I have brought this up before but I would just like your opinions all in one place.
I am 53 and have had two un-cemented THR's in 6 months, both because of OA, and have been encouraged to have the Lazy Slob method of recovery.
That is, in the first 6 weeks...
Walking with aids only
No physio
Exercise is moving leg back and forth and slightly out to side a few times a day and rotating and pumping foot.
I take 1 blood thinning tablet for 35 days
No stockings
My recovery for both ops looks as if it's going to be the same and now at 3 weeks after the second I am again walking around the house without aids but using my crutches to support walking when I am out.
The first two weeks were tough but I had had no strains or injuries. my first hip is very strong and doing an admirable job of holding up the new lefty.
After my 7 week check with the first I was advised to slowly build up strength (I drove to the appointment) but was also given some lifetime restrictions of no impact sports, twisting or pivoting to preserve the hip for as long as possible. (My surgeon said I can do the splits, run marathons and take up rugby if I wanted to but he would see me back in his office in 5 years for a revision!!!). Because I was waiting for the second hip to be done my exercise was restricted by pain so I kept fit by swimming.
I know there is no right or wrong and every method depends on the consultant but I have been surprised at the number of stresses and strains that some people have suffered after being made to do exercises by PT's.
I have read about torn tendons, inflamed muscles, swollen knees and ankles and wonder if there is any correlation to the amount of exercise we are given.
This fascinates me and would value your experiences.
When else can you do abolutely nothig and justify it by saying: "it is on doctors orders"? We are conditioned to chase our tails all our lives, that it is good to take a step back.
I have decided I should re-read some classics (that were forced upon me as a child) and see if they are more enjoyable as an adult. Homer to start with...
Homer? Are you trying to punish yourself, or get better, heh? I slogged my way through Ulysses a few years ago, I nearly died at the attempt!!
I have one book published and thought that having an enforced rest would allow me to polish up one ready to go but I didn't account for 'lazy head' syndrome
I am supposed to be doing physio, but haven't because I can't afford to pay for it. I could do it free at the hospital, but it's a real pain in the ar*e to get there and back.
I don't think the Lazy Slob method has hampered me. I've been pretty active since after the first week.
Hi Belle, I was sent for some physio last year as I could barely walk before the op. The exercises I was given irritated the arthritis beyond belief. I tried to persevere and after the second week I found that my PT has left. My new one was fab and said to stop the exercises and gave me accupuncture instead which really helped.
We are subject to opinions, methods and knowledge but your own gut instinct should never be ignored.
You have been through a shocking experience and I am so glad you are doing well xxxxx
Now that I have been awake for a few hours, I am begining to wonder at my earlier resolve. Maybe I will start with something I know I will enjoy...As a start, I have never watched Game of Thrones... But I am open to suggestions
What did you publish? Do spill the beans and tell all.
I did not have any physio once I left the hospital. In my frustration, I looked at some recognised (hospital or similar) physio videos on You tube and did them at home. But only if they felt comfortable and never pushed myself.
Have you ever read Inferno? I have done Ulysses, but Inferno defeated me. I think I got to the third or fourth circle before deciding that reading it really was hell...
Kate - Gym junkie for the first hip, couldn't wait to get moving after so many years, and ended up overdoing it, very sore, and then even when I slowed down still tore out the cartledge in the left hip, or what was left of it.
2nd time round for left hip become a total slob, had real problems with what i recognised as leg length discrepancy, and the more walking I did, the more pain I was in, so got to the point of not walking at all, but did go swimming, I knew I had to do something, or blood clots were going to kill me.
Also this forum, has helped me process mentally that the LLD is not going to go away as the Dr's kept assuring me it would.
Come to terms, get myself propertly fitted shoe lifts, and or a lift added to walking shoes by proper shoe maker, have finally tracked one down who knows what he is doing, and the differnce it has made is amazing.
I am now walking about, correctly and making real progress 12 months after my surgery, and pain has gone away finally.
Gym bunny all the way. I think I'm the "over positive " one referred to by Mic in another post! But I have been exercising all my adult life. Don't feel normal without doing my exercises every day. I started my NHS physio on day 11 (before my staples came out) and carried on seeing the same young man for six months!!! He was brilliant. I never had any injuries from the exercises and at about three weeks plus I started to introduce my own routine into the physio but I was very careful with it. I pushed a little more every day. HOWEVER, in between bouts of gym bunnyness I was a total lazy slob and always rested when I needed to (and even when I didn't!)
i think to some extent it depends on what you were used to doing before the dreaded OA set in. Some physios may have unrealistic expectations of what people can do maybe?? I suppose to it depends on what the surgeon etc say/prefer.
Im 55 now and my new hip is a year and one week old. I would say I'm fitter than I have been for a good five years.
Lyn. like you I found reassurance here, not a magic wand but a means to deal with what was happening. I am grateful for a future without a wheelchair and am gently working my way back to fitness.
I have a sneaky feeling that being super fit before was probably what wore my hips out. I was diving off a boat in Turkey when I first noticed the pain!
I intend to keep fit without ending up back to the surgeon for an early revision.
Well I wouldn't say I was super fit beforehand and my routine is mainly of the Pilates/stretching/balance variety- I don't do any high impact. My problems began because of hip displasia, undiagnosed in childhood. The surgeon I saw last week for my discharge said that he could see no reason why my hip wouldn't "see me out". I'm always mindful of how I do things - although I have tripped a couple of times whilst out walking which knocks your confidence a bit.
I guess we we each have to find our own way through this and being a worrier, it probably wouldn't do me any good worrying about a potential revision in the future but that doesn't mean I'm not mindful of doing silly things.