My hip was resurfaced on 06/06/11 and all went well and I immediatly had greater range of motion. 4 days later my swelling got worse and it has now extended to noticable swelling on my calfs. I have been icing and wearing the teds sock. I am also taking 2 aspirin and an indomethicen as per the instructions of Dr. Su.
My question is has anyone ever tried massage therapy to get rid of the swelling? I am not talking about deep tissue but firm movement of the muscles to get rid of the water.
Also has anyone ever tried acupucture? I have tried acupucture in the past and it has helped me relax and taken away muscle tension.
I've had light massage, but on the incision area to prevent scar tissue from forming, and that after about three weeks.
I had swelling on my left leg for about three weeks, sometimes down on my leg (initially) but later mostly around the incision area. My advice would be to get in touch with the doctor to make sure there's no other issues, but it sounds like pretty normal swelling, which will go down. You are still very early (7 days), so your body is bound to have issues, swelling is a pretty common one.
I'd keep in touch with your doctor (do you have a home visiting nurse?) and take his advice to heart. I'd avoid other measures and let your body heal, as long as your medical support staff are not concerned, just be patient with your body.
I remember having ice up until leaving hospital.
Nemesis:
The TEDS actually made my calves swell up worse! I stopped wearing them within a day or two. Try elevating your legs on a stack of pillows! I was very swollen for awhile. The left side of my body was swollen compared to the right. I think it is all very normal. Some people don't have it, but a lot of us have!
June