Soft tissue healing around hip

[teeto]

I am now 11 weeks post left HR. My surgeon is very experienced & at my last checkup told me a few things I have not seen on this site. Firstly, the bone only takes 6 to 8 weeks to heal. The soft tissue on the other hand takes a lot longer.
You have over 250 slow dissolving stitches inside you. They take often over 3 months to dissolve and as each one does it produces a tiny amount of acid which can cause a small amount of pain that can run down your leg. Also, the scar tissue that forms around the prosthesis is thick and has no elastin in it like normal tissue. Thus it does not spring into shape when you move. It takes 6 months to get 10 percent of your elastin back in that tissue, after 12 months you will have 50 percent & after 18 months finally you will have 100 percent. This is why you feel stiff first thing in the morning or after you have sat on a hard seat for a while.
Knowing this is useful because you can expect it & not assume you have overdone something just because you are experiencing discomfort.
He also told me that after 8 weeks, PT, cycling & walking up stairs (carefully)will do the most good for the rehabilitation of your hip. Also daily massage of the whole hip & incision area with a vitamin E cream  after the stitch has been removed & healed is very good for internal healing.
I hope this information is reassuring to some of you, it was for me.

[Bionic]

Thanks, Teeto.  There's a lot of great information here.

Even in the immediate post-op period, I think that soft tissue is the primary limiting factor to progress.  The bone is stable right away, but cut ligaments, tendons, and muscles take time to heal.  You can't expect to achieve any reasonable hip stability until they do.

[Barbara]

This is really good information. Thanks for sharing.
This is why I'm always shocked when I hear people talk about how quickly they are resuming normal sports activity. I don't think some people realize the amount of healing that needs to take place.
Barbara

[nwugrad]

Teeto,

Thank you!

[John C]

This is great information. Thank you for sharing. At eight months, I still get mild to moderate pain in the soft tissue every day when I push my skiing hard. Your time frame about elastin and soft tissue healing is very encouraging that this will improve over the next year.

[sgoulet]

This is great information.  The explanation for the start-up pain is especially helpful.  I 9.5 weeks post-op and still have start-up pain.  It's very helpful to understand why your body is doing (or not doing) something.

Thanks for posting.

Steve

P.S. Off for a 60 mile bike ride...

[dvander]

Teeto,

Ditto to the above Thanks!  It helps explain much of the recovery.  Very good post!

Dwight V