How long before your "start up" stiffness went away?

[IslandCatt]

I'm 8 weeks post op and, so far, very happy with my recovery process. I've been walking without any aids for about a week now. I'm doing lots of rehab and I continue to see progress every day.

The only area that hasn't seemed to respond is my "start up stiffness". Whenever I get out of bed in the morning or up from having been sitting for 1/2 hour or more, I am very stiff and walk with a significant limp. The stiffness/soreness is mainly in the front hip flexor area, which is where my incision was (ironically, this is the exact area in which I felt the pain before my surgery). This discomfort usually subsides within about 5 minutes of weight bearing walking and I can go into a normal stride without any pain. The first 5 minutes are pretty sad-looking, however.

I'm just curious as to how many others have had this type of "start-up" discomfort and how long before it went away.

[Dannywayoflife]

I noticed it less at 6 months at just shy of a year I still sometimes get it but not often as time goes on it's less and less

[stephen1254]

It is going to vary for everyone but mine went away at about 11-12 weeks. By way of comparison I was off all walking aids at 11 days. I don't know for sure that the two are related though - my doctor indicated 12 weeks was about the time for that stiffness to subside, and that was across the board for all of his patients.

[hernanu]

Mine left at about nine months.

[Tin Soldier]

I never had too much of the startup stifffness, but I do recall at 8 weeks still having some of it.  It takes awhile for the body to readjust.  I think it was probably 4 months or more until I didn't notice it.  At about 6 months I starting walking briskly up a hill near my office at lunch, then I started running up the hill and I think after doing that for about 4 weeks, I really felt like I could pretty much jump up any time and take off without feeling stiffness.  I think commuting to work by bike also made a big difference.  I think you're getting there and staying active is huge, so you're on the right track. 

[WTW15]

At 8 months I realized my 2-step limp was finally gone.  :).

[lyn]

Im about 12weeks post op and I still get stiff, even after  I walk a couple of miles and I drive home from walking I get stiff getting out of the car.lyn

[hernanu]

It'll be there for a bit lyn, completely normal.

[chuckm]

I had significant "start-up" pain and stiffness. I'm 11 weeks post op now and still have some stiffness but I no longer limp and the pain is less. At about 4 weeks I got tired of not standing totally staight and then limping half way across the room before my leg would work right. Once I trained myself to know it would happen getting out of bed and getting up from sitting, the problem got better. I would just pause for a moment and then force myself to stand up straight and walk normally. It caused extra discomfort but after only a week of this behavior it all started to improve.

Chuckm