Surgery leg swollen to foot?

Bones, joints and muscles
1

I'm 5 days out of THR and doing exceptionally well. No problem with incision site, but my leg is extremely swollen. PT says it is normal. Any one else experience this? TIA

2

Hi Cathy - I expect a chorus of yeses to follow very quickly. I was astounded and scared by the level of swelling (I called my thighs the 'uni-thigh'wink!

Elevate I used a king sized memory foam pillow with a small cushion tucked under the fet to elevate them slightly) and ice packs (as usual 10 min on, 20 min off). And do your foot rolls and toe stretches regularly to keep circulation going. Not to mention some walking and any other prescribed exercises. Be careful siting or standing for extended periods s this can swelling to increase and pool in your lower leg and foot (good old gravity at work). It is all a balancing act that you will adult of recovery progresses.

Be patient, be kind to your body and tell others how to help no matter how badly you want to 'do it myself'.

Good luck and big hugs - this will get easier.

L

3

I am sure you will get a ton of feedback Cathy, I have seen a lot of people talking and asking about swelling, they say to elevate your leg, check with PT.  Congrats on having the surgery behind you!!  ( did you do GA or spinal?)  

signed, worry wart Annette

lol

xoxo

4

Oh yeah..u will be swollen for a while..each day it goes down. Tomorrow will be 2 weeks for and I get my stitches out...my feet are swollen due to gravity. I'm just glad we only have two hips so I don't have to go through this again..

Good luck with your recovery

5

Hi Cathy.

I am the exact same. It's been a week exactly since I had my op, but my leg is badly swollen it's so heavy the swollen on my legs is annoying compare to my hip operation pain!. It seems to help when I walk and do exercises but it's always worse when I sit, go to bed and get up. It is really annoying. I also have a sprained ankle on the leg that I got a new hip. My knee is quite bad I hate it. I hope your well

Megan x

6

Hi Cathy, my swelling came at day 5. My knee area was the worst & really tight preventing me from bending, combined with the already tight TED stockings! Keep elevated when sitting & I also had a couple of pillows for underneath my foot at night & don't forget plenty of ice x

7

Thanks for the info!! Yeah, I've got kankles! 😱😱I guess it's just a process. My knee hurts too because apparently I am learning how to walk correctly after a year of favoring it sad I'm still in less pain now after surgery than before! Amen!!

8

Hi Annette. Thanks for your response. I had an interior with a spinal. I feel really awesome and I'm scooting along with Walker, but jeeze! Kankles Galore!! Lol!

9

Thank you!

10

Hi Megan! Yeah my surgery knee is bothering my more than the hip 😞! PT is teaching me how to walk again since I apparently never bent my knees due to favoring for so long. I expect it is just stressed ? Other than that, I'm scooting right along. I can't believe how better my hip is than before replacement! Thank you and good JuJu to you!

11

Hi Cathy, that's totally like me it's really annoying, somethings its that bad I cry. Once again that was like me I have avascular nercrosis in both hips I got my right one done first as that was the worse, before the operation I never bended my knee while walking as I couldn't because of the pain. Now I can while using crutches I know it's only been a week for me but I noticed a tad of a difference already.

12

Probably is just stress as we can't do what we want to do the now. Hope the rest of your recovery is well!

Megan x

13

Gotcha! Doing all that. Thank you!!

14

Yes!! Still swollen but not as bad as the first week home. Ice is the best for that. Hubby got a big bag of frozen veges and put in a pillowcase I then applied that to swollen thigh. Covers a lot of area. Now I'm alternating cold & warm compresses. Walmart helps to soothe muscles, and cold to help with pain & swelling. Good luck wishing you the best!! 🤓🤗

15

Aren't hubbies the heroes in our lives? Mine has been a Superman! Built me a step for bed ( Too high) and at 4:30 am my first night home.... Placed blocks under couch to lift it up. I am truly blessed.

16

Hi Cathy:

Yes, sure did and my PT told me the same thing. Dang that swelling can be something to! My ankle was so big it felt like my skin was going to burst. Hope you feel better soon. Elevating it and iceing can help....Barb

17

Exactly how mine felt yesterday. A bit better today. I keep freaking out thinking it's a blood clot. That's one reason I signed on to this Forum. I feel much more confident now. It's a process. Thank you and I hope you are healing too.👍

18

Yes they are!! I'm blessed and thank God for him! Your hubby sounds great too!! 🤗🤗

19

That is exactly what I thought when mine swelled like that. Kind of scary when it happens, but my pt told me it was normal to just elevate it. Also to try not to be on it to much. I am healing 10 weeks post op from rthr, but getting ready for my lthr in 11 more days. I will be so happy to have it over with! Not looking forward to going through it again by no means but just want this constant pain to end and to be able to walk and function normal agian. Take care of yourself and make sure you get plenty of rest. 

wishing you well.....Barb

20

Hi Linda, fyi heat can make swelling worse, ice is by far the better option x