I had a hip replacement 3 weeks ago. My legs are the same length but due to pelvic tilt, my non surgery leg is now 1.3 inches shorter than my new hip leg. I am having excruciating pain in my back and both legs now, plus a big limp. Has anyone ever recovered from the limp and how long did it take? Did anyone have surgery on the non surgery leg to make it technically longer to stop the limp? Does the pain go away? I am going to physical therapy twice a week.
Limp! You are not one tenth of the way yet. My leg was 1.1/2 inches longer but over one year it settled and now they're even. Like you I'm left with uneven pelvis but we don't know how much this is due to the many years of deteriorating hip capsule. Limp and pain will resolve.. How long is anyone's guess. Painkillers will help you do the exercises. I would have died without them. The osteo can realign your pelvis but mine keeps clicking back out. Our bodies were uneven all those years so some things are going to just be. ......my limp comes and goes depending on how I comport self! Stick with it. I know the pain is so bad you assume something is wrong but it's just the way it is. You'll know more at the next x ray but even that won't show soft tissue. If things don't slowly improve then they can scan you. . At two weeks I was at deaths door but am normal today one year on. ..
I had the same problem, legs were same length but pelvis was severely tilted. The surgeon sent me to physio where I was given some exercises to rebalance the tilt. The simplest was to consciously realign it each time I sat or lay down. It feels pretty freaky doing it but together with the exercises it did work for me. I so did not want a limp, I was quite determined. Now I walk normally. It's still early days for you so take expert advice.
hello, my wife did her right hip 2weeks ago, after the surgery, her right leg is about half inch longer than the left. she is 25 and healing very fast without pain. but the only thing bothers us is the limp. what did u do to make the 1.5 inch go away? are you walk normal without limp now? thank u for your information, I saw a lot of people saying limp will not go away and the difference of their legs seem permanent. kind of worried about it.
Took 10 months for my leg length to be identical. Left with misaligned pelvis. Went osteo couple of times fir pelvis re alignment but it soon clicked out again. Your wife is younger so more chance of it staying put. The Pilates teacher showed us a floor exercise to do which one woman said her boss, a spinal surgeon said to do twice a day. Difficult to instruct on here. As for the 1.1/2, believe me it does settle down. Theres swelling which will all shrink and the prosthesis will push into the socket as more and more pressure is put on. It may take weeks or months. You have to wait and tell what your outcome is at the next 6 month xray. The pelvis alignment stretch exercise may be too early. You must check with physio or surgeon. You lie down legscurledlike a baby then you make circles with one bent leg then the other side;, clockwise then anti clockwise. Maybe you cd research online and find a diagram. But I emphasise it is early days. You gotta let things knit and heal while working muscles at the right speed. Dont do anything without physio or surgeon input. For 6-8 weeks its only the exercises the hospital send u back with. Leg length will almost certainly resolve but I understand your worry. Very few left with permanent difference as surgeons use sophisticated measuring techniques. Stick with it
Hi stay on crutches or two supportive sticks, one stick will make imbalance worse. there is a very gentle theraphy called Bowen technique which can help considerably to re align the pelvis in some people. the pain will move arround as the muscles are being used in a different way while those in the area of the replaced hip have to mend and heal. I used to get the most terrible cramps at night numbness in the area where the scar is lower back ache now 6 months later most of that has gone. pacer poles(you can Google it) have helped me to straighten my back and get rid of the waddle and limp. good luck. 3 weeks is far too short a time to judge how things will be in 4 months time or a year. good luck I am sure you can find the right method to improve your mobility etc.
thanks for your reply, it really help me a lot and make me feel better. cause my wife's surgeon told us, during the surgery, he found the hole in her bone is smaller than normal people, so he drilled and put the stem in it. I am worried that maybe means it is extra tight and does not have enough space to make the half inch away.also, maybe that's the cause of the half inch difference. I am in Houston, Texas, United States. Are u in UK? I think doctors doing things differently in different places. But patients always facing the same problem. Just need to know some good experience that can open my mind. BTW, my wife has two spikes or screws on her pelvis to reinforce the hip joint. Do you have the same things?
Again, thank u so much for your sharing. I think u just give a lot people confidence to get better. God bless u!
I had my hip replacement 4 months ago and am still struggling with learning to walk without a limp.
Like you I had pelvis tilting/rotating issues before surgery and hindsight now says that I really should have tried to fix that as much as possible before surgery as now it's alot harder, due to stretching restrictions/lack of comfort.
I gave up on not taking pain killers this week and have decided to take them and focus on the gait retraining which is tiring/uncomfortable. I'm using my cane as soon as I get home from work just to give some relief.
What I just discovered, that seems to make a difference for me, is stretching my hamstrings. I do this by half sitting on a table (we have physio tables at work as I work in a gym) with one leg dangling and the other straight out. I also do a hip flexor stretch, particularly on the side that always wants to tilt up. I couldn't, or wasn't sure, if I should do them early in recovery so I'm extremely tight already as I have been pretty active. Definitely make sure you're good to go before doing bi stretches.
