Blinkys Hip Resurfacing with Dr. Gross 2015

[blinky]

I want to document a few impressions at almost three months:


I can swim 2K plus with no problems, but struggle to finish 100m of kicking without fins. My hamstrings threatened to cramp and I barely move. I guess it shows how upper body intensive my freestyle has become.


My right hip gets tight and swollen making it difficult to really stretch my inner thighs (one of the Dr Gross stretches). However, when I do the straight legged lifts and then attempt the stretch, all is well. Some muscle must be tightening up protectively and then it relaxes when I do those lifts.


Those straight legged lifts. I have been taking my time with them after hearing that some people find them counterproductive. Six weeks after having the exercise assigned, I can do thirty. The good news is that lazy left side is doing almost as well as dominant right side. I am ready to drop the number and start doing them with weights. (Just one pound weights, as suggested.)


Fatigue. Because my hips feel better and I can move more without pain, I do more and wear myself out. Like in the old days, I can come home from a trip and immediately unpack, do laundry, etc. But then a few days later, I will be pooped. I suspect it is a side effect of two big surgeries as well. Coming back, but not fully back. Sleeping is generally good, I can sleep on either side, but I do have nights when I can't get comfortable and flee to the recliner.

[PMac]

Glad it's going ok Blinky, due to the timing of our op's I see you as my closest hip buddy so I'll always watch your updates with special interest

[jd]

Sounds great blinky! I can't do 30 of the straight leg lifts yet (although I haven't been, um, perfect about working on them) but I can do 30 with 2lbs on the side leg lifts without too much trouble.

[blinky]

More than three months out now and have turned a corner. I have been feeling pretty well from the start, but I feel like now the niggles and aches leveled down. I went a week with no urge to ice. More and more I go cane less and don't even think about the hip.


The data:


Walking 2.5 miles a day. I used a cane for the first two days, then carried it, now can go without. Another week of walking this distance, and I will bump it up to 3 miles.


Biking maybe four times a week. Twenty minutes or so while watching TV. Meh. I am sure it helps but I'd rather be outside.


Swimming. I didn't increase my yardage as hoped. Not due to a physical reason, just time and weather. But I am still doing some hip hap in the water on warmer days, sideways movements primarily, and can now swim 25 m of fly at a time. It isn't aggressive fly, but it is fly. So now I do a few 100s alternating fly and free. AND I can do a little breaststroke! Not yet a 25, but my leg strength and flexibility is back enough to do about half a dozen strokes.


Those leg lifts. Added the one pound weight and survived.


I am not niggle free. I do pivot or twist or curl up and get reminded that I just had surgery. But it is better.

[JHippy]

Awesome!

[blinky]

Yes! But I still manage to find my limits.


Great week, culminating in a three mile walk and then a big excursion to a local farmers market that sits on a new trail, and well, you can guess the rest. Walked down the new trail, found a museum, went in, wandered, got hungry, went down the trail further until finding the right place to eat, then had to walk alllllll the way back.


I was sore.


But it was worth it.


And I had to share this:


http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/02/22/the-adventures-of-opioid-induced-constipation-man?mbid=social_facebook


Some weeks ago, I was in his situation.

[jd]

Glad to hear you're up and about, more and more blinky! Yep, doing a lot in one day can make you sore, but I know that at least for me, prior to surgery I couldn't have done what you just described without being in close to severe pain by the end of it, so if you're already ahead of that curve at ~4 months on a bilateral case that sounds pretty good! Think of where it'll be at the end of a year :)

[blinky]

In a few days I will be four months out. Lots of progress. I walk at least three miles a day, first thing in morning. Swim a few times a week, mostly free but a little fly and a few experimental breast laps, 2k total. The Dr Gross leg lifts and stretches. I have been lazy and inconsistent about the leg lifts, but I can do thirty with the one pound weights in all directions, front and sideways. I will bump it up to two pounds and consider myself done with those. I want to go to spin class but have to wait a little longer per Lee, and plan on swimming with masters again mid month. I am bored with my own swim workouts!


And I am writing from Tel Aviv, so I feel good enough to take my hips on a big trip. It is to accompany H on business, so there won't be much sightseeing. It isn't that kind of trip. We stay in the suburbs, so it is pretty chill. I will take walks around town and read, do a little work. The trip over was pretty easy. First trip without the cane, though. I told my local airport that my hips would set off the metal detectors and they sent me to the body scanner. I wouldn't have cared if they wanded me or patted me down, but that seems to be the protocol. I did have to go through the metal detector in the preIsrael screening and I did set it off and got wanded. But no big deal (for future travelers to know). I have been teasing H that I should wear a short skirt so I can flash my scars.


