JD's story

[jd]

You'll also have the hip kit (or something like it). I definitely recommend this. We were worried that would break in a bag so ended up carrying it... just lots of things to carry!

[jd]

3 week post-op update:


Everything seems to be going very well still. I'm now only using the cane for long or difficult walks. I don't need it around the house or around my office (or for other very simple errands). If I focus I'd say that I can walk 95% limp-free unassisted. It's very close now.


Thankfully sleeping has improved quite a bit this week, although it's still not ideal. I can now sleep for a few hours on both sides, with a large body pillow between my legs. The main remaining issue is that I can't get through the whole night in one position, and moving positions with the pillows isn't something I can do while asleep, so I wake multiple times to re-arrange through the night.


There isn't really any pain normally at all now. I would say normally I am at a 0/10, with occasional 1/10. I take one tylenol before bed and one with breakfast, but that's it (oh, and I guess I still have the 1/day Meloxicam Dr Gross has me on).


The only real muscle pain I have is perhaps 5% of the time when I overdo things a bit, my psoas flares up and gets sore (noticeable with each step). But if I take it easy, it settles back down easily.


So, overall, very happy! I have routine brief periods of forgetting about my hip which is a very nice feeling. I'm excited to get to 6 weeks and be allowed to stretch!

[jd]

I'll be 4 weeks post-op tomorrow and the recovery is still going well.

I've just increased my walking to ~0.9 miles, twice/day, unaided + all the little walking around I do to go to work and to lunch, etc. No real issue with that so I've decided that every couple of days if everything still feels OK I'll just add a block or two to the walk. If things feel overstressed, I'll hold back. Still doing Dr Gross' phase 1 exercises religiously twice/day also (except for the ankle pumps which I figure have become obsolete with all the walking and other activity I do).


Psoas and abductors are still the weakest/angriest muscles, but they're definitely improving. I have a little limp when I stand up after sitting for awhile but it's usually 95% gone after 5-10 steps.
Sometimes I have to remind myself to be careful because I momentarily forget about the hip and pivot on it, but that feels pretty normal now too with no pain which is great.

Last night I finally managed to fall asleep with only a single pillow between my legs (vs 2, or 1 + a huge body pillow) without feeling an ache around the top of the incision. This was fantastic! It simplified shifting positions enough during the night that I could do so while barely waking up vs completely waking myself (and my wife) up each time.

Mostly I'm waiting for a tiny piece of scab to fall off my incision so that I'm allowed to go swimming, and more importantly, waiting for the 6 week point so that I can start doing more!

[blinky]

Sounds great! I can't wait to walk a mile and feel that ankle pumps are obsolete.

[Kingrob]

JD,

It sounds like you are doing really well. I am having my right hip done by Dr. Gross two weeks from today. After 8 years of dealing with this I am ready to get it done. I want to be able to start rehabbing and then training again.  I miss the entire process of training hard and then competing at my highest level. I have always enjoyed mapping out a training plan and then putting the work in. Where you are at now is where I want to be. I would tell you to enjoy each stage of your rehab knowing that you no longer have any barriers to getting back to where you once were. I hope you keep posting your progress and good luck.

[jd]

Thanks to both of you blinky and Kingrob!

I know blinky that you have it quite a bit harder being bilateral. Early on (and still a little now) I really relied on having one good leg.

Kingrob, I'm sure you'll do really well! Your training background and desire to get back to it is going to help a lot I'm sure, just be careful not to overdo it. If (when) things flare up and get angry, just back off a little and then try again. Best of luck!

[jd]

I'm at 6 weeks today!

The next phase of my recovery is getting started in earnest now. I'm allowed to bend past 90 degrees, and generally do anything with the following exceptions:
- No "extreme" flexion
- No crossing legs at the knees
- No impact
- No lifting more than 50lbs routinely

I think I can live with that for the next 4.5 months. I think the main thing is to remember to ramp up slowly. My psoas has definitely continued to bother me so I need to pay attention to it. Start stretching it out more, work on strengthening it, etc, but not overstress it too much.

Got my 6-week x-rays and the components look to me like they're in the same place as the ones taken at the hospital (phew).

The PT eval was a little frustrating and afterward I realized he didn't cover everything on the form for Dr Gross (condition of incision, 45 degree internal/external rotation, tenderness, leg length). He was going to copy his notes onto the form after I left, but he talked me into coming back next week for some more guidance, so I'll do that and hopefully fill in the missing details then. He spent more time on general mechanics looking forward and pointed out a few things with my feet and knees. He had a lot of generally interesting things to say but I'm feeling a bit wary and wondering if I'd be better off just starting with the basic leg raises and stretches Dr Gross prescribes and slowly adding in my own activities at the gym, swimming, etc. I figure I could come back to PT in awhile. Sorry for the rambling here, but I was a little frustrated about it all this morning and it's just pouring out!

So, jumping back. I'm at 6 weeks and doing well as far as I can tell. My abductors around the incision are sore when I wake up in the morning, and my psoas bothers me a bit when I walk during the day, but overall I'm still happy with the progress. I don't really have any trouble walking 2 miles at a time.

[jd]

I just noticed re-reading above that today is your surgery Kingrob! Best of luck and please keep us in the loop about your recovery (maybe post a new thread in hip stories).

[PMac]

Thanks for all your updates JD being a few weeks behind you it has been a great guide into what to expect and I think I'm pretty similar in terms of recovery, nearly two weeks now and pretty much where you were at the same point. Hopefully it will continue in this vain for both of us!

