especially if we were off kilter with our gait and stance before the replacement.. But that is my story and yours may be completely different!
You are still relatively early in your stages of healing with your own hip but maybe it's worth visiting with your Dr about? It's difficult to be struggling for so long and I hope you get some answers or at least some peace of mind going forward.
 
Hi Carol. Thank you for your detailed answer. I started my journey with seeing my GP with back pain. I had X-rays and an MRI scan showing some arthritic changes, some spinal stenosis and a couple of slightly squished discs. Painkillers plus PT had little effect so I was referred to a back specialist. He gave me a corticosteroid inject at L5 but this had no effect at all. At this point I was referred to a neurologist who thought my problems were caused by changes higher up the spine so ordered an MRI of the whole spine and brain. The latter revealed unexplained white striations around where the spinal cord entered the brain. At this point my neurosurgeon was baffled - despite consultations with colleagues. This is ongoing while the professionals seek answers! In the meantime I asked for hip X-rays which showed a severely arthritic hip hence the total HR op. It is difficult to know if my aches and pains are attributable to the hip op or residual back issues. Today I am v tired due to visitors. I start walking standing upright but gradually my muscles seem to pull me down so that my knees bend and I am sort if crouching and trying to walk. I then have to sit and rest for some time before I can move again. Sorry about the long saga but I would love to hear from anyone who has experienced this.
 
My son and family are coming for a visit from Spain on Friday so I am tidying up his bedroom. I knelt down to put some towels away and OUCH! Both knees are So stiff and painful, I had forgotten to bend from the waist to try and open the drawer. Why are both my knees so painful? I could understand my left being sore as I imagine it was used to lever my hip out of its socket for replacement, but why my right as well? In fact both my legs are still painful, feeling as though the muscles have contracted which pulls my knees down, then I find it difficult to stand up properly. I asked my physiotherapist about this but she insisted it is nothing to do with my hip replacement. Has anyone had any similar experiences?
 
Hi @fanny23
Sorry you're struggling and suffering pain. Wondering if you've had your knees x-rayed? Possibly there is some arthritic change there also. Not a pleasant thought, but definitely a possibility as it's not that uncommon.
Let's draw the forum Nurse @Josephine in to see what she'd advise as next steps. Please check back periodically in the event she has questions. Wishing you comfort and great times with visiting family!
@fanny23
 
Thank you for your thoughts Layla. My knees have both been very stiff since my hip replacement, I had no issues at all with them beforehand. I can bend them up when sitting with no problem, but cannot kneel and bend them without a painful pulling feeling.
 
@fanny23
I had exactly the same problems with my 1st THR... my knees were very painful... more so than the hip..
In fact the pain went from lower thigh to under the knee....
I was told that it was due to bad gait before THR & it would be ok... & it was!!!! Took a long while though... I found deep tissue massage & water walking helped!!

Hope your eases soon xx


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That really cheers me up - that is exactly what I am experiencing. In fact I am so tired this morning that I am now walking in a crouch!! I know I did have a bad gait before the op so that does make perfect sense. I will find some where to get the deep massage and work on improving my gait. Thank you hoppy Nanny
 

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