When I walk I try to concentrate on striding the leg forward as I think I was do more "side to Side" movement and the cane can establish that as a bad habit. If you have a four wheel walker you get to see what that movement feels like more.
I'm trying to hit the rehab on this hard this week and I'll let you know how it goes but I will say that the Physio told me I had a long road ahead with relearning to walk, although I was pretty darn fit/strong. Obviously there's a reason that I needed surgery when I'm not older, heavy or unfit so that reason probably was big muscle imbalances that still remain, but on a weaker body right now.
Thanks! I was fit before the surgery also and never had a limp prior. I hope there is hope for getting rid of the limp eventually. I know I do that side to side walk to avoid limping sometimes. I also keep my new hip leg slightly bent during my stride so it doesn't appear I am limping. I will try the stretches.
Thank you Thank you! I feel much more positive reading your reply. I figure if my pelvis changed while my hip deteriorated, then it can change again as my alignment improves. I do know I don't have arthritis in my back so that should help
Has anyone, after several months, elected to have the other hip done and have that leg length made to balance out the limp rather than have both legs made the same length? I wonder how that outcome might be?
Well she's got a lot going on but the narrow shaft not so bad as prob means she has good bone matrix whereas older patients may have degree of osteoporosis etc.. may take longer for body to adapt to pins in pelvis but there's a lot of it about and results are durable. Just give it time. When I think back to my early days I really thought I'd never walk. But play tennis etc now. Yep UK vs USA vs France. ..all a bit competitive. Surgeons have not yet been standardised worldwide! Having read a lot on here I'd go to France given the choice. ...
you better do the other one later. my wife's therapist told us she has a friend do the same surgery like my wife's age 25. at that time, her friend knew she's gonna do the other side, but she waited 4years to do it.I think it is the better way to do it. let the first one fully recovered then u will have an idea how much inch you really need.
Hi, after 2 months how are you getting on?
I had mine replaced end September, same problem I think, the pelvis needed to adjust. I had a significant limp at first, which has improved but I still have a limp. I know it's still early days and that I need to be patient, the messages below are reassuring that I'll get there!
Was just wondering if you had seen improvement?
I had anterior hip replacement 10/28/14 on R leg. My R leg is easily 1" longer when I measure standing on 1 leg then the other. The standing xray showed 5mm longer, which is < 1/4". I'm almost at 3 months and I have no difference in the standing, but limp is improving. I would expect it to improve - I imagine most folks have some sort of limp right out of surgery.
My surgeon called it pelvic obliquity, which I think is a pelvic tilt. My PT and chiropractor don't think my pelvis is tilted, but it is really hard to figure that out. Xrays show that if I am standing upright with both legs striaght - there is a serious tilt, but that just seems like my R leg is pushing my R pelvis up so of course it would look tilted. I'm going to get a laying down xray from my knees to my pelvis next week. I think that will be a better measurement then a weigthed full standing xray.
I'm 57 and did this surgery before I became crippled, so was also strong and fit. I read these forums often so I can continue hope for the future. It is good to hear that this does resolve for many people. Patience I guess.
Hi, had a total hip replacement 2 months ago and I'm a pilates buff... would love to know the exercise you mentioned. if you describe a bit of it, i'm sure I'll recognize it - thanks!
