Advice post OP please

Bones, joints and muscles
1

hi all as some of you know I had my RTHR just 2 weeks ago and I think atm everything is going really well. My questions are :-

  1. I realise affected leg swells and can be reduced by elevation and ice but does walking also reduce it ??
  2. I’m waking with the feeling my leg muscles want to stretch - like you do normally but once / twice but this doesn’t stop till I get up - is that normal. I’m assuming my muscles are waking up after being dormant for so long

thx for any replies

2

Hello Julie,

I’m 9 week post op left hip and 3 week right hip and each recovery is different.

Answers:

  1. I found walking helped build my muscle and focus on trying to walk normally and trust my legs again but each time I did walk it swelled up but like you’ve mention rest/elevation helped - eventually the swelling just goes.
  2. My most recent OP felt different and similar to what you’ve mentioned so i’m guessing this is normal - my leg feels like it wants to stretch and it became more apparent after physio so i’m putting it down to using the muscle again and it pulling it back into place.

i hope my experiences have helped,
Dan

3

thx Dan. I just wondered if walking more would help but sounds like it just settles. I’ve got a tracker and I’m doing abt 1.5k steps a day and 0.5 miles but not yet ventured out which I may do this afternoon as the suns out.
glad tho re the muscle stretch I’m getting sounds like its a I thought my muscles waking up .
hope your recovery continues well:) at least we’ve hopefully the summer to recover

4

Hi Julie, I too experienced the swelling which I was told to.ice and elevate regularly. After doing this consistently and walking with daily exercise the swelling went away in about 2-3 weeks. The muscles are extremely tight and sore at this point which dr says is normal and eased up after walking. It will get better. Good luck to you and hope that helps some.

5

thx a lot . yes I’m sure itll settle :slight_smile:
compared to my pain and reduced ability to move or do anything what I’m experiencing now is nothing . thx again for your advice

6

How long are you taking off Julie? I’m planning on going back to work on 1st July but my job is quite load baring so I’ll see what happens.

7

hi. I’m retired ex nurse . that’s why I have problem with my hip. all the heavy lifting I did from when I was 19. these days they have hoists etc years ago the hospital had 1 fir everyone e to use and we had to do something called the Australian lift where we took the weight of the patient on our backs . these days this type of lifting is banned.
so I’m enjoying my retirement or I was …lol

8

hope you manage ok at work. 1st July is a while away in the grand scheme of hip replacement recovery. I cant believe I only had my OP 2 weeks ago today. my mobility even now is loads better

9

sounds hard work and your situation is probably why they stopped them. I started a new job when i had an arthritic flare and which then transitioned to arthritic hips after 6 months of no mobility and pain a hip replacement was the only option, which at 32 was a shock.
The pain is still bad (thank god for pain killers) but the movement is much better and can actually close my legs together but still struggle with getting dressed.

kind regards,
Dan

10

yes they realised nationally too many nurses were leaving thro I’ll health due to bony problems. much better now for the younger nurses - lots of lifting equipment they use.
agree re bit of a shock at 32 to need hip replacements .but bonus is now they’re lasting much longer than they used to. glad its given you improved movement. and yes thank God for decent painkillers lol.

11

I think walking will also help reduce the swelling and wear the TED stockings. I think the muscles will improve over time. 2 weeks is very early. I am 4 weeks today and still feel like improving daily

12

Hi, I was similar, but I had no swelling after two days. I felt after a week or so, the need to stretch was overwhelming, it feels odd but I felt throughout the night it felt right, and always had a good stretch before getting out of bed. I also did leg lifts and later bum lifts whenever I woke in the night (back sleeping kept me up!!) hope this helps
Helen

13

hi yes thx. any advice most welcome. julie

14

thx . I’m not wearing Teds my consultant has me on asprin for abt 6 weeks which might be why my legs swelling but I’m sure itll settle. I know 2 weeks is early but I was just asking for advice as to what others found helpful.

15

Hi Julie,

Argghh the dreaded Australian lift! I too remember all that terrible lifting we did as nurses and I too attribute some of my OA down to the physical - ness of it all! I wonder if in years to come there will be law firms advertising help ‘if you suffered physical injury as a result of poor lifting technique as a nurse’ and offering to sue employers??!!??

16

lol. the young sister on the ward I was on sd they had lots of older nurses In needing hip / knee / shoulder repairs. the powers that be knew and know the damage all the lifting did why in the UK atm we can still retire at 55 because our skeletal bodies are 10 years older than we are in reality. so in a sense theyve lost out cos if theyd took greater care of us wed be still working up to or past 65.
yes the Australian lift was a bugger. it relied on your opposite number lifting the same as you besides it worked better if you were both the same height. which rarely happened. my knees are buffered as well from kneeling on concrete floors emptying catheter bags and drains lol. they didn’t tell me this when I was 19 and first started lol.
but I loved being a nurse .

17

I don’t think walking helps with swelling … that’s ice and time … but walking helps your overall recovery … and is important for building muscle and developing confidence … and in preventing blood clots.

Swelling goes down with icing and time …

On stretching I’m not able to imagine the sensation you’re having … Every surgeon is different … Sure, some mild stretching you can test but your muscles need to heal and recover … not sure stretching does any good early on … but share your sensation with your surgeon or your surgeon’s nurse.

18

thx for your reply . 8m now 22 days post OP and most of the swelling has settled mainly due to regular elevation thro out the day.
I’m still getting the odd stretching of my thigh esp on waking but its settling compared to how it was.
managed to go for a very short walk yesterday - first day it’s not rained and worried crutches would slip’- muscles sore after but it was great to be out the house even if I’m walking abt 0.75 miles every day inside.
thx again for your reply