THR Thigh Pain after 11 weeks

Thanks @Calgal I get bringing the non op leg up but didn’t get dangling off the side of the bed. Would like to give it a try if it was so successful with your thigh pain
 
Imagine you sit on the side of your bed like it's a chair. Legs are bent 90 degrees at knees, right? Now just lay down your body onto the bed making sure your bottom is far enough back so you can feel the vertical part of the mattresd on the backs of your calves. Legs are still dangling 90 degrees from knee. Now grasp your knee and bring up the NON op leg up toward your chest (however far you can) and hold for a few seconds. You should feel a stretch in the opposite (op) thigh. Hope this explains it a bit better. I did it just before getting out if and into bed every day for about 3 days and it no more thigh pain. Good luck!
 
Now grasp your knee and bring up the NON op leg up toward your chest
Please be sure you only do this on the NON op (left) side. There is a risk of dislocation in the early days if you try this on your op (right) side.
 
Thanks for the advice about the cane. Why didn't I think of that? I was very excited to "lose" the cane somewhere in the second month but I will rethink that choice and see if my gait improves. I agree that my post op "pain" is probably a 1-2, whereas my pre-op pain was bone on bone 10+ and very debilitating to the point that I was housebound. It really is a miracle and I guess I panic that I won't get to 100% where I'm not thinking about my hip all day. Will I have groin pain forever? It seems that so many patients get to that point. Yesterday I had PT and he tried a few new "moves" and today I' stiff so is that a good thing because he's working those muscles or is it aggravating it? That's my fear and it prevents me from "pushing through" as they say.
 
Not sure what that last post is referencing but.....thought I would update my ready to go posts.
I'm now at 15 weeks and still healing....still have thigh pain but not as bad. Saw my OS a couple of weeks ago and he said to still take it easy. He also asked what he could have done or said that would have made my experience easier especially at the beginning of this journey. I told him what helped me the most was this website and that he would do his patients a big favor if he would recommend BoneSmart to his patients. He thought that was great! Thank goodness he was against doing PT at the beginning and just recommended walking and healing.
I also told him it would have been helpful for him to explain that because I had a press fit stem or non cemented stem that it would take a while for the bone to grow around it. I told him that I thought I had messed it up with my first steps at the hospital when they told me I could put as much weight on it as I wanted and really pressed down on it!! Very painful!! I thought I might have moved the stem...he said that was possible....so is that a bad thing?? Not sure.
My family has been very supportive and my husband has been awesome but none of them really know what it
feels like and how much it occupies my thinking. Soooo......
Every time I get down about my progress I come on the form and read some of the other posts and feel better about things. My husband keeps saying...remember your forum says one year. Sure but I still have to get there one day at a time. And it can be discouraging.
MY OS wants to see me next month to see how things are going. So hopefully I'll have good news..Thank you
 
Sounds like you are doing great @readytogo ! And it's great that you have a good relationship with your OS. Being able to speak freely and get all your concerns addressed is a definite plus!
 
Thanks @Jaycey So tell me again that it is normal to still have thigh pain
Most days I have some time of no pain but it always seems to come back
 
So tell me again that it is normal to still have thigh pain
Reading back on your thread it sounds like you were far too active too early. What is your activity level now? Are you icing and elevating? Does this pain ease with rest?
 
He also asked what he could have done or said that would have made my experience easier especially at the beginning of this journey. I told him what helped me the most was this website and that he would do his patients a big favor if he would recommend BoneSmart to his patients. He thought that was great! .

On behalf of BoneSmart, thank you! Much appreciated. I hope you have a wonderful week and please stay in touch so we can continue to support you on the journey. :)
@readytogo
 
Hi Layla. It’s not horrible pain. I’m walking a bit but not like I did before my operation. Riding my bike a little. I am icing some. Just seems like I have plateaued and I’m not getting much better. I guess I just am expecting too much. I’m coaching golf but it’s only for an hour or so a day starting tomorrow.
Of course I think the worst and it won’t ever improve!!!
Thanks for getting back to me.
 
Oh and yes the pain does ease with rest
 
Is there a way to tell if the bone is not growing around the stem?
 
Hi @readytogo
Thanks for recommending that your OS recommend the forum to his patients.
I told my OS the same thing.:)

Is there a way to tell if the bone is not growing around the stem?

