Hi,
I've been writing about my progress on a weekly progress and here we are already 3 weeks post op. I should say that I was strong before the op with swimming and the gym and my BMI is about 25 so not too heavy.
At the end of the week 3 I'm finding I can swing my leg in and out of bed without too much thought and am walking around the house without aid apart from later in the evening after Ive done my daily walk and then I may use a crutch. Also first thing in the morning I am a little stiff for 5 mins and then it eases off. As far as walking, I was doing 3/4 mile walks daily at the start of the week with two crutches and ending up doing a 11/2 mile walk around a stately home yesterday with a rest and coffee in between.
I saw the physio on Wednesday and she said I was doing good and that I can walk with one crutch outside and as long as there was no pain walk as far as you want. She also said that restrictions had been reduced on things like sleepinig on your back for six weeks and said it was ok to sleep on any side as long as it was comfortable. I have been sleeping on my non op side for well over a week, with pillow, and what a blessing that has been. Since Wednesday I've managed to lie on my op side and whilst not painful I'm only able to lie for about 30 mins before I need to roll over to status quo. I'm sure before next week I may be sleeping on the op side.
Since Wednesday I've been walking with one crutch and two crutches on alternate days after taking on board what people have suggested on here about maintaining a good gait before going 'freestyle' without crutches.
I must say that the improvement on a weekly basis is quite remarkable, at end of week one I said that I was not looking forward to my other hip being done anytime soon but now the thought is not so daunting.
Happy xmas hippies and good luck to everyone.
Hi Breeze
Glad to hear that you're doing so well. I'm just starting week 2. So far so good, I haven't been out because the weather's not been good but I've been doing circuits of the apartment on 2 crutches. My issue has been with swelling of the operated leg, starting with the thigh and now that's subsided, in the knee and ankle. Did you experience the same thing?
I'm 70 and quite active before the op. I guess swelling is only to be expected, but it wasn't mentioned by the hospital or physios. I'm using ice packs and hoping it will go down eventually.
Merry Christmas
Norm
Hi Norm,
I had a posterior RTHR a year ago and wrote a post recently on my recovery timelines.
Yes I definitely experienced swelling of the operated leg during the first month or so. I was supposed to rest 3x per day for a half hour at a time with my lower legs above my heart using pillows to elevate my legs to reduce the swelling. But in bed at nighttime, it was very uncomfortable, the foot of my operated leg would get cold. I even took to wearing socks to bed!
When I mentioned this to my surgeon at my three week visit, she prescribed compression socks (I think they were 25 mm Hg, if that helps). These are the socks that they recommend for long flights to reduce the likelihood of DVT.
I would put the socks on first thing in the morning and wear them all day and remove them at bedtime. They eliminated the cold feet feeling I was experiencing and allowed to me sleep better.
Thanks Pat, that's encouraging. I've been given compression socks to wear but they don't seem to be very long. I'll review them with the physio when I go to see him. I know what you mean about being uncomfortable in bed, I tried raising my feet but that only put more pressure on my buttocks! I'll keep using the ice pack and hope it goes away.
Norm
Hi Norm,
Yes, I guess compression socks come in a variety of lengths. Mine were knee length and were open at the toes.
Sounds like you're doing well there.
Merry Christmas
Graham
Dear Breeze
I'm glad that you found it a benefit to walk with both crutches. No point in doing without them until the point comes when you are walking strongly and with a good gait. I can not understand why some physios seem to think otherwise.
All the best, Richard
Dear Pistolpat
You should have been measured up for width and length so that the socks apply the correct degree of pressure.
Cheers Richard
Hi Norm,
Yes, I had swelling for the first 10 or so days but only above the knee. I did spend a lot of time in bed the first 10 or so days and just got up for a few hours at a time.
good luck
Tony
Hi Richard,
I suppose most physios have not had a replacement so maybe that's the reason. It's a lot harder to walk with one crutch but of course it works the operated leg muscles more. At my stage it's a welcome break to go back to two crutches after the one crutch walk and I probably walk further with the two so its six of one and 1/2 dozen of the other.
