Hi all, I'm 47 and had a ceramic/titanium replacement 5 weeks ago, I'm doing all the excercises and lots of walking with 1 stick when I'm out, I have started to get some stabbing pains down my thigh this week, although I'm generally off all meds now, I feel like I'm going backwards all of a sudden, I was born with a dislocated him and I know my surgeon has lengthened my leg so I'm aware muscle building will be difficult but is this normal? Also, I love sitting in my recliner but I've read that I shouldn't post op? Can anyone advise? Many thanks and good luck to you all
Hmm,
If you still have this when you see the consultant next - mention it. He will likely tell you it is micromotion of the uncemented tip - awaiting your body to fill in the gap.
If you are no better in 12 months - you must chase them for a review as you may need a revision (at 20 months and back on crutches due to the pain I am about to insist..)
Thank you, I'm seeing him next week so will do, when I say thigh I mean the side of my leg actually, not the front, is yours the same? I'm sorry to hear your back on crutches after 20 months....
Yes mine is the leg - I had the left thr and the left side of the upper thigh above the knee to where the implant ends
5 weeks is still so new in the recovery process. I think your pain is normal, i had the very same at 6 weeks post, it first started with pain in the groin area then it moved to the side and down the thigh and i had a lot of pain when i put my foot down, had to weight bearing for a couple of weeks. I am now 15-16 weeks? (March 2014) and all is normal, no pain no cane...a brand new me
Oh my goodness me....I had no idea an implant could go down that far! I wish you well, thanks for the advice x
You have really given me fresh hope as mine too started in my groin and I'm finding weight bearing difficult now where it wasn't last week, I think I will use 1 stick a little more this week then, how wonderful you have a new you! So nice to hear x any advice on me sitting with my feet up in the recliner? Some say fine some say don't?
Hi Jackie, I think the stabbing pains are normal. I am 6 months out from THR and my stabs began around a month and I still get then occasionaly. Freinds who have been thru it say it is "healing" pain.
Thank you, I think the trouble is half the time I have too much time on my hands and worry about every niggle, I'm not a natural worrier and I've had numerous hip ops but this is last chance saloon so I'm trying to get it right from the off
My advice: keep your recliner! I wish(ed) i had one too...just be careful getting and out of it since you are still in the early recovery timeframe of 4-6 weeks. After that it is just a matter of remembering to proceed carefully whatever you do...
Is your pain from the hip to the kneee and then it stopps at the knee?
And it is on the outside of your leg, right?
Can you takeyour fingers and literally trace the line of pain?
If your answer is yes then please stop your walking, stop everything, you have tendonitis. Tendonitis is little rips tears in your tendon. When you keep on excercizing it you rip it more. You want to lay in your recliner and not move and let the tendon heal.
I had tendonitis on my right leg, and I just kept on working it happened during the busy time of our business. Basically I worked through the pain, and by doing that I permently wrecked that tedndon, I can rub my hand down that tendon, I know exactly wehre it is, and I can feel the scar tissue from where it never healed right. Tendonitis is horrible, horrible, horrible. Rest the tendon, don't stretch it. It will take about a month to heal if you haven't done a lot of damage.
Mine happened to me when I was 57. I lived 3 years in agony, my tendonosis was worse than my bad hip. I was debilitated by it, couldn't walk far at all, a trip to the grocery store and when I got done walking the aisles at the grocery store I came home and laid down.
Now true it could be muscle pain, but when you describe "Down my thigh" and then it is on the outside of your leg, boy I sure suspect tendonitis. In my worst days a hot bath would help a little. I know that is counter to the standard wich is to ice down the tendon. I cna't tell you how many times I finally quit trying to sleep at 2am, 3am, 4am becsue of the tendonitis pain, and went and took a hot bath.
5 weeks is early. Pain at 5 weeks is very normal.
Hi Jackie I was interested to hear that you too were born with a dislocated hip, was it your left hip by any chance and did you have a short leg as a result? I had a left hip replacement in October privately and the consultant told me he would be able to correct the length difference which was an inch, he hasn't given me any leg length back and I am very upset and angry. I would rather he had said nothing. I am now considering revision surgery, which I know is more risky.
The only pain I really suffered after the op was in my left knee it was very painful and impeded my recovery considerably not being able to put weight fully on that side unaided. X rays showed that my knees are showing signs of wear probably due to the years compensating for the leg shortness. I started swimming, only front crawl no breast stroke, and the pain has gone completely I swim 3000 metres a week now. I think it's all about building muscle so maybe this would help you, but I think you should wait as it's early days for you. I didn't start swimming until 5 months after. It takes time.
If you've been told not to do something don't run the risk wait.
Would be interested to hear your history and who your surgeon was.
Paula
Hi there, had this pain in my thigh (outer mid way to knee) for 16m - gradually getting worse like a hot poker through my leg and at times swelling above the knee. Been to see consultant re micromovement and he confirms that micromovement not obvious in xrays (oh ho) so revision may not be the case. Sent me for bloods and bone scan and i have to wait 8 weeks further for discussion on problem - could this be tendonosis?
Hi, yes it was my left hip and yes it has always been shorter up until now, I was measured 2 weeks ago and it was confirmed that my legs are now both the same length, I think that's part of my problem with healing is that for 45 years I have walked with a slight limp which is now very difficult to correct as my spine etc has simply got used to it, luckily enough my knees seem ok at the moment, I don't really know much about revision surgery so I can't advise but it know if my surgeon hadn't been able to lengthen the leg I would have just coped the same way I always did before, perhaps, if you end up having to have your knee replaced this would be the better option, mine was NHS in Banbury, Oxfordshire, a brilliant French man called Dr Boizot, x
Hi Jodie, no, it's midway down my thigh on the outer side and goes for about 5 inches, way short of the knee, but your right, I can trace it with my fingers, I've decided to take things a bit easier and I'm seeing the consultant next week, bless you, thanks, wishing you well x
Oh good, so glad to hear you are seeing a consultant soon. I think it is a good sign that yours is not very long. Mine went from my hip to my knee. And I had it on both legs, but the right leg was way worse.
There is massage you can do to stimulate healing. What you do is, instead of using your fingers and massaging up and down the tendon, you massage it crossways. Deep massage with putting significant pressure on the tendon. It didn't work for me as mine was to sever and to late, scar tissue had already formed. I can feel the scar tissue on the tendon, I can literally feel it and know exactly where it is. I had never had tendonitis before and didn't realize what it was. I continued injuring the tendon for a good 3 or 4 weeks after the intitial injury, I didn't know. I just took pain killers.