bending over to put shoes and socks on

[Jerry C.]

 I am about 5 weeks post op now and still have great difficulty putting socks and shoes on.  When will this seemingly simple task become simple again?  Jerry

[Debcoco]

Jerry,
This week will be 6 months since my RBHR. I still have a feeling of some "tightness" in the tendon area when I put on sock/tie shoe of the right foot. It has gotten so much better over these past couple of months. You'll notice a difference as the months go by.

deb

[lttez]

I'm at 10 wks post op and my range of motion started letting me cross my legs to finally put on my socks about a week ago.  At 10 weeks things are close to being normal.  I still get stiffness when sitting awhile, and a limp when I have a highly active day.  I did have to cross my leg and put pressure on my knee to get the ROM, this took a couple weeks and was gradual. 

[oldsoccerplayer]

Jerry,
Relax. The shoe / sock / drying between the toes problems were really bothering me for the first few weeks. I don't remember exactly how long it took before I was comfortable but I do remember worrying that I'd *never*get back to normal.
It's tempting but don't force yourself into anything uncomfortable because you just want to be independent again. Hopefully you have a human or mechanical helper for the time being. One day you will find that you've put your shoes and socks on by yourself without even noticing.
Best of luck.

[chuckm]

Jerry C., some people take several months. But, usually within a couple of months it happens on its own. Stretching is one of the things you can push in your recovery (not crossing legs though). If you work it every day and can deal with a little discomfort while you stretch then you can restore most of your range of motion in a couple of weeks like I did.

Chuckm

[Jerry C.]

 thanks everyone for your responses.  Will keep working on it.

[chuckm]

Jerry C., one caveat. You can push yourself in stretching EXCEPT the psoas muscle. That is part of the muscle group that travels in the front of the hip and right down through the groin area.
I would just leave it alone and not worry about it. Don't do straight leg lifts either for quite some time.

Chuckm

[mmooney42]

I am 9 weeks post op tommorrow.  I was able to start tying my shoes (with some effort) at about 6 weeks.  Putting on socks without the sock tool right around the same time.  I can do both now without much difficulty.  The socks are still a little more effort than tying the shoes, but I've noticed my ROM has increased significantly in the last 3 weeks.  I am now crossing my legs, but not yet to the same degree as with the non operated side.  I just started being able to do this the last week or so.

The wall stretch, lying on my back, both feet up in the air against the wall, and sliding the operated foot down the wall has really helped my ROM.  It drives the knee towards your chest.  It's very painful, but all stretching is.  I also do the same stretch and rotate my knee as well.

[obxpelican]

Jerry,  you will get there but it's best not to measure yourself against anyone else unless you are exactly the same as those you are comparing yourself to.

Don't rush it, some take longer, some are good to go in less time.  You will get there.



Chuck

[whyme]

Depending on your surgeon's rules, actually you might be restricted to put your socks or shoes on for a number of weeks -depending on how you do it-. For example, the 90 degree rule applied to me for 6 weeks, this means I wasn't allowed to bend the hip more than 90 degrees.
This would typically happen if you sit on a low chair, but also when you bend over to reach your toes.
I actually figured out a way to do that by reaching the foot from behind (i.e. bringing the heel of your foot towards your hamstring), and use your bed to hold it there, then you could reach the foot with your hands. But you have to be careful not to bend your back to the side, as that's another restriction.

In any case, once the rule was lifted for me, it took a while until I could put the socks on comfortably.

[23109VC]

i found my range of motion on my opeatie side NEVER was as good as it used to be.. BUT...it is WAY better than it was right before surgery.  I can touch my nose to my knee..but it's not as easy to do it on my operative side as it is on my "normal" side.

but before my surgery i couldn't tie my shoes ... now it's easy.  i'm 3 years post op...  hard to remember exactly when I was able to do it on my own...but you are still way too early in the recovery process to draw any final conclusions...

i would say wait to the 6 month point...and if you are still having problems then i'd worry...but you have to give it time.

i found my hip has continued to improve every year...  i had heard that at the one year mark..your hip will be as good as it's going to get.. i can't tell you that is BS... my hip got better year 2 and even better year 3.  i also worked out a lot more in the 3rd year, lost about 25 lbs....and all of that improved everything.  my hip getting better enabled me to work out more and harder..and as i got more fit.. my hip got even better.

stick to whatever PT your surgeon recommends..and once you are able to start weight lifting.. do a leg routine...  leg extension, leg curls, calf raisesk, land leg presss.. work your muscles out.. as they get stronger, so will the hip.