Flexibility Question

[ScubaDuck]

Same experiences as both of you.

Tin, I think the same thing.  The pain tells me when I have crossed the leg too far.  It is definitely the warning light I need.

Mike, one of the first nights I was able to fall asleep on my side I woke up and the pillow had slipped from between my legs.  My left operated leg was slightly crossed over my right.  There was a little pain but more than anything it scared the crap out of me.  I woke my girlfriend up and had her lift my left leg up so I could roll on my back.

Dan

[newdog]

Mike,

I also was afraid I would fall asleep with my knees at a 90 degree bend while lying on my back. I did the exact same thing you did only my leg started falling outward away from the other leg. I can't remember which leg it was, it doesn't matter since I had both done. I guess I woke up and caught it before it traveled very far. Really scary. I wasn't afraid so much of it dislocating as much as tearing an unhealed soft tissue or just experiencing terrible pain from stretching it to far.

I am at 8 months now. A few times recently I woke up on my back with both legs bent 90 degrees and flopped over and totally spread apart as far as they will go. I had no problem at all. It felt a little stiff when I moved them back together but no worse than back in the days before bad hips. It's amazing how far I can spread my legs apart now since surgery. I couldn't straddle anything before my hips were fixed.

[Paul0809]

Dan,  I can't tie my "bad" shoe, either.  I can, however, tie my "good" shoe.

Today is six weeks.    Paul

[maxi]

good for u paul and welcome the the hip clan...   

now for the toenail cutting to get some dignity back ... ;) ;)

Maxi    (Paul)

[ScubaDuck]

The left foot is getting closer and closer. 

It will be a glorious day when I can cut my own toenails on that foot.  I could barely do it before my surgery.

Dan

[Tin Soldier]

You want hear about dignity?  I was working on a job site the other day with my coveralls on and I had to ask a coworker (a manly man) to help me pull off the coveralls because I couldn't reach down to my shoes to do it.

[newdog]

LOL Tin! I can just picture it. "Hey, how 'bout them Bears? Did you watch the game?"    ;D ;D

[eperk]

For restrictions, I think that it depends both on the surgeons' preferences/experiences/biases, but is largely dictated by the surgical approach, since one of the main concerns post-hip replacement is dislocation; this may help to understand why many of us have vastly different restrictions post-surgically.  My surgery was a straight anterior, which has very little risk of dislocation.  So, my restrictions were to avoid extension (leg behind) and external rotation (toe out).  However, when I asked my surgeon he said I could stretch into those directions immediately as long as I stayed aware of how things were feeling/avoided pain and weird sensations.  Post-surgically my hip flexion (bending forward) was very limited by swelling, but now at 3 weeks it allows me to just about reach my surgical-side toes....if I'd had a posterior surgical incision, my surgeon would have had me avoid flexion (bending forward) past 90 degrees for quite a while...