Hip resurface questions

[Inndanal]

Hello all, I'm Richard, found this forum on the search. I'm coming up on my 2 year anniversary of getting my hip resurfaced due to arthritis. Previously I had screws inserted into my hip (forget the name, I think it was hippo-something-plasti) to try and reduce the pain as well as having some of the bone shaved down.

However, 2 years later and I'm in still in constant pain due to my arthritis. Which, i thought was suppose to have disappeared with the resurface. The pain on most days is probably a 4.5 / 10 in that I know its there, but its nothing I can't handle. Just need to power on and forget it. Some times though the pain does reach 10/10 and I can't walk. One time the pain was so bad I could barely talk and I had some, shall we say, not so healthy thoughts at the time. As I just wanted it to stop.

My question is; should I still be in as much pain as I am even after a few years?

Also, does the resurface put a set limit on my hip and leg flexibility? Before i use to be able to get quite low in a split and could do nice and low cossak squat. However, I've been stretching and practicing often (at least 2-3 times a week) for the last year and I can't seem to get any deeper. Is this normal?

[rday12]

I am 11 months post-surgery, and I still haven't recovered to full flexibility in my resurfaced hip, despite doing a lot of yoga and other exercise. Maybe in another year that will be different, but I'm not concerned about it because I feel good.

Your pain is very concerning. Any pain in the joint should be gone, and for a lot of people, that happens immediately upon surgery. To directly answer your question, you should not be in any pain 2 years post-surgery. I really hope that between you, your doc, and your surgeon, you can figure this out.   

[catfriend]

Wow. You really shouldn't be in that level of pain two years after your surgery. At this point you hip should feel completely natural. To be in such pain that you can't walk is a sign that you need to consult with your surgeon, and perhaps seek a second opinion.

[imgetinold]

Agreed.....your arthritic hip pain should have been gone immediately after surgery, replaced by temporary hip pain from the surgery.  Flexibility will take time to return, but as far as I know, you should be able to get pretty close to 100%.  It will depend on how exactly the surgeon placed the acetabular cup, I think.


Who was your surgeon?  And, do you know how many of the procedures he had performed prior to your hip?  This can be very important.  Have you contacted your surgeon and brought this up?  What was his response?

[Saddlepal3]

I agree with previous posters. Your pain is not normal, even for 6 months after surgery much less two years. In addition to contacting your surgeon, I recommend that you send images of your hip x-ray as well as a description of your symptoms to the more experienced resurfacing surgeons. They will provide consults free of charge: Gross, Pritchett, DeSmet, Brooks.
Please let us know what you find out. Good luck!

[dannythebeerman]

From your post, I'm not clear on what procedure you had.  You may want to also add your doctor's name and location.