HI, I had an Anterior total right hip replacement 15 weeks ago and Im 47 years old. I did not have to use crutches or a walker and i did 6 weeks of physical therapy two times a week.
I am having problems getting back to my normal walking routine which is walking 3-4 miles three to four times a week. I Cant go over 1 mile and its taking a few minutes longer to walk that mile. I understand the longer time but I dont understand why i cant walk at least 2 miles. I have no endurance it seems like. I am able to walk and do the things i need to do at home with no problems so it makes me feel like i should be able to do more. I have read on different message boards about people older than me and are already back to walking 5-6 miles per day so its very discouraging.
I went to the zoo yesterday with my grandchildren not even thinking about the walking that I would have to do and i was okay about 3/4 of the 3 hours we were there. During the last 30-40 minutes we were there my hip started hurting and never let up, I had no choice but to keep walking and I hurt the rest of the day and night.
Does anyone have any advice that may help me?
Sharon, my advice to you is to not try and rush yourself. You’re doing great for being just four months out from surgery. I’m older than you and I’m happy to walk my 1.3 miles a day with my dog, up and down hills. I’ve had both hips done, the most recent was last April, so ten months ago. It has taken me this long to really start to feel back to normal.
I agree, I think you’re doing great. I am 37 and had my right hip replaced in October. Only lately have I been getting up to 10,000 steps a couple of days a week and that makes me sore. It’s incredible that you didn’t need crutches or a walker. I needed some sort of walking aid for 6 weeks. So don’t be hard on yourself. Everyone’s recovery is different and you have come so far. Just give it some more time. My co-worker’s husband said, “give it a year.”
I had the anterior approach surgery as well.
Me, too!
HI, like your self I’m 3.5 months post op for TRH im also 47 with two young children, now the icy mornings have become less ive upped my steps to 10,000 per day and yes if i do this in one go my hip is sore and my leg throbs also. I know i have more recovery to do and its soul destroying when you cant walk with out being sore. Sometimes I cant do certain movements in pilates when my hip is sore and this is the realsiation i have recovery to do. I wish you well.
Sorry to hear of your walking difficulties. I’m 78 and had my 20 hr old total hip revised about fifteen months ago and have been able to do walks of six miles without stopping at a fast pace for the last eight months.
I did not have any physio but I did the suggested exercises. I also used both crutches until I was walking. strongly with a good gait. I would also mention that a year ago I gad my four year old total ankle replacement completely replaced.
Hi Sharon,
It’s still early days, just take it steadily. I remember being a bit disappointed about my hip aching after a lot of walking, but I found it just kept on improving, up to a year post op. Now I hardly ever think about it.
Good luck!
Hi Sharon. Healing continues up to a year. I am 14wks and similar to you in what I can do. Every week though I notice some improvement, last week able to do knees to chest one of my back exercises.
See how far you come and remind yourself its a healing journey !
Thank you responding, I think some of the problem with me is that I did not continue to do the physical therapy exercises at home. I guess I thought that my everyday activity would be enough. Now I see that it was not and I have went backwards.
Thank you for responding. I will have to learn patience.
Thank you for responding, I have not walked as many steps as you have daily. I have a home daycare so I dont get a chance to walk as much as I would like. I average between 5 to 6000 steps most days. I have noticed I am stiff all over quite a bit so I have went back to taking Mobic hoping that will help.
Thank you, I hope by the time I get to a year I will be same as you.
Build up your exercise ‘mileage’, it can take time to regain your stamina.
Thank you, do you have any suggestions on how to do that
Hi, Sharon…I had a LTHR 2 years ago and did great as far as my recovery. I used a walker for 5 days in my house, then didn’t use anything after that. I climbed 40 steps to get into the building for church on Easter Sunday 2 weeks after getting out of the hospital without a cane or crutch. I was so proud to be coming along so well. I was 63 years old at the time and was in pretty good shape and very active when I broke my hip. Even though I did great in recovery, I quickly realized that if I did too much, I would pay the price with pain and feel a little setback in the recovery. I did so well that I thought I would be back to “normal” in a couple of months. I was not expecting that it takes a long time to get back to “normal”. I have to say, it was probably a year before I really felt “back to normal”.For months, I tried to be my normal active self and then would pay the price for thinking I could push myself that direction. You really have to pay attention to what your body is telling you. It will heal in its own time - not in your time. It sounds like you are expecting to be back to normal like I expected to be. Looking back now, I can see that my frame of mind moved faster than my healing process as far as thinking I should be back to normal. It sounds like you are pushing yourself when maybe you should try just being thankful to be walking that mile and then be even more thankful when you recover enough to do that second mile. Good luck getting there, but give your body as much time as it needs to heal.
Thank you for your reply, and I think you are right. I did not even have the question pop in my head about going to the zoo this past Sunday. I never once thought am I able to do this? Because it had been 4 months, I just did it plus I drove the 2.5 hours there and back.
This is the longest time I have driven at one time since my surgery.
I have been hurting now since Sunday.
Ok, there are way too many of those “I ran a marathon five weeks after THR” stories out there, and we patients remember ALL of them … and ignore the more normal recoveries.
So … you might have your expectations out of whack … I’ve faced the same issues … and I’m 5 months out … I can walk longer than you can … but I get a tightness in my quad … just above my knee.
A few points … one “icing” is almost always excellent after hip surgery … and just so you know, it can easily take a year or more to get back to top condition. I’m part of a group of highly athletic people who have hip replacements … some are runners … down to a person, they said it took 15 to 18 months to really feel good running. That’s whether anterior, superior, anterolateral, posterior–whatever the approach.
Second … your body might have gotten deconditioned before surgery … and so you might have muscles that are weak and are slowly rebuilding their strength … and you might be out of shape and thus tired past a mile … and then your body takes short cuts and those short cuts are causing an imbalance.
This ain’t gonna be what you want to hear … but when the pain is high, it’s best to back off … 15 weeks is still early in hip replacement. (Too much hype about fast recoveries for the “anterior” approach has misled folks.)
Back off … go easier … and ice the sore spots … multiple times a day for 40 minutes or more a session. Icing reduces inflammation … and really helps. I stopped icing a few weeks after surgery and recently returned to it, and am amazed at the results … not immediate … but after two, three days of icing there is a difference.
If pain continues, you can call your surgeon … and explain the symptoms … you can also ask for a pt script and go work with a pt … actually where you are now … or later is the ideal time to work with a pt because your soft tissue are much more healed than in the days immediately after the surgery and the pt can take a look at your walk and what muscles you are engaging and not engaging. BTW: weak glutes are often a culprit … in the time before surgery, our glutes stop getting used and get weak … the buttocks are incredibly powerful … but they go to sleep because of our office jobs and sitting and so on … A good pt can help you engage those muscles.
Thank you so much for the info! I had not thought about using ice again I will do that tonight. I know that some of my problem if not most of it is coming from right side glutes . I could feel that last night when i was doing some exercise.
Thanks again!