THR Surgery done and recovering - yay!!!

[Nana757]

I use a total of 7 in different sizes and firmness...not counting the wedge...oh and I also have one of those arm rest pillows that butts up against the headboard, on top of the wedge. This just helps keep everything in its proper place. One of these days I'll take a photo of it, so you all can have a good chuckle.

 

[AndyH99]

@Juneanng Personally I use a bed wedge under some pillows to lay on when I sleep or sit in bed, along the same lines as a huge pile of pillows just a little firmer and less like fighting a huge marsh mallow if you have to move it.


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[Juneanng]

@Nana757 I tried the tips that you quoted from @rugmankc and it worked beautifully last night. Slept from 10:30 p to 8 a. Best sleep since my surgery!!! Thank you!!!

 

[Nana757]

Ohhhh...I am so happy it worked for you @Juneanng. Does my heart good that I can help a fellow hippie! The best part of all the pillows is they actually tend to keep you in one position most, if not all, of the night, which takes the worry out of rolling over or breaking any restrictions. Again, glad I could help and I hope the good sleep continues.

 

[Poppet]

Hello @Juneanng -- Did you know how the body goes about the process of healing following surgery (or an injury)?

Here is an article which explains this process....

Healing Phases & Nutrition

This second link is to other nutritional articles which you may find interesting, including one relating to bone health.

Nutritional advice for pre op and recovery

This third link refers to my ongoing research..

nutritional-snippets-did-you-know

 

[Juneanng]

Hi everyone,

I am 7 weeks post op and had been feeling great...walking better than ever and recently walking almost everywhere without a cane.

Yesterday, I had to follow my daughter (6 years old) up a steep staircase and due to the way it was structured, I ended up having to take 3 steep steps with my operated leg (thus far, I have only been leading with the good going up stairs and take one at a time).

Well...not long after, I could barely walk. I got home, rested, elevated, iced and took my ibuprofen right at the moment I could.

This morning, the pain woke me up and although a bit better, I can still barely put weight on the leg. The pain is coming from above the knee and feels like so e go the groin/above the knee pain I used to feel when walking before the surgery.

Do you think this will get better on its own, or could walking up 3 steps have put me in a situation where I need to see my doctor?

Any help you can share is definitely appreciated!

Thanks!

Ps - @Josephine , @Jaycey - maybe either of you have heard of someone who has overdone it like this ?

 

[Midchild54]

I am 5 months post surgery and I still have to be careful of overdoing anything or I get sore or hurt in my joint. Your hip is very good at telling you what you can and cannot do. Like the mantra says, if it hurts, don't do it. It will get better and go away as long as you don't overwork it again. Seven weeks is still very early in the healing. Give it time, soft tissue can take up to a year to completely heal.

 

[Josephine]

@Juneanng, I very much doubt it was just the stairs that were responsible for this problem but something(s) you have done in the days or weeks previously. So I'm going to ask you some questions and it would be very helpful if you would answer each one individually - numbered as I have done - in as much detail as you can then I'll come back as see where you are ....

1. what approach did you have for your surgery? Anterior, posterior, lateral? You can look here to see the various types THR approaches or incisions

2. what are your pain levels right now? (remember the 1-10 scale: 1 = no pain and 10 = the worst you can imagine. And don't compare this with the bone-on-bone pain you had before surgery!

) Also don't forget to include other forms of pain such as soreness, burning, stabbing, throbbing, aching, swelling and stiffness

3. what pain medications have you been prescribed, how much are you taking (in mg please) and how often?

4. what is your activity level? What do you do in the way of housework, cooking, cleaning, shopping, etc., and

5. what kind of PT exercises and exercises at home are you doing? How much and how often?

Can you detail it like this

Exercises done at home: 3 sessions a day
Heel slides x10 (reps)
Strait leg raises x10
Steps x10

At PT
Squats x5 (reps) x2 (sets)
Wall slides x5 x2
Clamshells X5 x2

 

[Juneanng]

@Josephine - thank you for your help!

I will answer the questions below:

1) Lateral right hip - no restrictions with regard to 90 degree plane, etc. Note...I am only 48.

2) Pain level last night when I wrote the post was probably a 7, now after walking a bit more and trying to stick with a normal routine, I am probably at a 4. I had been at almost a 1 yesterday before the steps. But at times still had a stabbing pain coming into the side of my leg and pain in the groin area lifting my leg. I also tend to be very stiff when first getting up from a chair. Catholic mass is tough with the sitting and standing (and I won't even try the kneeling, lol)

3) pain meds now...just 2 over the counter ibuprofen (500 mg?) every 6 hours. Sometime the nighttime dose is a "pm" version to help me sleep. Never had insomnia before this.

4) activity level up to this point was almost back to my normal self and MUCH better than my pre-op self. Cooking, food prep, sitting for short periods of time at kitchen table to pay bills and use computer, walking around the neighborhood. Have also done some light pool walking. Shopping at a large store still a bit tough and am walking with a cane still for most walking ( not needed around the house). I have also been wearing a FitBit as walking is my main form of PT. I did walk quite a bit the day before the "steps" day and logged almost 10,000 steps. Most days I am at closer to 5000 or 6000.

5) the only PT from my Dr. Is walking. I try to walk in the morning, afternoon and evening. Steadily and with my cane for balance. Not fast...just a basic pace. No strengthening exercises, even though I asked for them.

I think that is about all...thanks!

 

[Josephine]

Sorry I've taken so long getting back to you - I've been on a conference all week.

probably a 7, now after walking a bit more and trying to stick with a normal routine, I am probably at a 4.

okay

pain meds now...just 2 over the counter ibuprofen (500 mg?) every 6 hours. Sometime the night time dose is a "pm" version to help me sleep.

What's a "PM" version? I would also say that NSAIDs (ibuprofen) are very mild pain killers and totally inadequate for the pain you are experiencing. What were you prescribed immediately after your surgery?

activity level up to this point was almost back to my normal self and MUCH better than my pre-op self. Cooking, food prep, sitting for short periods of time at kitchen table to pay bills and use computer, walking around the neighborhood. Have also done some light pool walking. Shopping at a large store still a bit tough and am walking with a cane still for most walking (not needed around the house). I have also been wearing a FitBit as walking is my main form of PT. I did walk quite a bit the day before the "steps" day and logged almost 10,000 steps. Most days I am at closer to 5000 or 6000.

Well that's quite a lot for 9 weeks out. And I strongly suggest you get rid of the FitBit! That's about 5 miles and it is not 'moderate'!

the only PT from my Dr. Is walking. I try to walk in the morning, afternoon and evening. Steadily and with my cane for balance. Not fast...just a basic pace. No strengthening exercises, even though I asked for them.

I totally agree with your doctor because hips actually don't need much 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. You're way into the excessive range! Read this Activity progression for THRs.

My assessment is this: you've been doing far too much since day one and have over stressed your muscles to the point were they are now staging a protest! I suggest you cut right back on everything which includes
Cooking, food prep
walking around the neighborhood morning, afternoon and evening
light pool walking
shopping at a large store

Now obviously, according the the article I linked you to, you should be doing all this about now but it should have been a new extension to what you'd been doing before which wasn't very much!

So for starters, I suggest you take Tylenol 1,000mg every 6hrs even waking in the night to take a dose!
You should also rest lots and elevate the leg and ice the knee.
Do keep a little active inasmuch as going to the bathroom and making yourself a snack, taking a 10 minute walk down the garden or street.
And use your cane indoors and out!

If this doesn't reap you some improvement within a couple of weeks, I'll be most surprised!
One thing is certain though, you cannot exercise pain away, it will only make it worse!