Hello all surface people I am 8 weeks to the day post op made good recovery the first 4or5 weeks.  It seems now thing have stalled and exercise walking biking swimming PT have helped but the gains are smaller, understandbly so.  I am now getting frustrated that i will never walk right. When i put all my wieght on the hip it hurts like hell and i wobble if i dont walk with a cane or crutch.  Is this normal? Has anybody else been where I am at? does it come back without the pain? I went to the doctors and he basically told me everybody heals different understood, but im young 40 and, im not bouncing back like i thought i would??  I need to hear from some of the people that have been where i am at.    I want to believe I made right the choice but Im doubting myself now.

Did you do something where you may have pushed it too much? 

Did the pain suddenly come on or has the pain always been there? 

Have you had x-rays since this problem started?

@ almost 2 months out you should not be having really bad pain, but sometimes if you push it too much you can create the issues that you posted.

We always tell people, if you are not doing well and your doctor is not giving you answers that make sense, get a 2nd opinion.

Now if you did something where you pushed it too much, rest, ice and ibuprophen (assuming you are allowed) and see how well you do with a week of rest.


Chuck

Quote from: jerryf1970 on April 05, 2011, 06:03:07 PM
  Hello all surface people I am 8 weeks to the day post op made good recovery the first 4or5 weeks.  It seems now thing have stalled and exercise walking biking swimming PT have helped but the gains are smaller, understandbly so.  I am now getting frustrated that i will never walk right. When i put all my wieght on the hip it hurts like hell and i wobble if i dont walk with a cane or crutch.  Is this normal? Has anybody else been where I am at? does it come back without the pain? I went to the doctors and he basically told me everybody heals different understood, but im young 40 and, im not bouncing back like i thought i would??  I need to hear from some of the people that have been where i am at.    I want to believe I made right the choice but Im doubting myself now.

Jerry, don't push it. 8 weeks post op and walking biking and hiking sounds like a lot. I feel you and know you want to get out there but it can be too much. I agree with Jerry, get a second opinion. I visited with Dr. Mont pre-surgery and he gave me some good advice.

good luck

Recovery is not even. It is an up and down process. And the improvements become less noticeable.

But, you do continue to improve.

You must do your PT religiously, and do lots of walking.

D.

Jerry Checkin in. Did you get it figured out? Hope you feel better.

Jerry, I'm 8 weeks post op also and logged on today, frustrated with the backward steps. I know that everyone is different but I'm not as athletic as most people that post. Some days I can walk with basically no limp at all but then other days I am so stiff and sore that I must look as if I am 100 years old. I ALWAYS have *start up* issues for a couple of steps but have resigned myself to that for the next year. I went to Dr. Gross and have been completely satisfied with him. I have questions though about my exercises. I'm supposed to do 15-30 leg lifts 3X/Day. I would love to know how long it took others to work up to the 30 or if they were able to do that many initially? Are you biking, hiking, etc. every day? How long are you exercising each day? I limped severely prior to surgery but had very little severe pain. I feel as if I have more discomfort now but am encouraged enough with my *good days* that I am happy that I had the surgery.

Quote from: susandarn on April 12, 2011, 11:10:00 AM
I'm supposed to do 15-30 leg lifts 3X/Day. I would love to know how long it took others to work up to the 30 or if they were able to do that many initially?

Which lifts are you referring to?  Straight up or the ones where you lay on your side?

I could crank out the straight up ones pretty early in the process.  I'm almost at 8 weeks and still struggle with the side lifts.  I started going to PT twice a week to work through the exercises with me and was amazed at the subtle little differences in technique that work different muscles.  I'm on the slow program and my goal is to have a minimal limp when I lose the cane in 2 weeks... no clue if that's realistic.

I apologize for hijacking Jerry's thread but feel as if it's rather the same topic  ;) I can do about 20 of both the side lifts and straight up lifts. I confess that although I am supposed to do the 3X/day, I do well if I get morning and evening in. I've just struggled all along as to how far I should push it. I'm a very impatient patient! But...I do not want to risk undoing the surgery! I just got a PT referral and will hopefully get an appointment this week. That might help answer a few questions but I really have to thank everyone on this forum!!! I'm not sure how anyone would survive post op without all of this encouragement.

I think 20 each is pretty good at 8 weeks. I found the hardest to be the side lifts, but after working with a home PT, I was able to do about what you're doing, although the home PT person also gave me more exercises, but only 2X a day.

About 2 months, I switched to regular PT, and that's when I started doing leg lifts with weights on the ankles - same lifts, but 3 X 10, no weights initially, then progressing to 5 lbs on the ankles.  They had me do leg lifts in all four directions, straight, to the side, back and eventually (at their discretion), inwards.