Hello ,,I would like to share my experience,,,born on the year 1971,,,I'm a female,,,my mum found out I had something wrong on right hip when I was 1 year old,,I underwent more than several operations ,,since this age ,,she was told I had dislocation of the right hip,,,I grew up in hospitals,,missed lots of school,,I remember the thick cast from waist down on my body for months,,,I was a happy girl ,till I reached the tean age years,,,I became very conscious of how I walked as I started to notice people go eww,,when they went past in the beach due to my scars,,or when people looked down on my legs wondering what was wrong with me ,,,I was so embarrassed,,,yes I have been affected by this ,,like forever,,I just hated it and didn't accept what I had ,,,anyway,,,I ended up with low self esteem,,and depression,,I met my husband and got married at age 19..we had 3 children ,,as years went past ,,it became from bad to worse I mean ,,,my hip deteriorated to a point I was house bound,,my husband came at times angry from work cause if someone didn't like him for whatever reason,,would like oh yes your wife is that woman with the limp ,,you know like to make offense in a way ,,,also my kids in school if someone said something like kids fight they would insult them by saying your mum has a limp,,laughing,,that type of thing,,,well to keep it short ,,12 years ago I underwent surgery on my right hip,,I had a hip replacement and reconstruction done,,,I have to say it did help my life quality compared how I was ,,with daily pain on back ,,hip ,,leg,,,,the opp took all my pain away ,,but with a big but the limp didn't go away,,,I have been devasted by the fact,,,due to this limp,,,now after 12 year of cause ,,now I'm having back pain neck pain and knee pain that I have never had,,,so I'm now planning to go see the doctor ,,,again,,,I think it's a hip imbalance,,,I've searched around the web and I seen other patients with 1 leg shorter than the other ,,and it can be corrected,,but we need the right doctor for that,,,his leval of expertise I gather we need to ask before surgery ,,,I. Just gonna carry on searching for help cause after all this time ,,,now I'm diabetic ,,put on weight,,I have to use a walking aid due to knee problems,,and I hate it ,,,,,
Some people bring out the positive out of the negative,,like been in world athletics for example maybe on wheel chair,,just an example ,,I respect these people are able to do this ,,but no ,,people that is not me ,,for me having a limp all my life has meant rather than,,wanting to hide from the world...yes it's true I tried to fit in always in school ,,like always done my sports,,p.e. Whatever,,even if I was laughed at,,when I was a teenager,,I started to feel different cause society made me feel different ,,cause the way people looked at me for this way of walking ,,they stared,,or made comments reference,my walking,,mg,,,although I have to say I also had the little group of friends that also knew me for who I was and not what I had,,
I'm sorry I think I'm not doing this right ,,,anyway ,,,the pain goes away the physical pain,,but what about the emotional pain ,,,for me to deal with this has been more of a fact that it has affected every step of the way,,in a negative way in Many aspects,,I need to try find the surgeon that can correct my limp ,,,at age 44,,after so many operations and experiences,,yes of pain due to surgerys,,recovery,,the pain before surgery,,and the emotional pain,,affecting,not only myself but also from friends to family members,,,after waiting for a long ten years for my fight hip to deteriorate in order to be sent fro a replacement,,was house bound,,after surgery,,,no pain,,good thing ,,but the silly limp is still there,,,I'm still devastated,,and this was 12 years ago ,,,had hip reconstruction and replacement done,,,still with the silly limp,,I'm sorry but I hate it ,,and now affecting my knee neck shoulder and back,,,I don't know if a hip replacement on the good hip could leval my limp,,or maybe it's a hip inbalance,,,the truth is ill see what can be done to be corrected before I get older ,,I need to loose weight and excessive,,I want to feel normal by walking normal,,if my legs were normal in length,,,I know it would be such a difference in my personality ,,this has managed to shut me down as a person,,very low self esteem ...I found myself when I walk around if maybe I see a shower of me walking or a mirror or glass,,I could see my self it ,,was like don't look again ,,cause I'm even gonna turn around and leave I hated myself,,yes this is true,,,or maybe walked li,e three times a longer way to get somewhere just to avoid from having to walk in front of a group of guys ,,that I knew were going to lol at me and wonder what I had ,,or maybe laughed at me ,,or even called me names,,,yes so bad ,,,remember I was born on the year 71,,,back then people were much narrow minded at everything really ,,science was not as much as now of advanced,,,people were not that much educated ,,,basically I feel I was much like an alien to many around me ,,lol,,,honestly ,,,,and at the end of the day ,,,my brother has had fights due to people insulting me ,,,my husband at work was told things reference my walking as well,,,and in a way u conciously he did blame it on me ,,,cause I think he hated loving someone that had this ,,that to us all was perfect but only this thing was always in the way ,,in everything,,even now,,,I think about it and it's true ,,I say this cause I k ow he passed away 12 years ago ,,,it affected our love life it affected our social life ,,it affected the kids in school ,,,I have never been able to be the person I really wanted this has kept me back from learning and striving towards my goals,,,I ended up being an unsociable person,,,was like 8 years not wanting to go to the beach my parents took the kids for me ,,,my depression,,due to all this ,,why I don't know,,I know that what I have now is better than before but still,,,I know this limp can be corrected ,,but of cause,,,when you are young life evolves around you ,,but at my age it evolves around my children,,they come first,,I want to work but feeling normal by walking normal to me it is torcher,,,to be stared at to be asked ,,to be uncomfterble,,to have pain,,to overcome all ,,,yes I seen a authopedic professor in Chicago that corrected a limp before and after surgery,,,another robot mechanical thing also in holland ,,that with these operations they operate to the millimeter,,,this I believe was not done to me ,,,I want this limp to go away ,,I'm going to try and get as much info as I can before I go and speak to the surgeon himself ,,also there's the financial aspect about it ,,,please do not take my writing in a negative way as I know that it could sound like it ,,,I'm not a negative person ,,I have overcome many hurdles in life this is only 1 chapter of it ,,,,this is not who I am this is speaking my mind out ,,which I never do ....I hope all of you who read this have better experiences that I had and still have,,,
Hi there I had my LHR two weeks ago and been worried to death about the pain i feel I no it's early days ,I found your letter a great comfort especially about the limb and time will sort it out. Many thanks