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Thigh pain after cementless hip replacement

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tracymacey

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Hi everyone,
I hope you're all recovering well - I was wondering if anyone could help me. I had a cementless replacement 12 weeks ago and Ive had a sharp pain in the front of my thigh going down to my knee since my op. Recently it seems worse (Ive got 2 kids and Ive been overdoing it), and I was wondering what experiences you have had - is there anyone out there who has had a cementless replacement? How are you getting on?
Thanks!
Tracy x
 
Hi Tracy I m a knee but im sure others will post and help but i wish you the best and hope you feel better soon.........)welcome........
 
Hi Tracy,
I've experienced some of the same. Mine turned out to be tightness in the muscle, and I wasn't stretching it out enough or often enough. Once I started doing that, it surely helped. Lay on your back & bring your operated leg towards your chest with your knee bent. Bring just to the point of tightening & hold for 30 seconds, repeating 3 times. It really helps if you can lay on a table or bed, so your other leg can dangle off the side. Do it to both legs. You'll feel it in the top of your thigh of the leg that is dangling too.
Check with your PT if you still have one. They should be able to help.
I know I was told to rub mine out often when resting it. It was a bit painful to do so, but felt really good after I was done. The same with the IT band on the side of your thigh that runs from the hip to the knee.
Good luck & dont over do it. I'm guilty of that!
 
Lifting kids will certainly do that! Oy - you mums! And for the record, uncemented are no different to cemented. You really don't know the difference. :wink:
 
Hey, even i have the thigh pain 4 months post bilateral surgeries, left looks fine but right hurts if i walk without support. X-rays looked absolutely fine as per doctor. So i am in a dilemma why is that pain ??
 
Plumber you could be right, but it doesnt feel muscular, its really sharp? I'll give those exercises a go though - Ive had no PT since leaving the hospital and my first follow up appointment is on 26th November (surgery was 29th July). My operated leg used to be almost 2 inches shorter, but now about the same length so could be s'thing to do with that? srikrocks - if x-rays are fine maybe its just an annoying part of healing process - do you feel like yours is getting any better? I feel like Ive stopped improving....
 
Initially after I removed my support it got worse and worse on one leg and other one is fine. So I started using support. After few days it was sort of 'ok' pain then one day I walked for 2km's without any support from then on again it got bad. Now I don't see any improvement. I'm so frustrated about how long would this healing process take place. I am 23 and I'm feeling really depressed with this poor recovery.
 
Hey, even I have the thigh pain 4 months post bilateral surgeries, left looks fine but right hurts if I walk without support. X-rays looked absolutely fine as per doctor. So I am in a dilemma why is that pain ??

Initially after I removed my support it got worse and worse on one leg and other one is fine. So I started using support. After few days it was sort of 'ok' pain then one day I walked for 2km's without any support from then on again it got bad. Now I don't see any improvement. I'm so frustrated about how long would this healing process take place. I am 23 and I'm feeling really depressed with this poor recovery.

It's muscular! And healing from major surgery can take months. It's not poor recovery. You've overdone it and are paying the price. Go easier on yourself and keep taking pain meds - even ibuprofen and Tylenol would do. But you need something. Untreated pain will just keep on raging like a fire. Pain stokes itself until it's quenched.

Plumber you could be right, but it doesn't feel muscular, it's really sharp? I'll give those exercises a go though - I've had no PT since leaving the hospital and my first follow up appointment is on 26th November (surgery was 29th July). My operated leg used to be almost 2 inches shorter, but now about the same length so could be s'thing to do with that?

Muscular pain can be sharp. Sometimes it feels like a cut. And the adjustment of leg length will have a lot to do with it. And 12 weeks is still very early in your recovery.

BOTH of you - don't be in such a hurry - it'll get better when it's good and ready to get better and nothing you can do will speed it up. But there's a lot you can do that will slow it down!
 
I developed a very sharp pain that started on the outside of my right hip and shot down to the front of my knee after THR last year. My therapist finally determined that it was an inflamed IT band. I am now recovering from TKR on the same leg and I seem to have developed the same pain again, although not as bad. The pain is a very sharp, shooting pain that I get when doing certain movements - mostly walking and stair climbing. It seems to get better with rest and gets aggravated after vigorous exercise. After the hip replacement last year, it gradually got better and went away. My therapist uses a rolling stick tool all along the IT band to work on it, and that helps somewhat.
Doug
 
If it is in the front of the leg into the knee its probably more quad related than hamstring...If you're doing the stretch plumber described and you have more tightness in the leg that is dangling try standing and bending the sore leg so and hold you're foot near your bum. If that does nothing you can try still holding the foot but sending that knee back a few inches to get a deeper stretch.

And absolutely your IT band is going to be very tight!! Its partly why I limp a little right after I stand up until it loosens up a bit. My PT recommended a rolling pin on any tight muscles and when that gets easier you can switch to a foam roller (my best friend in the whole world) My surgeon explained that the IT shortens because of the pillow we all had to keep between our legs during the initial recovery. It forces your leg out and away from the body and into a position where the IT naturally contracts. We all lay there for several days like that and then continue to sleep that way. It takes a lot of work to get it back to how it should feel and is also partly the reason why we all feel so lopsided in the beginning.

Also-if you haven't had PT since the hospital your sole exercise is your day to day routine...it may simply be fatiguing the muscles and tightening them without anyone there to help stretch them out. I know I had to re-train my gait in PT and perhaps because you have had such a change in leg length difference your body is having to constantly work harder to adjust to it and thats causing muscular pain as well.
 
Really? Like this?
[Bonesmart.org] Thigh pain after cementless hip replacement
 

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I would think cemented and uncemented are different. I mean the cemented offer support almost immediately after surgery as where uncemented has to wait for the bone to form around the prosthesis At least that is what my husbands therapist told him..
 
I agree, it's definitely muscular. Why haven't you had any PT since leaving the hospital? PT or massage therapy really helps! It allows you to stick with your exercise regimen. I had bilateral hip replacements at the end of June and had PT through the early part of September. I still go to a massage therapist twice a month who works on all the muscles that were messed with during the surgeries. I highly recommend that.
 
I would think cemented and uncemented are different. I mean the cemented offer support almost immediately after surgery as where uncemented has to wait for the bone to form around the prosthesis At least that is what my husbands therapist told him..
Trust me, you really don't know the difference!
 
Now almost after 4 months i have removed the support. i am almost fine but not yet completely. My right leg still troubling me a bit. how long does calcium pills need to be taken. my doc asked me to take for 6 months. is it fine doing so?
 
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