I am pretty excited to get my three week check-up on Tuesday. My wife tells me that I am acting like a kid on Christmas. The past few days everything has been moving along very rapidly. Dr. Hickman told me to that based on where I was prior to surgery (overall fitness level) that I would see rapid advancement around three weeks. He was spot on! The stiffness around the incision is at least 60% less tight than a week ago. I could easily break the 90 degree rule when sliding my knees up to my chest when in a lying down position. At 90 degrees there is no stiffness at all. Today, I rode the life fitness stationary bike 45 minutes at a variable 10 resistance setting. My setting prior to surgery was at max 20, so I am half way. I can walk with a minor limp (mush less than what I experienced prior to surgery) unassisted, but on long walks out of the house, I am using a crutch and focusing on form. This has all come around the past couple of days. I can't say enough how important it is to go into the surgery at the best possible condition that a person can. As I stated before, I know having a great medical staff is critical, but your attitude is the difference. Having good conditioning habits prior to surgery provides the focus necessary to work hard after the surgery. By the way, I am listening to my body not to overdue and am more than happy to back off if needed. But, so far I am finding a safe limit and am able to make good progress. I will post again following my check-up.
I want to emphasize what I read from other hippy's posting on this web site when I was looking for answers; the pain and lack of being able to do what you want your body to do because of hip issues are considerably more difficult than the surgery and recovery. Don't delay, relief is only 7 - 10 inches away. Besides having the opportunity to push yourself and see progress is what makes a person feel alive. Rick
Thanks Rick. Really enjoyed your positive comments.
Mac
Thanks for the post Rick. It's great to hear that your recovery is going so well. I'm scheduled for bi-lateral BHR's on Dec 7 so it's very encouraging to here positive recovery stories. Please keep us updated on your progress. Best of luck and a speedy recovery.
Steve
Rick,
Congrats on your progress... I totally agree with your last comments! I went into surgery in pretty good physical shape, too, and I am now (at 4 months) doing anything I pretty much want to. That is one of the reasons I think that it is not always a wise decision to wait until the pain is so great that one is chair-ridden before having surgery. I was probably about 10 months or so from that, the way my OA was progressing, and that is how I knew it was time!
I, too, found a recumbant bike useful. I just pushed the seat back a little at first, so as to not break the 90 degree rule. I then moved it up slowly as time went on, until I was in a normal riding position.
Keep us posted on your progress. Good luck! You sound pretty determined! Thanks for the updates, they are encouraging! Lu