After a very bad fall I am now home! Operated on 25 April 2016. I have had a left THR after breaking the Femur. It is 15 days since the op. I am having a bit of physio and doing exercises at home. My left groin is sore. My leg feels ok during the day but when I wake up at 4am/5th my leg is pain full. How long does it take before the tenderness goes away bearing in mind that muscles and tissues have to grow back. Is exercising and physio a good thing after my op. Thank you.
Hi Patricia,
The tenderness will probably continue for a few weeks yet although everyone's recovery is different. Take your pain relief and do the exercises you have been given, I assume they're similar to mine (I had a straightforward THR). It's a well known fact that pain is always worst during the night, I used to find getting up and walking round a bit eased mine and I always made sure I had painkillers on my bedside table.
I hope you feel better soon.
Cels x
Every THR always has its pros and cons. I have three different manufacturers for each THR done. Each manufacturer has a recovery site online to help focus on the steps thru recovery thru the heeling & recovery stages. I also had attended a group seminar by my THR Doctor and a booklet on everything imaginable from positions for intimacy to proper movements thru all the recovery agenda & follow up appts. Getting thru recovery with lots of support from family friends and following your doctors instructions as well as Physio and exercises is key to recovery. It takes time to heel. Always be sure you have your pain meds near and take consistently at regular times day and night . Also it takes 2800 calories to heel per day. Protien shakes helped me feel so much better and I know they will help you too!
Walking is the best way to start with building up muscle and caboose squeezes so important also helps build up core strength. The exercises in bed the therapist gives are very important. Every week you will see improvement as heeling takes us hippies to the next stages of recovery.
Moving forward & looking foreward to putting this all behind you soon OA a great motivation.Once you see the pain stage has gone, your life totally changes as you can continue improving . It takes almost a year for most to get back to living without the pain reminders that pop up occasionally. I had a very hard time sleeping on my back for 6 weeks. I had 3 screws also in my inplant bones were very badly eroded, hip joint replacement at my late 40's. Have have a revision and the other hip done since, some 20 years later still movin walkin the dog, driving, shopping, gardening etc. I don't pull anything I learned early on to not lift heavy objects pull, push as they are hard on the hip implants.
Its going to get better with time. Hope your better soon.
Thank you, makes me feel more reassured that it isn't just me. I wonder why it is worse during the night? I had a really bad fall in our garden and landed on my left side, broke the hip. I keep my medication in my bedside drawer and in the kitchen. Had a terrible spasm last night and has left me with an aching leg this morning but I am sure it will clear. I have only just joined this forum, I was surching for answers. What an amazing site! Good Luck to everyone out there who has just had a hip replacement. I believe out of all the joints in your body the hip heals the quickest.
Hi Patricia - it takes a while for it all to settle - at ten weeks im still a bit stiff and sore in the mornings but it goes off once im up and about - i havent taken painkillers for a few weeks now but needed them a lot for the first 6-7 weeks xxxx
Sory pressed send too soon - yrs you need to do the exercises and painkillers help with that. I do hope you feel better soon xxx
Thank you and this is going to be a nice support group. I am a very positive person was just a bit cocnerned about a couple of things that I was experiencing and wondered whether it was normal. Day time is ok but night time isn't as pleasant but I know it is early days, only had the op 18 days back! A friend has advised me to go onto magnesium tablets, she had 2 hips replaced and she said that this helped with the muscle spasms. x
I also broke my femur back in early December. I still have frequent groin pain, but it's not too bad now. I was also trying to sleep early this morning but couldn't because of pains in my hip. Having said that, I walk unaided quite quickly these days.
I didn't do physio due to the cost of the people local to me, but I did get a little bike pedal set to put under my desk or in front of my sofa. I use it as a footrest and pedal away on and off all day. It made a big difference very quickly.
Tks for your response. Night time the worst but I know it will get better. Just had a terrible spasm last night but I am going to start on magnesium tablets tmrw. Physio is expensive but I am going for a 2nd session tmrw just to get me going. They gave me a printout/illustrations to do by myself at home.
Hi,
Cels is right there - as to why pain is worse at night .... well I have no idea, but it just is .
I found my iPod with soothing music very useful for night time when combined with painkillers.
The hip is an amazing joint, just the one moving part, taking all your weight, and able to move in two directions at once. Look after it.
Graham - 🚀💃
Hiya,
Something to do with endorphins I think, the body's natural painkillers.
They're supposed to be lower at night.
I have no idea if this is fact or just something crazy I have read.
Hi Patricia,
I just found your post ... warm welcome to our friendly hippies forum where we share our personal stories, experiences and give tips etc.
Wow, I think that there might be a little more healing involved after a break than THR caused by OA - maybe not , not sure here -
Regardless, the surgery is pretty major - cutting of muscles and tendons, forcefully dislocating joint and jamming in new hardware after preparation the surfaces -
I echo previous comments regarding tenderness -
Are you walking with crutches or any other aid? in addition to excercises, ask your Physical therapist to watch how you walk ...
spasms are nasty - drinking tonic water (no gin) helped me -
come back here if you have any questions or concerns, okay ?
big warm hug
renee