Cheers
Tony
Great to hear you are doing well Tony, I overdid my pre Christmas driving visiting the grandchildren. The traffic was heavy with long delays and traffic jams so I was having to use the clutch a lot. It was all very tiring too. I had driven for an hour and half each way on a day out so thought I was ok to try longer trips but hadn't thought about Christmas traffic and weather conditions. It all took much longer than anticipated. I've still managed a couple of Pilates classes but have been resting quite a bit over Christmas. Starting back at the gym in the morning with an aqua class. Annoyed my hip feels still feels a bit sore though because it was great before that flipping driving. Hopefully it will settle down over time. Hope you continue with your excellent progress.
cheers
Ann
Hi Annie,
Sorry to hear your set back but I'm hoping it will settle down soon with rest. The traffic in uk is terrible nowadays and before my op, driving in towns with constant clutch and gear change was one of the most painful things I could do to my hip.
I find I can have two days where I walk 2600 mtrs and then I give myself a rest day to let the ache in the hip settle down and i think it does me a lot of good having at least two rest days a week. I still potter around the house without sticks but give the walk a miss.
Good luck going forward.
Tony
My physio told me to wait until my next visit to her in 18 days time before I went to the gym or swim and I'm ok with that but I'll be raring to go.
Yes I went back to the gym at 5 weeks but only for short workouts based on what I was doing at the hospital physio. Also did walking and various exercises in the pool. I wasn’t really able to swim until 7 weeks and then only a few lengths to begin with but it quickly builds up as you get stronger from the exercises. Rest days are very important as you say. It feels great to see improvements though.
Cheers
Ann
Hi all,
Just an update now I'm at the end of week 5.
At the end of week 3 I was walking 11/2 miles and since then I'm doing 2 miles with both 1 and 2 sticks on alternate days. During this time I started doing intervals of not using the sticks for say 100 mtrs and gradual increased the unstick distances as I was able to. I could now walk further than 2 miles but dont want to over do it but my mobile phone pacer is telling me that I'm slowly getting faster over time. 5 days ago I was able to put me sock on without aids which was a great milestone and yesterday walked the 2 miles without sticks with what I felt is a slight limp but my partner says I'm walking straight. Over time the hip has got less and less spongy, as the muscles around the hip get stronger, and now feels like there is only about 2% give whilst 2 weeks ago it seemed like 10% give. My hip is still tender, when I start walking, after being sat for a while but eases off after about 50 mtrs.
I've been using the toilet without the raiser, can sleep on both sides now and take great delight in twisting my body to opposite sides painlessly in bed. I can sit down and get up from seats without raisers without knowing I'm doing it. The only painkiller I take now is ibrufin which I take 30 mins before my walks and I will probably stop taking them next week.
I think I'm having a good recovery but like many have said, you can have bad days but for me they have only lasted for one day and I just do nothing on that day and then I'm ok again. Going forward I'm going to keep at the two miles but do one day one stick, second day 2 sticks and 3 day no sticks followed by a rest day, or something like that. I've been taking two rest days a week and being retired I can get my feet off the ground a fair bit which I think helps the hip heal. Since week 4 I have found the standing on the op hip and balancing has been a good strengthening exercise. This really tightens the muscles around the hip.Starting off for 10 secs and then build up to 30sec
I see the physio again on Wednesday and hope she will give me the ok to swim and gym again, obviously I will go easy on the legs but it will be good to mix with people as recovering can make one a bit isolated.
I have found taking Psyllium fibre powders day and night have got me regular again without the need for laxatives.
Good luck to everyone.
Tony
Dear Tony
Sounds as if you are making steady progress. Well done. I do not understand why for your daily walks you are alternating between one, two and no sticks .
The benefit of using sticks is to allow you to walk with a good gait by virtue if allowing your arms to take some of the loading whilst your muscles are recovering strength and also to train your body to walk well.
I found that with my recent revision that when my muscles were up to strength that I found that I simply did not need my crutches for my walks which were about a couple of miles long.
Cheers Richard
Hi Richard,
Thanks for the reply. It's a good achievement getting to the no sticks as you are well aware.
The reason for alternating between one stick and no stick is that I'm not quite ready to walk without sticks everyday so am phasing it. I don't need two sticks for my operated hip but I'm finding that I'm walking more now than I've done for years and I'm starting to get pain from my other un operated hip which is waiting to be replaced. Life's all a compromise.
Tony
Dear Tony
Thanks for explaining. I do think you would benefit both hips by using ideally two crutches to spread the load evenly. It would also help to protect your back which will be at risk during the recovery period.
All the best. Richard