hi all.
im 14 weeks out now and feel like ive hit a plateau in my recovery.im walking around 4 ks every day and doing my pt daily, my rom has improved a lot and my flexibility is on the up and up, problem is the big numb spot and hardish lump on the wound site, which i can best describe as having a tennis ball in my leg, no matter what i do from lots of massage to stretching my thigh muscle, it will not diminish in any way and does become sore at times. because of this im finding it hard to find much improvement in my leg strength as it starts to hurt during pt and i cant seem to be able to push through this barrier..
i understand that not doing much activity for 18 mnths prior to surgery caused my muscle bulk to diminish greatly and requires lots of building back up, but didnt expect the difficulty im encountering.
it is really giving me the irates >:(
im guessing its all part of the recovery process and soft tissue healing ...... any advice graciously accepted .... ;)
Maxi
I would get the surgeon to take a look at it; he/she knows what's in there better than anyone. Apart from that you can expect the odd setback, I'm at 9 months with a high activity level and still get the occasional twinge - but then I always did.
I'd agree with Gary - get your mind clear by having the surgeon look at it, then talk over what might be happening. I had a lot of massage done in that area after it had healed, to make sure no scar tissue, etc. was attaching itself to my muscles. I also had a good sized mass on my left leg; what seemed to help was the exercise, the massages and using the roller to go over the area.
But talk to the surgeon first. I think it's just normal healing.
Quote from: maxi on May 26, 2011, 12:46:50 AM
feel like ive hit a plateau in my recovery
Apart from the first few weeks after the operation, recovery is definitely up and down. You might have hit what you see as a plateau, but you will break through, maybe without trying too hard, and continue to improve.
D.
When my Dad had his hip resurfaced 3 years ago he had a similar lump in the scar tissue. It took about a year to break up, he used to complain about it being painful sometimes in the early stages of recovery.
He has now made a full recovery and has no pain at all.
Unfortunately he passed his bad hips on to me and I'm due to have my right hip resurfaced on the 21st of June.
Yeah, the good old tennis ball. You might want to get it checked our for your piece of mind, but I can say that mine was still there when I was at your point in the recovery. Even at one year, it was still an issue during long car rides. At three years, it is pretty much gone, but I can still sometimes find the remains of it when using a roller.
The two things that I found helped the most, were to exercise that area, and then follow it up with a session on the roller.
One statement that I read, which helped my perspective during the healing process, was that the body takes a good two years to replace scar tissue with more normal muscle tissue. I noticed the other day that the last hint of pinkness in the surface scar is finally going away. So, from the bodies timeline, 14 weeks is still early in a healing process that will continue over the next couple of years.
The good news is that you have many little breakthrough moments to look forward to.
The plateaus will happen. It's kind of like when you first start weight lifting. The first months have rapid gains in muscle size then the growth isn't as noticeable. Just keep at it. You are improving but you may not notice it at first.
I have the "lump" feeling after I exercise or go for my walks. If I feel it with my fingers it feels a little hard. Also I get it when sitting in a car for a long time. I agree with the others, I would get it checked out just for your peace of mind. I'm no doc but I would think if something was wrong there would be bad pain and redness. 14 weeks is early in your recovery and it sounds like you are doing really well.
Steve
P.S. Still love that cat! It's so funny.
I have a very small lump, maybe the size of a lima bean, at the top end of the scar on my right side. No lumps on the left. It's been there since the first day and has gotten a little smaller in 11 weeks. This may not be the same thing that you all are discussing. I guess I'm lucky in that respect.
I still get some pain in the right groin area (hip flexor I think) if I push off on that leg with my knee pointed straight or slightly toward the inside. I try to keep this alignment because it sort of wants to point outwards a little bit. Also, when walking uphill I get an intermittent pain that starts right in the middle of my right butt cheek and sometimes radiates down towards my knee. It will often last a few strides and then go away. Probably just things moving around and realigning themselves as I heal and strengthen the muscles.
I had the tennis ball hip thing for a few weeks. At week 5-6 it felt like it went away. When I roll my fingers over my scar it feels like there is a small plastic coffee straw underneath. It used to feel like a pencil.
thanks all ..
just me havin a panic attack ... its settled down some now ...
could have been the digging i did too ... :-[ :-[
cheers
Paul
My scar was quite lumpy at first, I started rubbing it down as soon as the soreness passed, now completely smooth/flat apart from a small callous where one of the staples didn't come out cleanly.
I think a lot of us find our recovery is just like you said....two steps forward and one back. You may have occasional setbacks....if you push things too fast you may find that you get sore for a week or two....but overall...the big picture wil show a steady improvement.
14 weeks is still in that period where you have stuff healing...I'm at about 4 months post op and the past week my incision site has ben feeling slightly sore...but that's because I was doing one hour bike rides on my be trainer in my garage! I pushedit too hard...now the soft tissues are agitated...I am resting things...and they are recovering.... Dont stress....you will get better...just be realistic and don't expect your leg to be 100% so soon..... I was the same way...and when I had those setbacks or felt a weird sensation I got nervous.... But it's just how this healing process goes.
I have to admit though...and I'm sure you will agree...despite not being 100%... And even though there are lingering twinges...isn't it amazing to have that horrible arthritis pain GONE?
I'm still excited to know when I walk around, go up stairs, sleep in bed....that awful hip pain is gone!
Take care!