FWIW I did take an aspirin and I did wear calf sleeves for the long trip. Of course, I also got up and moved around and did some ankle pumps.


My left hip feels good all the time. The right one talk to me now and then. I think it still swells a little and I also think  I have a subtle muscle weakness/bad habits in the right hip. When I am tired, I start swinging that leg instead of lifting it. When I say I have a little swelling, I feel it near the incision. Could be it is just sensitive, too. Last night when I was pooped from the flight, I was feeling that way. This morning, a little fresher, my hip feels okay again.


I think I will ask to see a physical therapist at the six month mark. I'd like for a pro to evaluate my gait and check out all my little weaknesses. I found a good one, a PhD who teaches at a local U AND has worked with Dr Gross patients before.

[jd]

When talking about the front leg lifts, when lying on your back, do you do them for the full 10 seconds as in the instructions? I'm not even close to being able to do 30 of those, 10 seconds each, with 1 lb (actually, can't really do 30 even with no ankle weights). If I reduce to 5 seconds it's much easier, and I can crank out 30 w/ 2lbs if I just slowly raise and then immediately slowly lower. I actually can't even get close to doing them as prescribed on my non-op leg! This struck me as being a bizarrely over-difficult exercise, but it might just be my pathology :)

[blinky]

The front lifts were easier for me than the side lifts, at least on the left side. I can do them. I think  all my freestyle helps.

[jd]

I'm jealous, but good stuff! :)

...although I'm thankfully not struggling with breaststroke! Funny how we all have different strengths and weaknesses.

[blinky]

A little more than four months out.

So the stabbing and shooting was starting up again---time to go home.

The hips did well on the trip. I already mentioned I conquered stairs. We also did more walking, my usual fitness walk, but supplemented with more walking for transportation.  Sometimes I was sore, but it passed.  And some beach walking., which was not an issue at all. It would have been challenging at first since all the little balance muscles would have been called into play.

The biggest disappointment was not setting off more metal detectors. In the airport, yes, I did create a stir and require wanding, but not in the shopping malls. A middle aged American woman like me didn’t even get her bag inspected. At a stop over in Paris, I had to explain my hips and was rather roughly patted down.  I studied French in college, but couldn’t recall a single helpful word. No problems in Israel or any airport in the US. I would just tell the inspector that I had metal hips and they would wand me.

Sleeping better. I have slept well on my back in the recliner from the beginning.  But in the bed….not always so well. I can sleep on my back but then I snore and my husband punches me. I could sleep on either side, but not all night.  Well, this great jetlag induced fatigue has made me able to sleep all night on my sides. And when I roll over I don’t wake up. Progress!

One other set of observations.  I didn’t take the cane because I don’t need it. (Husband lobbied for the cane because he likes to board the plane early.) I thought about taking it just in case, but it is a nuisance to carry when I don’t need it.  I noticed that there were times I felt more vulnerable when out and about, like if a kid on a bike approached me on the sidewalk,  or if there was a narrow passage I had to share with other people. I didn’t want to get bumped or God forbid, knocked over.  It made me more tentative. Contrast this with our trip to NOLA, six weeks out, with the cane, also crowded and rowdier than here. I was fearless. My kids described me as aggressive in a crowd. But I had the cane to signal to people that I was vulnerable.
I also felt less hearty. Normally I don’t mind weather, being hot or cold, or new situations and people, but this time I was more careful.  I still interacted with small children, but then went and washed my hands (germs!). We usually swim a lot, including in a wonderful 50m seawater fed pool, but this time I just didn’t want to be cold.
I did, however, continue to eat street food. And paid for it!

[blinky]

Four months and about a week-two weeks out. I can't resist an update because I have felt good and tried some new things.


First, return to masters swimming. I missed my teammates and coach and was tired of making up my own swim work outs. I waited because I feared if I went back too soon I would get sucked into doing too much too soon. This seemed like a good time to test the waters (haha!). I think a month ago I struggled to kick 25 meters without fins. The other day I did 10 x 25 no problem (still no fins---I think the longer lever will be too stressful). With a coach and other people I swam more meters and with greater intensity, but it felt great. Man, I was sore! I struggled to do the Phase II leg lifts the next day and my glutes hurt (in a good way).


Second, hip hab in the pool. It is warmer here in Texas so not a problem to do exercises in the outdoor, heated pool where I swim. Lateral strength has been an issue for me, so I walk sideways back and forth. Next week: grapevine!


