Hi all
I'm 14 wpo and have a problem.
13 weeks on and all was well, walking swimming and cycling but last week developed a pain in my thigh about 2/3rd down. Been back to GP todáy but he was unable to identify the problem. It occurs after sitting when I get up and walk. Sometimes it goes off when I walk and can't feel it when sitting so not apparently muscular or vascular.
Any ideas?
I do now have a referral back to surgeon end of next week but hope one of you guys may shed some light
Glad you're getting in to see your doctor. All I can think of is this surgery is really brutal. There is a YouTube video that lasts 56 minutes and I can't watch. MY OT told me, the hip joint isn't where your pain is going to be. It's how they cut you open,slice muscles, tendons and nerves, All that has to heal too. I'm 8 weeks post op and I still need pain pills to sleep. I also take one when I take a walk. My leg hurt all the way to my knee, then the pain was focused right at the hip joint, then my knees ache, so, I think there is no rhyme or reason to the healing after this surgery. The OT added, "they don't even look like surgeons, they look like construction workers". Maybe it's nerve damage being repaired. There are a lot of things they did to you and you heal in stages. Hoping it's nothing serious. Let me know what you find out!
Thanks for the reply. GP thinks it may be something at the end of the prosthetic. I thought I may have overdone the exercises but will rest for a couple of days to see if it makes any difference.
I've really no idea and just hope it's nothing serious but perhaps you've overdone it? cycling, swimming and walking sounds a lot to me, particularly the cycling but then I'm not sporty at all! Was it a gentle ride to the shops or one of those bikes with 14 gears for mountains
I've just started going to aerobics 18 month after my op I've had a slow recovery but I ache at times, lot better though. So hopefully if you 'pace' yourself and aren't too ambitious this may help? Hope that your appointment goes well and you find out what the problem is! Then it can be fixed, it's the uncertainty that can be stressful!
Resting sounds like a very good idea. What about a long soak in a hot tub of water?
When I went in surgery for my first THR, the nurses and staff were sorting through all the equipment.
I looked around at the tables that were uncovered and said, "Oh this looks just like my husbands carpentry workshop", that freaked them out somewhat, and they were trying to hurry and cover the tables. Forget it I said, all just nice and shiny and stainless steel looking, I recognised a sabre saw, and what I call keyhole saw pieces but I'm almost sure the had nothing to do with cutting a keyhole to install a lock, amazing equipment.
I had an epidural? I could hear them sawing away and dear knows what else, I could also 'sense' my leg being moved in different directions It's absolutely amazing what the human body can withstand, suffer and go through! Once we get our heads round it, that is!
Guess you saw the hack saw, fret saw (for going round corners) chisels and drills. Cutting up bone is much the same as carpentry except the wood doesn't feel it afterwards☺
One day I'll get up the nerve to watch the video of the THR... the people in the OR don't want you to see anything that might distress you. Someone did a no no when they left that saw uncovered. Some people might be "Wait! Wassup with that equipment?" "I've changed my mind" "let me out of here"
That would freak me out. They have to "pop" your femur head loose from the acitabulum. They yank, twist, and do all sorts of things to break the leg free from the hip. Chills go up my spine. How brave.
and bone is much much harder than wood...
Not brave, I was told I was having the 'traditional' one, going to sleep but they changed their minds when I was on my way to theatre!! The doctor did say he thought I must have a high pain tolerance (looking at my medical records) I think I'm thankful for that!
Seems odd that they'd change the surgery to another without getting you to sign a release.
I'm not sure if it was the noise of the saw when they took off the femoral head, the "Black and Decker" drill when they reamed out the acetabular socket or the 'hammer and chisel' when the parts were being seated, that I found most odd.
Graham - 🚀💃
Graham do u remember if anyone has had the same problem?
I certainly had thigh pain when walking after the first operation - which I do not seem to be getting this time around (so far).
I was assuming it was because the femoral stem is now firm, but yours should be too, so perhaps it is not that.
I hope it is just overworking the muscle in your case, it could be loosening (that is a complication - see new page 18 on my website), but that is fairly rare, and I would have expected the pain much nearer the top of the leg. So probably 'just' muscular.
After both ops, I get a problem when first standing after sitting for any length of time. I now 'tap' my foot on the floor to wake it up (great tip from someone on here).
Graham - 🚀💃
Hi Colin
i am currently 12 weeks post op and have suffered inner thigh pain straight after. Apparently my surgeon had to make a small incision in one of my major tendons to ensure that my prosthetic fitted in correctly and apparently it took 45 minutes longer than usual with a lot of hammer and chisel work to ensure it fitted correctly - he said it was a struggle but they got there in the end, he also said it didn't help that I was an ex professional footballer and by having much stronger tendons/muscles around the thigh area it made it more difficult!!
However to this day I still struggle with an inner thigh pain and find it hard to raise my leg 6 inches when lying on my back but after taking advice from my PT and people on this forum when I stretch the groin and thigh, the pain starts to disappear and it is great when walking but does reappear when I stand to get up after sitting down!
I managed to get a weekend away to Rome last weekend, my wife and I walked more than 20 miles over 2 days and the hip felt great - even stronger the more I walked and with no limp however when back at work on Monday and Tuesday this week the thigh, hamstring, groin and bum cheek was agony - simply because I wasn't walking! Feeling much better today after doing some walking, road cycling and stretching.
I guess after speaking to my to my consultant he said that during the operation our legs are put into positions that are unthinkable when we are awake in order for them to carry out the surgery so it will take a lot of healing time. I have seen the video and can now see why it takes so long for a full recovery.
We just have to keep building the muscles back up day by day.
Colin, I've been doing lots of online research about pain after hip replacement. I just googled "end of stem pain after hip replacement" and I found a really good article called "Thigh Pain After Total Hip Replacement: A Pathophysiological Review and a Comprehensive Classification." If other possibilities are eliminated, it could have to do with the mechanical load of your implant, which ends about mid-thigh. In particular with this you don't have pain while sitting, and it increases when first getting up, and then goes away eventually with movement. It rarely occurs with a cemented prosthesis. So your problem could be about loosening.
It could be a muscle/tendon tear, too. Muscle tears don't necessarily hurt when at rest (although sometimes they do), but usually do hurt when trying to use that muscle.
I hope your doctor investigates all the possible issues. I am 27 weeks now, and I suspect hip tendon/muscle tears in why I can't walk right yet. I'm getting a new doctor and having multiple scans.
Good luck!
Oh my gosh! You guys are making me cringe! Ha Ha! I know that I will NEVER watch that video!
Oh my Gosh! I would have fainted! Before that I would have screamed and thrown a fit until they put me under a sedative!