muscles still adjusting, 3 years after surgery-why?

[Rosie90]

I have a resurfacing in my right hip.  Still 3 years after, I feel movement from my right hip, whether I'm standing or walking.  I imagine it's the muscles adjusting, but I really don't know what's going on.  Is this normal?  Will this continue for the rest of my life? Could it be because of the way the surgery was done?  I don't think that she had done many hip resurfacings.

[lyn]

Are you in pain? Can I ask who did your surgery? Lyn

[John C]

Hi Rosie,
Checking in with your doctor is always the first line of mental confidence defense. Having an X-ray to confirm the position and angles that everything is sitting at should help calm any worries. If you are still concerned, a metal ion blood test would rule out most other issues.
As a non-doctor, my first thought from your description is that the muscles may not be toned enough to be holding the two joint surfaces securely in contact. Maybe checking in with a PT might be interesting to see if strengthening the muscles around the joint might help with any feelings of unstable movement. For myself, if I felt that there was excessive movement in the hip, I would ease up on the stretching, and focus on toning and strengthening to tighten up any laxness in the soft tissue. A good physical therapist should be able to help if this is the case.
When I was at three years, I still felt the occasional minor soft tissue sensations, but not like you describe.
I have heard a number of surgeons say that we must keep up a lifetime of exercises to keep our hips strong and toned, and I do know that my hip always feels best after a good workout.

[Rosie90]

Thank you for your replies.  My surgeon was Victoria Avram of Hamilton, Ontario.  Thankfully it doesn't hurt when I feel that movement.  I have checked in with my surgeon a few times as I had clunking for the longest time.  She always suggested physiotherapy. There doesn't seem to be a problem with the implant.  Well the clunking seems to have disappeared, yeah!! but now I have these internal  movements in the hip area.  My muscles should be toned enough as I do toning exercises of some sort every week.

[hernanu]

Hi Rosie, I agree with John, it may be that you need some extra strengthening.

After beginning my PT, I found that my old exercises were not the right ones for keeping my hip strong so I learned new ones as I went through a couple of months of new and exciting routines. I've tried to incorporate these into my usual workout, so that my hips would become stronger. The clunking and shifting went down, until now it's almost nonexistent.

My experience with PT has been great, I am thinking of doing a one month refresher to see if there's any bad habits I may have picked up, some incomplete strengthening that may still need to be done. It may help you to do a refresher as well, just to see if there are added exercises that would get you over this hump.

[imgetinold]

I on the PT bandwagon.  I don't know if this applies to you, but it's pretty common to get into an exercise "routine" where you do the same things over and over.  Like the person who just does the elliptical machine.  If you have a strengthening routine that you repeat all the time, you're just hitting the muscles in one way, over and over.  They get strong for those specific movemements, but not others.

See if you can find a PT who has experience with resurfacings....or at least replacements.  I'll wager that your hip will behave in no time.

[Tin Soldier]

Me too, on the PT bandwagon and on the John C bandwagon.  I sort of think I'll always have a little clunking and it seems to go away with an in increased in exercise.   Maybe the your odd movements you feel are similar to the clunking in that the muscles need some strengthening and tightening.  Imgetin's point about the seeing a PT with some experience with HR or THR, I think is really good.   

Also, the 4 year mark is a when many surgeons want to do another x-ray and exam to see how things are holding up, sicne the first year exam.  You might consider looking into that soon.  Like John said, the mental confidence piece is huge and if you can rule out the big ticket items, the better you'll feel.  Good Luck

[Rosie90]

Thank you all for taking the time to reply.  I do yoga, biking and strength training.  It seems like I'm doing enough but maybe not.  Perhaps I need to focus on my gluts a bit more.

[hernanu]

I always thought of myself as doing a lot of working out, and in many ways I was, but in my first PT session after the surgery (I had been playing soccer, lifting weights, etc. until about a month before the surgery) my diminutive PT did some measurements and tested me, pronouncing that my core was very weak.

I was, of course cut to the core (  ::) ) and seriously miffed that she would say that since she was talking to a workout god (all right, minor deity), but then she put me through pilates hell (among other things), and I found that I sure had neglected some things that were valuable. I just treated it as new learning, and a way to improve my incredibly good existing workout  :o....

I have integrated that into my routine, so now you'll find me doing all sorts of things on a pilates ball or a balance board after lifting or hitting the heavy bag. It's the new sensitive (actually sensible) me.

[luann again]

Hi Rosie,

For what it's worth, I am at almost 2 1/2 years (right hip also ) and I feel the same thing. I am a very active 48 year old who exercises regularly ( normal weight). I too, feel muscle soreness, clunking or implant shifting and weakness ( mild) in my hip/ leg. Overall not too bad and I can live with it. It does seem to be getting just a little better month after month. Compared to my arthritic hip... It's heavenly! 
When I was researching about HR here on this site, I read this same thing from other, longer- term hippies. Talk to your Dr and if he/she is not concerned, know it is common and nothing to stress about. Lu

[hipnhop]

I have to force myself to go back to the P/T exercises recommended by the P/T and others on this site.  I get so caught up in training and lifting that I forget to do the exercises which are best for my condition.   I am back to squatting heavy weight but it doesn't do as much for my hip as other less "macho" exercises. 

I urge all other HRs to keep up the P/T despite how much time you spend on your sport.