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THR THR: my journey and outcome

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hi folks
just thought I'd pop in tae say hello after my 1st year post op :)

saw my surgeon today and he was well pleased with my progress..."your recovery is over and above what I would expect from my patients" he wants to see in again in TWO years time :)

I still have a slight weakness in my leg and a little tenderness around the bursa area of my hip (bursa was removed during op) the Doc said today that he has noticed that patients with less "padding" around their bodies ( a polite way to say slender/slim patients) tend to have more pain in this area after the THR.

my recovery was a little different than some I suppose as I suffer from ankylosing spondylitis....Doc also said that folk with AS or RA tend to take a little longer to recover.

pre op pain is gone completely. post op pain, in that little bursa area, kicks in when I overdo things.
I can walk easily without cane for over a hour and when pain starts the recovery time is only a few minutes.

looking back on my recovery I can clearly see that I was far too hasty...after only a week at home, post op, I was back at the weight training in my living room, hopping around on one leg,crazy stuff!

because of the other issues (AS) I am never going to be "right" I can accept that now, and I feel very happy with my "new hip"...and very grateful too

to new readers of this post, do not be afraid of the OP, the surgeons and recovery staff are out of this world.
do your pre and post op exercises every day AND DON'T OVERDO IT or try to rush things along :)

to the lovely Jo and her mods a very special thank you for your kind words, care and advice, BONESMART have some very special people on board

it has taken me a whole year ( recovery is individual and will be different for YOU ) but I feel that I have now arrived at last, after a LOT of hard work and can now ,finally, start to enjoy my new lease of life :)

good luck tae you all
and lots of love John xxx
 
@ochaye Great to hear from you John. Yes, I too took over a year to recover. There are lots of hippies in the same position. But some very wise words from you about not over doing things.

So glad you feel you are finally there. But it really doesn't stop. You will continue to see progress - maybe not as dramatic as that first year. Enjoy your new life with that shiny hip!
 
@Josephine

hi all :)

it's about 14 months since my THR and I am STILL getting pain around the greater trochanteric.

I have had the pain in that area since the op....the surgeon removed the bursa during the op.

I can walk the length of a coupla football pitches, without the cane, before the pain kicks in and I grind to a halt....a few minutes rest and I am good to go again. I can however have the pain whilst sitting at my desk if I have been walking too much.

I have mentioned this pain to both my rheumy and my surgeon......and they said, "oh, folk like yourself with ankylosing spondylitis or RA can take much longer to recover...." and " slim folk like yourself with little padding around their legs tend to get this pain..."

the muscles in my operated leg still look a little wasted to me, and the strength is not great either despite all the walking I do.

it's the only blip on an otherwise great decision to have the op.

the pain for the most part is at the top of the GT.... around "12 o' clock" if one looked at the GT as a clock face.

I would not imagine after 14 months that talking things easy is the answer......so is there some stretching exercises or weight training exercises I can do at home or out walking that will help strengthen my operated leg and reduce the amount of GT pain?

oh, since it's Halloween.....woooooooooo ooooooooooooooo

regards
Count John Mac Werewolfie
 
ochaye said:
it's about 14 months since my THR and I am STILL getting pain around the greater trochanter. The surgeon removed the bursa during the op. I would not imagine after 14 months that talking things easy is the answer......so is there some stretching exercises or weight training exercises I can do at home or out walking that will help strengthen my operated leg and reduce the amount of GT pain?
Click to expand...
Well, you would think so, wouldn't you but the opposite is the case. You see this is actually nothing to do with your hip replacement or having weak muscles, IT band issues can happen any time. I've had it on and off ever since my knee replacement and I have to keep it under control with one of the following:
1. regular visits to my chiropractor
2. do-it-yourself massage (Acupressure massage)
3. use of my favourite hate, NSAID gels such as Voltarol gel or Ibuleve

Or you can use stretches as explained in the article ITB (ilio-tibial band) issues and treatments but I can't seem to do those as I'm not limber enough!
ochaye said:
Count John Mac Werewolfie
Click to expand...
Very funny! :rotfl:
 
John - I'm interested when you said you 'trained like a prize fighter' - could you give a bit more detail? Weight training, metcon? Just upper body or how did you strengthen the legs? How do you think tone and condition specifically helped post-op? Thanks!
 
@TrickiDicki
pre and post op preparation I guess is VERY important
I walked pre and post op[ for a hour and a half every day and did total body workout with weights at home.....back against a gym ball up against a wall with leg squats......I was physically prepared for this op, top of the class so to speak, but the mental prep and adjustment is equally important I have since discovered

all the best Mr Oz :)
 
@Josephine

Hi Jo
I am curious......I have been reading on these here pages about LATE INFECTIONS.....how rare/ how often do you encounter these infections after say,18 months/ 2 years post op, how do we get these infections and what precautions can we take to safeguard ourselves against them?

I mentioned in passing to my surgeon about dental work and anti biotics and he said......" we don't bother with that any more ..."

hope you and your lovely mods have a nice xmas.....and all the leggy peeps too

love John
xxx

oh I forgot.....on the very surface of my scar it sometimes feels a little tender NOT sore just a little "fragile" is this normal after 1 year?
 
Hi there me old mukker! How the heck are you?