[blinky]

So what will you do first, jd?


What tidbits did the PT have about your hips and feet?

[Debcoco]

JD,
My experience with PT when I had my BHR was both positive and negative. The positive was I had 7 "in home" sessions which were great.  Then I also had the opportunity to have a few "out patient" sessions which were not great.  This site is invaluable and provides such good information pre/post surgery, it was this information that I used to cancel the "out patient' due to the PT guy not knowing what hip resurfacing was and the precautions required. 

Dr. Gross was not my surgeon, but I found the exercises he recommends on his website and used those with great results.  Just my 2 cents... if something is contrary to what you know to be true or if you feel something isn't right, stop it immediately.  I figured I'd come too far to have someone unfamiliar with my surgery to cause a setback.

Good Luck!
Deb

[jd]

Thanks for the feedback all.

Deb -- yep, I'm very wary and agree 100%!

Blinky -- honestly, at the moment I'm mostly happy to be able to stretch! I like that, plus the leg lifts to strengthen my hip flexors and abductors that Dr Gross prescribes. Going to start doing some very light workouts at the gym too. Finally, I'll probably start swimming again soon :) You'll be there soon!

[jd]

A quick update to say that the 6-week restriction lifting (well, modification as there are still plenty of restrictions) for Dr Gross' patients is fantastic! The combination of being able to stretch (particularly my psoas, although I've also been stretching my abductors) and starting doing the straight leg raises (both on my back for the hip flexors and on my side for the abductors) is working wonders. The tweaks in my hip when I'd start to walk after sitting for awhile or driving are essentially gone now, and if they come back a quick psoas stretch resolve them!

I'm very very happy with this, as it was the main limiting factor. Walked ~2.5 miles today and it was easy. Hilariously, my operated hip is doing better on the abductor straight leg raises than my "good" leg (which to be fair has known weakness/issues in the abductors). The good leg is still functionally better but in this isolated test I'm astounded my operated leg is already doing better.

[blinky]

That's great. What restrictions are holding you back now? When you get in the car are you sitting and then rotating in or putting your legs in one at a time?

[jd]

The passenger seat in a car is easy (unless it's super low to the ground) and I just lower myself down and then lift the legs (directly, not with arms) and swing them in. The driver's seat is a lot harder. Getting in is mostly easy now but it's one at a time with the legs. Operated (right) leg goes first and needs some care to slide it under the steering wheel. Getting out is the biggest trick. I still have to physically lift my foot (with my leg in external rotation) to get it over the door sill. I can also sortof walk my foot up the door sill but that's also awkward. Basically, I'm not strong enough yet in lots of external rotation with moderate flexion to be able to lift the foot up and over the sill.

Main things on the restrictions are workout related. I'd like to be able to pick up a barbell on a power rack and do overhead presses and other gym activities that are somewhat precluded by the "not carrying 50 lbs" rule. It's a sane rule and I'm absolutely going to follow it, but it's the main thing I notice now as at the gym I don't really like to use the machine, preferring free weights. It's difficult when you're not allowed to pick up the free weights though!

Also related to the weights is that I'd love to get back to scuba diving soon (as I usually dive every week), but the 50lb rule prohibits that too. Frankly, I'm very far from strong/stable enough for most of this yet anyway, but they're the things I'm thinking about.

I actually feel strong enough that I think in a couple of weeks I'll go for a very light "hike" with my wife on some actual dirt (ie., uneven and not flat) trail. That's exciting. I can also walk foot-over-foot on stairs with a little assistance from the handrail fairly easily, and it's quickly becoming easier without a handrail too.

I think the main point is that being allowed to stretch and do some basic strengthening really unlocked the next step in the recovery.

[blinky]

Actual dirt!


Would the kicking with fins also aggregate your hip or are you beyond that?


Weights aren't calling me right now, but yeah, that fifty pounds limit will be a drag.

[jd]

I don't think I could handle fins right now at all, especially not the very heavy stiff ones I use for scuba diving. Even doing normal breaststroke in the pool I'm dialing back the amount of force I use to kick.

Of course, after writing the note yesterday about how I was doing great I had a pretty rough night sleeping and woke up (relatively) sore. Yesterday with my 2.5 mile walk, 45 minutes of (very slow and sporadic, with lots of rest) attempting to swim, and doing the straight leg raises (front and side) was clearly too much. It's not bad, just noticeable, so I'll take it easy today.

[PMac]

Sounds like you are doing brilliantly, long may it continue!

[jd]

A quick update from me at 7.5 weeks:

- I've been working on single-leg stability exercises (bilaterally) and finding them very useful. Things like standing on one leg then moving the other leg in front, behind, out to the side, lots of different motion. Also doing (light) bicep curls and other very basic upper body exercises while standing on one leg for balance (with a bent knee). I can really feel my glutes working to stabilize my body and getting a lot better at it
- Very slow step-up and step-down, focusing on trying to remain in control / be able to pause at any point in the step. I can very easily step down and mostly easily step-up now but they're more explosive motions without the stability in the mid-range so I'm working on the slow controlled steps to try to improve that
- Went to our friends' wedding on Saturday night, survived, and even danced a little!
- Downsides are that I've gotten lazy and am walking less. I think I fell into a psychological trap where my walk would take an hour so I definitely don't do it twice a day (and often not once/day) instead of just doing shorter walks if I don't have the time for something as big.

[blinky]

I am taking notes.