Al’s Hip Resurfacing by Dr. Brooks 2009
I’m about 6 weeks post-op and 41 years of age. I also have a stationery bike in the basement, hooked up to the computrainer. They say to ride without resistance for 6 weeks, but honestly, that is pretty lame. What resistance level did you use and did you work up a pretty good sweat? I need to really work some of the fat I’ve gained in the last six weeks!
My Doc (Peter Brooks) takes a very conservative approach and with good reason. By week four, I was still experiencing swelling. By week six, I chose to walk with one crutch, and the leg gradually got stronger. Daily walking on the treadmill helped, as well as lateral abductor exercises while standing. Water therapy-awesome. I was cleared to walk without assistance at my six-week visit, but I had a really noticeable limp, so I chose to use the cane for four days. I am finally “walk-assistant” free, and would say this is probably the worst case for someone my age (41). Bet on at least six weeks just to allow the device to adhere to the newly shaved bone. I was cleared by my doc to swim (kick) at 6 weeks, Prior to that , I was using a swim bouy. Between laps, I “biked” through the lane with the similar cadence of my road cycling exploits. As one would logically assume, the faster I went, the more resistance I felt.
I currently use a fluid trainer for stationary cycling, and probably will for the next 8 months (I seem to get much more out of this than the treadmill anyway). The resistance is similar to the pool, but I want to up it a notch. Working up the sweat clears the mind and re-news the soul.