I guess you haven't actually read the articles in the Library about this topic?
Here they are
Infection: Peri-prosthetic infection - also known as late onset infection
Infection: Periprosthetic infection (Scientific Articles)
Infection: Peri-prosthetic infection: study by the Mayo Clinic concerning prophylactic antibiotics (Scientific Articles)
Dental antibiotics: Evidence insufficient to recommend prophylactic antibiotics for dental procedures

In summary, it's pretty uncommon, about 1-2% overall, I believe. And the infections arise from the bio-flim which you can read about in the articles, so it's not a case safeguarding yourself. They can occur any time, it just depends when or why the bio-film may decide to get into gear. It's something we all have to live with, I'm afraid.
 
@Josephine
hello all, nice to see you all again.. hope you are well :)
a quick summary...

I suffer from ank spon...got a THR on my left leg about a year and 10 months ago and suffered post op from pain in the greater trochanter ....bursa removed during op....still have pain in GT area

I'm 60 now and should have had the THR many years ago.....some muscle wastage in leg prior to op

I can walk without cane for up to 2 hours but it is not pretty looking...limp with a lot of discomfort...so I tend to always go with cane for when I get tired or sore

I have walked myself into the Guinness book of records trying to build strength up in operated leg but my progress has been very poor.

if I walk without cane around the perimeter of a football park pain starts to kick in by the end of "lap one". this week I tried an experiment to see if, after a walk around the football park, I could support myself by standing still on the operated leg alone......I can barely manage 10 seconds at this point.

I ran this story past my rheumy this week and he said he will speak to the surgeon for clues as to what could possible be holding me back........I also told my rheumy about the removed bursa and he said bursas can grow back in!

it is a general weakness in my leg at the GT area and I could draw a line of pain around the outer limits of my buttock "dimple". the circle around the GT is painful to the touch

he asked me to perform 3x daily the lying down hip abductor/scissor exercise and see him again in 6 month. if by that time there was no noticeable improvement he would administer a dose of steroids.. cortisone?

...but would a dose of steroids not just be a temporary fix? I don't know

I now believe my hip must have been in a terrible state before the op with many muscles and tendons in a very poor shape to due to my postponement/reluctance to have the THR

so Dear Jo I am at my wits end, I have tried so very hard but I'm just not getting there at all....any thoughts or exercises you can suggest to help build this leg up?

by having this THR it would appear that I have traded the relief of pain for poorer mobility and gained a cane into the bargain

hope everyone on the forum is doing well
love to all
John
 
Just a way long shot --- and that suddenly I started getting BoneSmart notices again after not for quite some time . . . and that I have been having a similar pain and weakness in addition to a bunch of other symptoms that all led me back to investigating my sacroiliac joint. I first read about the troublesome SI joint on this forum last June on a similar random notice and had one of those infamous "Me2" feelings.

After waiting many years to do THR, including much very bad limping, I finally had both hips done last year only to be totally floored 8 weeks after second surgery with the remaining pain that included
ochaye said:
a general weakness in my leg at the GT area and I could draw a line of pain around the outer limits of my buttock "dimple". the circle around the GT is painful to the touch
Click to expand...
A tell tale indicator that I have however is that most people perceive SI joint issue with a finger point just to above and to the side of the "dimple". Similar to what you are saying is that mine does seem to radiate from there around to front at the top of the GT as I move about during the day. Part of my "coping" is to twist my back and body so as not to sit or stand on that side (which many do) causing my back to hurt tremendously when combined with the ever common spinal stenosis and ddd. Just a thought which could be totally irrelevant.
 
ochaye said:
bump for the lovely @Josephine
Click to expand...
Oh sweetheart, I'm so sorry. I was at work on Friday and as a result, exhausted all day yesterday.
Not as young as I used to was! :old:
ochaye said:
it is a general weakness in my leg at the GT area and I could draw a line of pain around the outer limits of my buttock "dimple". the circle around the GT is painful to the touch
Click to expand...
That's a good clue. Is it like this

[Bonesmart.org] THR: my journey and outcome


Because that is Piriformis syndrome and very often goes in company with trochanteric bursitis. Also TB is invariably an offshoot of ITB (ilio-tibial band) issues.
ochaye said:
he asked me to perform 3x daily the lying down hip abductor/scissor exercise and see him again in 6 months. If by that time there was no noticeable improvement he would administer a dose of steroids.. cortisone? But would a dose of steroids not just be a temporary fix? I don't know
Click to expand...
The mean old so-and-so! Why can't he gie you the cortisone right away. 6 months is a heck of a long time to wait. Besides which, the exercises he has suggested are ones that will irritate all three of the conditions I have mentioned. I suggest you see your GP and see if s/he will do the injection instead. Mine did. I had both piriformis and TB and my GP injected it and it was gone in an instant and has never come back! So it can be a cure but it can also be a temporary fix. But no reason you can't have several injections even if it only works for a short while. If yoru GP won't see if s/he will refer you back to your OS.
ochaye said:
he said bursas can grow back in
Click to expand...
Don't think so but it depends how radical an excision the surgeon did. If a bit is left behind he can start acting like a bursa again but *shakes head* don't think so really.
 
yes @Josephine that's the general area for most of the pain, the rest of the discomfort being the area above the red area at the edge of the pelvis/bone.

I have had this since the very beginning and already asked my GP last year for the injection only to be told .." we no longer do these injections into the hip at the GPs surgery?
 
Then try the stretches described in the articles and see if they help at all. But don't use the exercises he gave you as they will make it worse.

If no improvement then either get yourself referred back to your surgeon, and MSK doctor (but don't let them prescribe exercises!) or go back and tell your rheumy that you want it done now as you've had it long enough! Be firm but appealing!
 
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