First thing you noticed after BHR

[hoyt66]

I am finally sitting at my desk (home) . I am 23 post op. I like to put my legs under the chair. However, I have not been able to do that with my right leg in about 8 years due to the pain it would

create in the hip joint. No problem today. I can actually see my right ankle!! So weird. What did you notice first?

[rubyred]

Mine was the first time the physios got me walking following surgery. No terrible groin pain whenever I put my foot down to walk. That was gone with the first step I took following the BHR. I could have cried and kissed the face off my surgeon at that point hahaha!

Now that i'm 8 weeks post op, that's still a lovely feeling. However I now have the groin pain when I'm stationary, but i'm still thankful I can walk without that pain. None of that scary 'catching' pain which would take me by surprise, causing me to fall on the spot, wherever I happened to be... One time up a set of ladders  :-\

[Mike D]

Same as Ruby for me- although it's with a THR. The lack of pain on first walking  was incredible.
It's still a great feeling eight weeks later, but those first few walks to the bathroom in the hospital were special.

[Baby Barista]

Great topic Hoyt!

Two things I noticed pretty immediately: When they wheeled me into my room, I noticed my foot was tilted inward. Before surgery, that was physically impossible.

Second, the first day of in-bed therapy, they had me drag my heel and draw my knee upward toward the ceiling. That too was impossible before surgery.

[Dee Dee]

My epiphany came a few weeks after when I was doing my assigned walking.  I felt the new hip was strong and smooth.  It was a real profound sensation.  Meanwhile, my left hip is sore and catches/buckles.

Dee

[imgetinold]

Like Barista, it was when standing, my right toes were pointing straight instead of aiming at about 2 o'clock.

[Tin Soldier]

Me too. I had a penguin-walk and after op I noticed a significant straightness in the foot.  Amazing.  I could probably mine out about 20 or 30 things that I've posted about here about "first-times" after surgery.  There were things I noticed several weeks, even months afterward.

I think the picnic table is a pretty significant one, being able to get and out of a picnic table without pain or awkwardness happened to me about a couple months after the first surgery.

Taking 2 steps at a time going up stairs was a few months after surgery.  The list goes on. 

Great topic!

[obxpelican]

Mine was being able to lay my right leg totally flat on the bed.


Chuck

[hoyt66]

Like Barista, it was when standing, my right toes were pointing straight instead of aiming at about 2 o'clock.

Awesome one! I just noticed the same thing at pt while I doing the recumbent elliptical. I remember in the gym before surgery looking down and my right foot was soooo far out.

[DirkV]

It's kind of a long retrospect for me, but a couple things come to mind where early in recovery I thought: wow! I'm already better than I was before the surgery:
* Getting into a vehicle right-leg first, rather than arthritic process of backing in butt first and then swinging your legs in (with arm assist as necessary).
* Getting out of vehicle in grocery store parking lot, and just walking in, rather than doing the pain-induced scan for carts that you can use as a walking aid.
Best wishes for many more such aha moments for all recovering hippies - like alcoholics, I suppose we all are always in that state  ;) 

[Mr.Box]

I think the biggest thing I noticed after my first initial sets of PT, my therapist had me do outward leg swings for lateral motion. I remember wincing at the thought of it and after I tried, the smoothness and lack of pain feedback almost gave me motion sickness. I was amazed at the immediate gain in range of motion to the side and the lack of " pinching and pain ".

[Jason0411]

First thing I really noticed was that when I was in bed I didn't have that constant toothache pain in my hip. Then when I stood up my foot pointed directly ahead instead of having Kipper feet. When I walk now my new hip points my foot forward but my left hip goes out to the side. So I am a semi Kipper feet now.

Jas

[Tin Soldier]

Dirk - I forgot about the car.  I would get into my truck and have to do that same sort of motion.  I always had a pretty sharp pain right when bringing the legs up and swining in.  I also walked/limped to work from a distance parking location (no office parking).  Long before OA set in, I would ride my bike to work.  The first time I rode my bike after HR was another wow moment. 

Let us not forget.

[Arrojo]

Being able to tie my shoe from the outside of my leg.  It had been like that for years from the impingement even before any pain set in.

[hoyt66]

One of my hobbies is "detailing" cars. That means washing, waxing and overall keeping them clean on a borderline OCD level  ;D. Anyway, this weekend I noticed while washing my

wife's car that I can bend over with my right leg forward. For so many years I never could do this. The flip side is I'm really sore because I have used my muscles in a way they

haven't  been used in years. It's always a good feeling after this procedure to be validated you made the right decision.

[Jason0411]

Admittedley not the first thing i noticed but for the first time in years I can touch my toes. Hurts like mad to do it with my non opertated hip but my right hip didn't complain at all. I won't be doing it again because of my left hip.

Jas

[Tin Soldier]

sitting on the toilet without having to keep the bad leg straight.  Let's just say that cleanup gets a little more involved when you can get more of a squatting position. 

[lycraman]

sitting on the toilet without having to keep the bad leg straight.  Let's just say that cleanup gets a little more involved when you can get more of a squatting position. 

Brilliant.  Couldn't have put it better my self!!  I've been swimming for the first time, the last three days, and the biggest benefit that I've seen is that I can sit on the toilet in comfort.  Ah, those little pleasures in life mean so much!

[John C]

Like Chuck said, the first big obvious change was when I could get my leg to lay flat on the ground when laying down. It was the first time in over 10 years. For many years, the closest I could get was with my knee flexed at least 4"-6" off the ground.