February 12, 2015

I’m 2 weeks post bilateral resurfacing and recovery is going very well. I had both sides done, anterior approach, so my only sleeping position is on my back. I hate sleeping on my back, but I’m getting used to it now. I generally wake up about every 3.

April 9, 2015

I had bilateral resurfacing 10 weeks ago. The left hip is doing great but I still have some pain in the right leg, which was the worse hip one prior to surgery. At first it was the groin that was sore, which is normal from what I was told.

The pain has moved lower to the adductor area (which was extremely tight prior to surgery) and also more recently the inner hamstring. It’s mainly a problem after I’ve been sitting. When I’m up and moving around the pain lessens and/or goes away.

I’ve been going to the gym but taking it easy on the legs, not trying to push it too much.

April 30, 2015

I’m had bilateral resurfacing 3 months ago, my doctor had me stay on crutches for 4 weeks.

I experienced similar pain symptoms. My right hip was the worse one prior to surgery. Since the surgery my left hip felt good but I’ve had issues with my pain in the adductor/groin area of my right hip.

It started when I got off the crutches and started rehab. Generally it’s worse when I get up from sitting feeling pain in the groin when I first stand up, I would take a significant limp on the first step but once I’m up and active the pain was much reduced.

Over time the pain moved around some. At first it would radiate down the adductor, then for a while is was more the inner hamstring. It’s gradually improved, but not as fast as I would like. It may be that I’ve been pushing rehab too much, I go to the gym every day to work the weights (avoiding heavy lifting), ride the bike and stretch.

I still feel the pain in the right hip, but it’s minimal now for the most part. I’ve been going for massage on my hips to the last couple of weeks help relieve the tightness and that’s really helped a lot. Prior to surgery I could spread my knees 18″, I’m now up to 22″.

My adductors have been very tight for a very long time and it’s made me somewhat knock kneed so I’m working on strenghtening the abbductors.

May 25, 2015

Doing both hips at the same time was the right choice for me. The early recovery is a little more difficult but you only have to to go through the surgery once and it cuts the rehab time in half. They had me walking the day after surgery and home after two nights. I did need to use crutches for 4 weeks per the doctors instructions. I could have walked without the crutches sooner, but I followed all of with doctor’s instructions. I got the crutches that clamp on your forearm rather than the underarm crutches.

My right hip has been slower recovering. My left hip has been good from the start but on the right side I’ve had pain in the inner hip radiating down the adductor and sometimes the inner hamstring. It’s been slowly improving and it’s almost gone now. It could be from going to the gym every day that irritates it, or possible from sitting at a computer all day with work.

My hips and legs are still weaker than before but it’s coming along slowly with exercise. I just returned from a scuba diving vacation in Roatan and had no problems at all. I’m looking forward to getting back to pain free hockey next winter and skiing.

The hardest part of doing them both at once was sleeping because you don’t have a good side to lie on and I’m not a back sleeper. I setup the spare bed in the living room beside the recliner and alternated sleeping on them, and that helped alot. I found I could sleep on one for about 3 hours then I’d need to switch.

For the surgery, I avoided the anesthetic and just went with the spinal. I was given the choice of being put under, staying alert or something in between. I chose to stay alert because I was interested in the surgery, and I didn’t like anesthetic from a past experience. They gave me the option to be put under at any time it I couldn’t take it, but I found it fascinating. It’s a little surreal to hear them grinding and hammering on your pelvis, but you don’t feel any pain.

May 31, 2015

I’m 4 months out from BHR and just returned from a check up with my surgeon. He said that the pain is completely normal. My left hip hasn’t given me any pain (my better hip pre surgery) but I do get soreness on the right hip.

The pain is primarily on the inner hip at the top of the adductor. When I first started rehab the pain would run down the adductor to the knee, and sometimes the inner hamstring. It was worse when I got up from inactivity with my first couple of steps limping, but would improve when I started moving.

The pain is mostly gone now but does come back in a very minor way if I push the exercise too much. I go to the gym most days and I’ve been getting out on the bike now that it’s finally warming up. The soreness now is just at the very top of the adductor and sometimes radiates around to the bottom of the glutes.

 June 18, 2015

I’m close to 5 months, had both hips done at the same time. I struggled to put on my socks pre surgery and couldn’t sit with my ankle up on the opposite knee.

I was extremely tight in the adducotors and tight in the hip flexors. Lying on my back I couldn’t quite pull my knee up straight to 90 degrees. I can now go to about 110 deg (or 70 if you’re measuring from the torso).

Lying on the back with the soles of the feet together I could open my knees 18″ apart. I’m now up to 25″.

In addition to going to the gym and riding my bike, I’ve been doing a yoga stretching class which helps a lot. I’d highly recommend it. I can’t do all of the positions fully, especially anything related to sitting cross legged, but the instructor says that doesn’t matter. She’s very good at working with people with limitations.

One other stretch that I’ve found helpful is the paleo squat. I couldn’t do it at first without the help of a block but now I can do it no problem. It looks like this.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/80/05/b4/8005b4317ef4e1fccf00d4ea03c69356.jpg

I’ll also say that I had pain in my right adductor and hamstring until about 4 months. My surgeon said that is normal and the last couple of weeks it’s pretty much gone. My hips are still weaker than before but I’m hoping that they’ll be in good shape by the end of summer.

November 16, 2015

My hips didn’t heal the same rate, the left side was slower to recover and always seemed to be a couple of days behind the right. The left caught up after 2 or 3 weeks except for numbness. The right side is good but the skin around my left incision running down to the outer knee is still numb (but slowly improving).

Now with rehab (I’m 9 months out) the left side isn’t bad good but I still get some muscle pain on the right side, mainly with the upper hamstring. This isn’t surprising, my right hip was the “bad” side prior to surgery. The problem seems to be mostly a muscle imbalance, my quads and abductors (which have been very tight years) are overpowering my weaker hamstrings and adductors. This tilts the pelvis forward and over stretches in my upper hamstring. The tight abductors has also made me somewhat knock kneed, so I’ve been focused on strengthening the hamstring/adductor muscles and cutting back on the quad exercises.

 January 6, 2016

I did bilateral last January and have absolutely no regrets, I’d highly recommend it. It wasn’t as hard as I expected, and having one surgery and rehabbing both hips at the same time gets you active again that much sooner.

My surgery was the end of January. After I started rehab I joined the local gym and worked out through the summer. In September I started playing hockey twice a week (I’d retired from playing a couple of years earlier due to pain). In October I started a weekly squash game with my son and I have a ski trip planned for the end of the month (it’s been about 4 years since I skied).

Last weekend I did 8 km on snowshoes, and while my calves really ached the next couple of days there was no hip pain at all.

Also a couple of weeks ago we had a 90th birthday party for my father, and I was on my feet all afternoon without any trouble. Before the surgery I would have lasted about 15 minutes standing at a party.

After the surgery they got me up walking the next day. I needed help from my wife for the first few days to get my legs up on the bed and I was on crutches for 4 weeks. I could have walked without them sooner, but I followed with the surgeons instructions.

The hardest part of the recovery was sleeping. I’m a slide sleeper and I don’t sleep well on my back. I found sleeping on the recliner helped a lot, and in bed I put pillows under my knees.