Third, stair master. The stairs were a good addition in Tel Aviv, so I decided to add them here, too. Just about ten minutes, so not a lot.


Fourth, P90X ab ripper. No, not the whole disc, silly, just some of the exercises, seven of them, the ones in which I don't have to lift a straight leg basically. (Can almost do a couple more, but have to save something for next month).


I was very excited to try all this, even more excited to be able to do it, but man was I sore! That leads to the next lesson I learned: I have to come up with a plan that allows me to add these activities, but not do all of them on the same day. It will take a while for my body to adapt.


Also still walking. I enjoy it and sometime I hope it will be running, so good for me to stay in the habit of getting out every day.

[jd]

You're doing excellently! Really glad to hear that!

Excited for the 6 month line in the sand?

[blinky]

Oh yes!


You? Not much longer....

[jd]

Yup, 1 more month for me. Just posted a mini-update in my thread along those lines (prompted by your update!).

[blinky]

     Five months out. Wow. I can run in one month. Wow!

Okay, at five months I am still trying to see what I can do and trying to see how much I can do. I settled in swimming with my masters group three times a week. At first it was a challenge, now I am ready to add day four. I can do all strokes, even breast. That one felt weird for a long time. I could move my legs correctly, but not flex my feet. Then I struggled with the timing of the arms and legs. Now it feels okay, but not powerful.

Walking is still the foundation of my rehab. I walk at least three miles a day every day.  Sometimes I get to walk more than three miles, sometimes I can fit in two long walks.  I look forward to getting out every day. One highlight has been that my neighbors have noticed my progression from two crutches to cane to nothing and are cheering for me. The other highlight has been exploring some of the new trails that have been built here since my OA got bad. When we first moved here I missed the great system of metroparks  in Ohio. I hated having to run on the highway access roads but that is what people did. Now we have a burgeoning, new trail system away from the roads.

I am also doing hip hab in the pool, mostly just walking sideways. Lateral movement was the first thing I lost with OA and has been the toughest thing to get back. Moving in the pool is an easy way to get stronger and regain range of motion. The days I do hip hab I use the Stairmaster and have built my time there to about half an hour. At first that exercise was all about strength and ROM; now most of the time is spent moving quickly and sweating.  I hope it will be good training for running.

So what’s on tap for the last month until restrictions are lifted? First, to swim that extra day, maybe even go to an IM practice. Second, to add to the stair climbing, building to forty/forty-five minutes. Third, to continue the walking. I like it and it saves space for the coming run workouts. I am still doing some P90x abs and those Phase II leg lifts----I have maxed out on them at last. We are traveling again this month and have some out of town company, so I can’t add too much.

Speaking of traveling, I write from Minneapolis. I was last here in October to visit Son2 in college. Back then I was walking with a cane and moving slowly. Kids were opening doors for the old lady and in the airport the motorized carts always stopped and asked f I needed a lift (I said no and waddled on.) Now I move normally and am able to fully explore the campus on foot.

The niggle update. Yes, I do still have some. I feel like I need to mention them in the spirit of full disclosure.  My left upper back and neck are stiff after I swim.  I suspect this is left over from compensating for the bad left hip. I had trouble rolling and kicking symmetrically and so I threw one arm to balance out. I have to unlearn this habit. The days the coach watches me and I don’t throw my arm, I don’t have any stiffness so there is hope. Very few niggles in the hips themselves.

[Quig]

Blinky, I've been soaking up as much info as possible on this board for months and months learning and preparing for my bilateral surgeries which begin tomorrow. I can't tell you how helpful it has been to read about your experience and your steady recovery. I can tell you that it's more than your neighbors that have been cheering you on.  ;)


Congrats on yet another successful update and continued progress. Running in four weeks? You have to be soooooooo looking forward to it. You're going to do great. Keep it up!  8)

[jd]

Congrats blinky! Fantastic to be almost out of the woods, isn't it?

You mentioned having almost no hip niggles. Do you have tweaks if you move that hip into the nasty trifecta of flexion, internal rotation, and adduction?

[blinky]

Aw, shucks, Quig, thanks. I really appreciated reading the stories of everyone who went before me.

Internal rotation and sudden pivots on one leg are problematic. It is like if I stand on one leg and my torso changes direction, I twist suddenly, there can be pain. Not always, but sometimes.


I haven't yet tried to do a lot of midline crossing either. When I walk sideways in the pool, for example, I am not yet doing grapevine. I think I can now, after feeling too stiff to do it. That could be another good goal for this month. (I used to be very very limber and have been nervous about testing my flexibility until I am well healed.)