I really recommend a good PT person if that's a possibility.

I too think 20 reps at 8 weeks is doing really good. I am supposed to do my PT three times a day also. I don't always manage three times especially since I went back to work. I figure if I do three, great, if not then at least I did two.

It probably took me two to three weeks into the phase 2 exercises to get to 20 reps. That would be about 8 weeks post op. The side lifts are the hardest. At first my difficulty was lowering the leg after the holding the lift. It hurt a little, not bad but there was a pinchy feeling. ("pinchy", Is that a word?)  I was just careful and didn't push too hard until that feeling went away. Remember we are different and we will progress at different rates. The word we see on here all the time: patience.

jerryf1970

If you are doing the exercises your body will let you know how fast, far, much to do - listen and do not measure yourself by what everyone one else is doing.  I am jealous of all the people who are off the crutches or canes in 3 weeks â€" me..... I will be using them for 6 weeks.  I started out wanting to do the exercises for 30 min but I have recently let my body tell me when to hold back.  I will also do say 15 reps, do all the exercises and then come back and do another 15 reps going around all the exercises.  That way I reach my "30 rep goal" but do it in two stages, other days it seems to come together better.  I also include upper body stretches and exercises.

I try and do two sessions of "exercises" each day, plus a walk or ride on the exercise bike depending on the weather.  Today I took a hike to a local coffee shop for lunch, total walking time (clunk clunk clunk with the crutches  8)) was right at 60 min and covered just shy of 3 miles :'( (is this guy sweating or crying?).  Yesterday I could not get that far and headed home early.

I continue to try and total over 10 hours of exercise, walking or riding per week, two weeks ago it was 10 hr 15 min, last week it was 12 hrs as I took a long walk on a gorgeous Sunday and met a bunch of people so we just had to chat

Both weeks I was happy, do something every day

Cheers - Phill

Hi Susan,
I would not worry about the "start-up" issues. Lee and Dr. Gross told me to expect that, and it went away over the first few months; I don't think that you need to worry about it lasting a year.
Remember that Dr. Gross's main advice, beyond the basic exercises, is to walk a lot every day. I liked riding the stationary bike, and loved the pool time, but walking is what our hips were designed to do, and it strengthens all of the involved muscles in a natural way. From my experience, progressing on to hills really helps when you are ready. I stayed pretty much on the level for six weeks, moved on to gentle hills in two to three months, and was running steep mountain trails at six months. I am still pretty religious about going for a walk every evening, even after hours of intense sports; I really feels good to open up the pace, and take the joints through their natural motions.

Quote from: John C on April 13, 2011, 11:49:08 AM
I really feels good to open up the pace, and take the joints through their natural motions.

John C.,

Yes, I agree. I noticed that I have been walking in somewhat short strides. At least it feels that way. I notice it when I walk with other people. I think it may be a carry over from my pre surgery days when my ROM was terrible. Or it could be a combination of that and just being a little tight from surgery. Lately I have been "stretching it out" more when I walk. Not only does it feel good, but to be able to do that again with no pain or limited ROM is ______? I don't have the words to describe the joy of it!   :)

Steve (12 weeks)

where's jerry?

Yes, how are you doing, Jerry?

Jerry,

I found that my initial recovery from the surgery was very rapid(first 3-4-5 weeks)...every day I felt gains...it then leveled off a bit and the progress became more of a week-to-week comparison.  I'm approaching the 3 month mark soon(7/5/11) and over the past weeks have noticed a nice spike in my strength and mobility(a relief as I too was becoming frustrated  because my gains weren't as noticeable).  It seemed like the PT(2 x's wk aggressive stretching) and Gym (5x's/wk with PT excercises plus a leg workout/bike/stairs/squats/lunges/BOSU ball/Swiss ball...etc).  I'm back to work with no hesitations(Fire service)...I do still go to PT for some stretching(AGGRESSIVE)....which I think makes all the difference in the world.

Stretch....Squats//Lunges!!!...I think they help lots...also the PT

goos luck ...I hope this encourages....
Carl

Jerry,
Unless there is something MAJOR going on, or the Dr.'s say something is wrong... RELAX! I was only 45 when I had mine done (I am one year out now, and go days without even thinking about my hip!) and I did not really feel very strong or "back to normal" until about 9 months. I had good days, better days, and even some pretty bad days all inbetween, often with no real reason behind them. The main thing, like everyone is saying, is to do enough, but not too much. Understood?
It is really tempting, especially at a young age, to want to do more than you should, or get discouraged, impatient, and feel that life is just plain over!!! (Ask me how I know this)
Please be more positive and patient. I am loving life again. You will too.   Lu