12 weeks ago I had thr and a muscle repair to gluteus Maximus as it had rotated so was put in right position and stitched back still can’t do everything I want but my main worry is being unable to walk without stick and if I do try I limp badly with a lot of muscle pain has anyone else had this problem
Hi Sarah I am 2 weeks post op and when I try walking without my crutches I limp badly. RichardKen on here advises to not give up using both crutches until we’re able to walk without limping. That makes perfect sense to me so that’s what I will do. I’ve had a year of agonising pain during which i walked everywhere with a very pronounced limp. I don’t want that way of walking to be a way of life anymore.
I am now 13+ wks post thr and have only just given up my cane. It has been difficult and does hurt more without the cane but I feel I must move on. I have had 12 sessions of PT which helped tremendously. I think I will have some pain and a lot of discomfort for a few more weeks or months. No one told me! I thought it was done when done. Chin up!
Sarah having your muscle repaired has probably set you back. Just keep doing your exercises to build the muscles up. Keep walking each day. It may help if you go to the local pool and just walk up and down and do your exercises. Most have a hoist if you are worried about getting into the pool. Also practice walking heel/toe. You need to re educate your brain on how to walk properly. It will get better.
sarah, I am about 15 16 weeks?? august 17 posterior right side, I am 40 and had a huge swelling issue at day 8 that set me back 3-4 weeks.
I can walk ok, but I have to think about it, drs, say you must retrain brain walking, land on heel and push off through toe, so you don't limp. I work on construction sites, I am never on flat ground after breakfast at 630 am until night time 7pm. I keep my cane in the truck, if the grade is really rough, I use it!
When I was 12 weeks, for me about 3 weeks ago, I was still using cane a bunch,
All my first steps are week and hurt, but once going feel ok, I ran out of PT so they gave me instructions and I go to the gym and do excises, hopefully 2-4 times a week.
I still have pain, some groin, some thi, its usually momentary (first few steps) then goes away. I can still tell my right thi is week compared to left, I still get incision pain from big heavy work belt tied to it all day, so I switch to overalls.
I still ice at night, and sometimes wake up from pain making me uncomfortable. usually just a roll over and back to sleep.
I was told the weird pains will last at least 6 months, They said it takes 6 months for the bone to fuse to the new hardware, they also said 12 months to feel normal again. But to be honest, I'm not sure what normal is, I lived so long with bad hip not knowing it, and have bad back problems form hard labor work, that I have no real set goal.
While sleeping on back after surgery, my back felt better, now I am walking straight, and working, My back is crippling me. ( I was really hoping this would go away with new Hip) Not the case.
I hope this helps
Hi Sarah, my glutes are so small and underdeveloped that I could not lift my leg if laying on my side. I lifted my legs with my back muscles. It has been a year and I finally can lift my leg. I had to use the cane to maintain my gate. I can walk for half a mile but after that I limp. So I keep working on glutes and hip abductors. Mine are so small that I have no bum. I walk like a crab for 10 min, 3 x/day. Stand on one leg, constricting my glutes for as long as I can and then repeat 10 times. Every step I take I first contract my pelvis floor and glutes. It is draining but worth it as my gait has drastically improved and no longer walk like a penguin.
Hi
I am now 5 months post op and still walk with a bad limp. When I went for my 3 month check up I was told by my surgeon and physio to get rid of any walking aids and that I have to retrain my brain.. easier said than done!! I am so frustrated as I have religiously followed all of the exercises but I feel my operated leg is not getting stronger. It seems that everyone seems to be progressing a lot faster than me. Getting really fed up as I was so active and fit before. Are my expectations too high, too soon?
I would go back to using both crutches, you might have better results in the long term than carrying on like you are with nothing?
Was your gluteus. Maximum damaged before your hip replacement? I am also nearly 12 weeks post uncemented right hip replacement, cannot walk without crutch, very weak leg , can’t do side leg raises . Waiting for mri, ... apparently muscle might not be attached to bone!!!!
They didn’t know it had rotated until started op I’ve seen surgeon and he said muscle is weak and need to be retrained how to work the right way round I asked if it could rotate again he said no as it’s stitched in place
Hi Sarah, it takes time and perseverance. I was using the wrong muscles because mine were pinched and I had lost a lot of mobility. Our brains get wired to do what ever is easier and it is do draining to relearn how to walk,, how to use the right muscles because in the long run it will better. I am still in my journey and I am an impatient person. Totally goal driven and taking baby steps was so frustrating. Break down you goal in smaller packages and aim for something that is achievable. For example, I was never able to lift my right leg and did not have the muscle mass to lift what seemed to be. 30 pounds of dead weight. My goal was to lift it fall the way to 90 degrees. I used a scarf for the longest time to assist lifting it and then I would contract my muscles as hard I could to keep it up with no assistance from the scarf for 3 sec and then repeat after resting. I now able to lift it about 4 inches with no scarf. So now the challenge is to lift it a bit higher every time and hold it a little longer and add a little bit of weight. Just using my snow boots is resistance. My best friend used to tell me that the tough keep going when it gets rough.
Sometimes we worry about the worse case scenarios. Once the do the MRI, they will have a more clear view but how will they do MRI since you have metal in your hip. They did ultra sound on me.