I'm wanting some feedback on high thigh pain after a hip replacement. I am 68 years old (female) and am 10 weeks post op cement hip replacement due to severe arthritis. I have been going on very well and thought all my troubles were over, but have now developed pain which seems to be centred just underneath the buttock and goes down the leg slightly. I have been doing the exercises that are given to you and the pain started when I had done a batch of them. Speaking to the physio she indicated I may have strained my hamstring. Am due to see her in ten days time, but I have read that this type of pain is not uncommon. Has anybody else experienced this? Am on painkillers again and very disappointed with this set back. Am I expecting too much too soon? Hope to get your feedback.
Hi Soxy!
I'm 9 months out and had the anterior approach.
I mostly get high thigh pain in the front of my leg when I overdo it.
Just don't do anything which causes groin pain.
My doc said to stop doing what I was doing if this would happen.
Just give yourself time. The surgical pain eventually goes away. It's just feels like a long journey to get to that point.
Good luck to you!
Soxy, congrats on getting through THR! I am 68 and am 29 weeks post-op for THR. As I have painfully discovered, there are many muscles/tendons in our buttock/hip/thigh area that can be injured either during surgery, as they pull soft tissue aside for the procedure, or afterwards. I have never yet been able to walk unaided without a limp/pain since my surgery due to muscle/tendon strains or tears. I have a second orthopedist ordering scans, and I will see him next week as we try to figure out exactly what my problem is. Sometimes the answer is very straightforward, and other times it is not, as when the muscles/tendons are the ones that are buried inside and under other soft tissue.
If your problem is the hamstring, and if it is just strained and not too badly torn, then they will be able to recommend what to do for it to get better. It usually involves the protocol called P.R.I.C.E., which is Protection, Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation. You can google it for details. Then, when the muscle isn't sore anymore, you can work to strengthen it. It should just be a temporary setback for you.
Thanks for your quick reply. I have been very careful, but my pain is at the back of the buttock just at the start of the top of the leg, so I guess it is really low buttock pain, which I should have made clear. No groin pain at all.
I do hope it is a temporary set back, as it old be horrible to think that we have to go through this operation only to have another set of problems appear. Is ten weeks a bit soon to start panicking do you think? I do hope you get a solution to your difficulties.
Soxy, a muscle/tendon strain can happen at any time to any of us (with or without operations) at any age. It is just one of those life situations that we experience and then have to deal with. The vast majority of muscle problems resolve with proper rest and time. Sometimes, if the tendon is torn completely off the bone, surgery must be done to get mobility back. It is unlikely that is your situation. If that indeed is MY problem (which I hope it is NOT!), the new orthopedist can do surgery to reattach it. So I look forward to full recovery at some point.
I am getting thigh pain today - precisely because I over did it in the physio gym today - I knew I was pushing it a bit, but like a silly boy, i continued for the full hour.
Then I paid for it by having to use my stick again to walk around town, very slowly.
Graham - 🚀💃
Give yourself time...I know it's upsetting when you feel this pain, but it's just your body telling you it may be too much too soon....I had this same issue and it's all but gone now....STILL if I overdo, I have pains...I hear it takes a good year to really recover....it's been 5 months for me
Thanks for that Sandra. I would definitely say that the exercises have not helped in my case, and I have been very careful, but I think you are right that it takes longer to recover than the '6 weeks' which is time that is often banded about! Seeing the physio in ten days time so perhaps she can point me in the right direction, but it's a long old job isn't it?
Hello Soxy,
First a warm welcome to our Hippies Forum -
I have nothing to add to the comments - Your PT is probably right in that you pulled hamstring - What exercises were you doing that might have caused this ?
How about walking ? are you using a stick or cane? do you walk with a limp ?
I am asking these questions because there is so much involved in walking properly (again) - Our brain needs to be retrained and will go for the least resistant way - for me that is stooped and limping -
So it is common Soxy - take care and be aware of your posture - Maybe massage the spot????
Big warm hug and let us know how you are getting on.
renee
Thank you for your comments Renee. The exercises are those given by the Nuffield Hospital, so are bona fide ones. I have not been doing them excessively, but I have no doubt that they have done more harm than good and have contributed to the pain.
I do not use a stick in the house but do when outside, although I haven't been outside much since the operation. My walking is normal and no limp just this pain at the top of the back of the leg which goes down the thigh muscle. Can I ask you how long it took you to recover from your operation?
Six weeks is just very basic recovery - I should be back at work after 12 weeks, but most who havebeen through this say at least a year to fully recover.
Graham - 🚀💃
I'm beginning to think you are spot on with that and it does make me feel better to hear it as it isn't just me who isn't running marathons at six weeks!
At 10 weeks after my initial hip replacenment, I was still using one stick to walk. There is nothing fast about this recovery lark.
I get thigh pain soxy, I think it is just part and parcel of the 'damage' during the surgery. The muscles all need time to recover properly, then they need retraining. We are probably doing too much.
If it is really hurting I do think you should rest up for a few days and let it pass. We all have set backs like this, and it makes you feel terrible, I know. But it will get better and even when you are not bouncing around and doing exercises your body still continues to heal, so you are not at a standstill ~ just taking a breather.
We all expect too much too soon is my experience. We will get there soxy!
Thanks for your positive feedback Rose. Will take heart.
Hi Soxy
I am 10 weeks post op and I still have pain in my lower buttock making it painful to sit at times! I still need a stick when outside but am trying not to use one inside. When I mentioned it to my consultant his answer was that it takes time, not to worry as it takes a year to fully recover!!!!!
I feel that I'm not doing enough some days then when I try to do more the pain kicks in and I have to rest for a few days.
The recovery for me just seems to be taking so long, I definitely thought that by now that I would be walking pain free without aids - how wrong could I be!!!!
It is so annoying for people to keep telling me that so and so was up and about and back to work within 6 weeks................. Feel like punching them, they should try going through this !!!!!!
At least I know that I will be back to normal but .......it takes time.....
Good luck X
Soxy, Rose is right there - a week or so ago, i rested for 2 days, then when I got up the next day, I was so much better, I was suddenly walking without my walking stick.
Graham - 🚀💃
Your recovery sounds exactly like mine! From what I'm reading I don't think there are many people who have completely recovered after 6 weeks. I think that's a figure that's just been plucked out of the air. Keep in touch and let's hope we both improve. I am desperate to see light at the end of the tunnel.
Carol,
Thanks to your post, I just noticed that I seem to have lost that 'sitting on a golf ball' feeling sometime this week ........ and having had it for so long I thought I was always going to feel it there.
Happy recovery
Graham - 🚀💃