Xrays should show this...not sure how else.
Did they take xrays at your last appointment?
 
Yes my op was on 5/28/19 and had an X-ray on 6/5/19 and another on 7/10/19 They said they looked good,
but I just don't understand this persistent thigh pain. Only hurts when I walk Not all the time, but certainly every day since the op. Thank you
 
@readytogo! Spending a few moments catching up with your recovery thread. Sounds like you're having a time with it. Chronic pain can be very, very frustrating, especially if you don't know the source of the pain. I suggest you write down very specifically when and where your pain occurs. Sounds like only when you walk...sometimes? What makes it better. Time of day it hurts. Movement you do to cause it to hurt. You say "thigh". What does that mean? Upper thigh? Mid thigh? Or close to your knee? Inner or outer thigh? Describe the pain exactly; dull or deep ache, piercing pain, sharp, pain at first movement then it lets up, nerve-like pain, boring pain? Be diligent and precise in this because the body is so complex and differentiating the myriad causes can be difficult what with all the nerves, tendons, muscles, etc. that make up your "thigh." You have to become a detective, so to speak, questioning your body and listening for its answers. Perhaps you can diagram your "pain, so it becomes a visual that you can share with your ortho. That helps narrow it down. Remember, too, that presurgery movements, surgery, and recovery cause some muscles to get super tight, others to get weak. If you had an anterior HR, those hip flexors can be really tight and sore and may only need a bit of stretching throughout the day, hamstrings and glutes may need strengthening. Muscle rebalancing is a must in recovery... Perhaps working with a qualified personal trainer who really understands functional body movement would be helpful. Again, check with your doc and go from there. Recovery can be a lengthy process and requires us to be ever so patient and kind to our bodies. The right kind of "pushing" and nudging to new goals is admirable, but not too much. Everyone must find their balance points through persistent trial and error.
 
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Ok so here's how it goes....
If I wake up to go to the bathroom in the early morning...no pain...
Then getting up 7:30-8:30 there's pain and it is always in the same spot. It is mid thigh about 4 inches above the
knee to about 7 inches higher. It is about 3 inches wide and feels deep. Doesn't feel like nerve pain. Could be
my muscles, but why is it lasting sooooo long? That is why I feel like I did something to the stem or the bone has
not grown into the stem. It is uncemented and I have read on these forums that the bones only grow for 3-4 months and I'm coming up on 4 months next week. During the day, it comes and goes....
Sometimes the pain is sharp, and deep....but inevitably will start up after I have been walking for even a little bit. May start out with no pain but nearly always goes into something painful..
I ice and am still taking 1000 mg Tylenol 3x's a day and some ibuprofen. Ibuprofen has always worked on pain for me. I'm just hoping it is muscular and not a problem with the stem!! the 2 X-rays looked ok however to my untrained eye, it looked to me like the stem had moved off center in the 2nd X-ray.
Anyway will call my OS tomorrow and see if they can recommend a good massage therapist. I do have a good chiropractor but I have been hesitant to see him as I don't want to cause any damage. I have done some of my own massaging, but I'm sure it's not enough....sheesh...and blah blah blah. My poor husband is suffering from hip fatigue!!! but it does kind of consume your thoughts especially if you don't know what's going on.
 
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Good for you, you seemed to have nailed your thigh pain down. I do suggest, to alleviate any fears about stem not growing into bone, loose or ill-placed parts, etc. that you definitely have this conversation with your ortho. And be firm with your concerns and needs. At least, one way or another, you can affirm or deny it and that can carry you to the next place of "investigation."
 
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That's awesome!! Thank you...will call the OS tomorrow and rule out stem stuff. Thank you so much.
Will let you know...
 
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I read an article that sounds like what I'm dealing with and it says that "Surgery is very seldom necessary" :

The shaft just below the tip of the stem typically is a lot more flexible than the shaft above, which is stiffer because of the embedded metal hip stem. This condition occurs more commonly with non-cemented hip stems and is more common with some designs than others. Fortunately the thigh pain, often described as a deep muscle ache in the upper front and outer thigh, resolves on its own over time, as the body remodels (the femoral cortex thickens) to equilibrate this transition area. Surgery is very seldom necessary.

Hoping that is the case!!
 
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