Day 1
I was first up yesterday morning and the BHR op went well. VERY relieved to be on the other side of that anxiety. So after years of researching & build up I'm an official hippy.
Physio had me walking around the bed twice with crutches about 5 hours post op. She seemed happy with that as she didn't think I'd be able to as I was dizzy& pale initially.
I've also spent time on my unoperated side in my bed. So nil restrictions there. Just pillow been legs.
No usual hip pain! just ranging from 2 - 5 on pain scale of 10 around incision which seems to refer al around upper leg. Ice & drugs goodo relief though.
Eager to get moving with rehab but as my lovely wife said "don't over do it" - she also warned my surgeon what I'm like so better behave!
All in all I couldn't be happier waking this morning on day two.
Simon
Congrats to you Simon. I hope you have a swift and easy recovery.
Congratulations, Simon. The hard part is over. Now the recovery and rehabilitation.
Remember that there will be good days and bad. Just keep on pushing through.
Best wishes.
Dan
Welcome, Simon, to the other side!! You're going to love your new bionic hip.
Mike
Congratulations Simon. I hope your recovery goes by quickly and you will be home soon. I gave you your own topic so people can follow your story as you recovery.
I wish you the very best and look forward to your recovery posts.
Pat
Enjoy your new hip! Remember not to do too much though! Listen to your doctor and wife! :)
Good Job Kiwi!
Stay Obtuse!
That's great, Simon. Remember the sequence is you listen to wife first, doctor after. Live longer that way
Thanks guys & gals.
Hern, Yes - happy wife, happy life ;)
Tin, you mean stay between 90 & 180 or ignorant?? :D
Have done 2nd walk down corridor and back. went well ...go od to get out of room for 5 minutes! Had a sit down shower afterwards which was refreshing. Getting back into bed was worst bit. Oxygen tube and pee tube removed now... sure you needed to know that!
We all went through it, Kiwi - nothing you can say we haven't seen. Great recovery news.
Good luck Kiwi..I had a bilateral BHR with Hugh Blackley coming up 4 years ago.An absolutely incredible result for me,just no issues at all and back to living a completely painfree normal active life.My best piece of advice would be to get into a swimming pool as soon as the incision has healed completely.Looking forward to seeing your progress!!!
Congrats Simon, it is all downhill from here, best regards for a speedy an uneventful recovery. There may be little bumps but it does get better every day, follow the advice of your surgeon to a T.
Dan
Day 2
Thanks for the advice folks. It's only day two today and managed to get so some sleep. I have some swelling but this is being iced and elevated as I write.
Gavin- Swimming.s first on my list! good to hear from someone else that's been operated on by hugh and so far down the road with positive results. I read your posts and we to share some similar activities. Diving, fishing, squash, I used to trail bike too but squash is my passion. have you played squash since op? Hugh has a great track record with BHR s and as you' d know the most experience d surgeon for around resurfacing here in NZ. I flew up from Wellington as my referred surgeon there ha only done 2 BHRs! Found Hugh via this site.
Anyway - great to hear about your positive results. Wil try & find your story that you blogged now.
Cheers all.
Yesterday was another progressive day. Walked with crutches down Corridor 3 times including stairs session which is great I have stairs at home and I'm flying home today.
Can get in and out of bed without assistance and slept on my side for most of last night again. Today wil be a long day of travel so will no doubt need a good rest when I get home.... If my kids let me!
Surgeon visited and confirmed everything went really well, that I had good strong bone structure and he installed a pretty large device in me which was also meant to be good. 56 mm Head.... I think it's currently the 2nd largest available.
So far could not ber happier with progress. :)
So happy for you Simon!! Keep up the faith and the good recovery!! Thinking of you, Lu
Thanks Lu, appreciate you beaming your good thoughts to me!! :D
Congrats on making it home Kiwi. I am sure you are hurting a bit but I'm sure your spirits have been lifted a bit as well. Theres no place like home, right.
Best wishes on your recovery progressing. Sounds like you are one of those 1% guys that will forget you even had the surgery in a few weeks. Good for you.
Thanks Rob - it's great being home with my family.
Yes for sure there's some pain, stiffness & getting comfortable can be a challenge, but guess what? No where near as much as my pre op OA pain! There's obvious mobility issues but it's amazing how quickly things have improved in just a few days. It's a bit early to make a call on whether I'm in that 1% or not - but I love your optimism!
Is your op on Tues? Good luck!
Hi
Had to reply since I saw it was Hugh Blackely. I had mine on Nov 2 (my story is in the problems section unfortunately). So I could relate to the physio sessions- I can imagine the corridor and stairs :) I agree- my hip is fantastic and the difference to before surgery is great. My hip is small only 44mm so I have to be careful apparently
My problem is a nerve got upset and now my foot drops and I have a lot of nerve pain which is causing me problems (read my story if you can be bothered). But ACC have accepted the claim quickly and hopefully it will improve.
Great to hear about your experience.
I am down in Dunedin.
Rachel
Hi Rachel. Just read your story - I had actually read it before but didn't realise you were from NZ & Hugh was your surgeon. Please keep us posted on how you are doing & I'm really glad your hip is feeling good.
Simon
(Wellington)
Day 5 update: Less than a week since my op & I managed to get my socks & shoes on by myself this morning..admittedly I used a sock puller for my operated side & I have long arms which I think is an advantage - but did it by myself all the same. I also went for about a 400 metre walk - which I'm increasing daily. I felt really good & reckon I could have walked much longer but trying to take it easy as it's still only week one.
I can get around house on one crutch easily and stand quite confidentally without any crutches for small amounts of time. I hope I'm not over doing it. Most of the time use two crutches... until I have no pain, no limp etc as per physio's advice. It's just easier using one at home when you need your hands.
I have been getting really tired in the afternoons which I think is common this early on. My incision was very sore last night too & I was a bit wiped out.
I'm not sure how much I should be pushing myself in the first few weeks. I don't really have that many exercises apart from the walking & a few sets of leg swinging ones, so I'm just doing those whilst trying to listen to my body.
Day 8: I might be over doing it. I feel great in the morning & today I walked for 900metres with my crutches. Every afternoon I'm completely wiped out & just want to sleep. Does that mean I should back off exercise? Is it the meds or a combination of the body recovering from surgery, meds & exercise?
Great job Kiwi! I can understand you being tired at the end of the day. I was in the same boat as you- I started off doing way too much; walking as much as 2.5 to 3 miles with a cane before week 3 was up. My surgeon's nurse caught on to this and warned me to stay at around 1.5 miles max. for the day. Your mind will say "Go", but the soft tissue and ligaments and tendons are still returning to normal / healing, etc. I am at 5 1/2 weeks right now and generally feel great all the time, except after my wife took me shopping at a shopping mall yesterday. I was wiped out last night and sore this morning- perhaps I'm allergic to shopping?
Good luck going forward; try not to overdo it and stay smart!
Steve
Hi Simon,
I distinctly remember feeling exhausted those first 2 weeks, just doing some easy PT and a short walk would wipe me out, quite frustrating. It was pointed out that my body was expending huge amounts of energy trying to heal the soft tissue compromised during the operation. Also, sleeping was not back to normal yet, seems I had to get up and urinate every few hours, no idea where all that fluid could have been coming from.
Listen to your body, I think being tired is ok, but being in much more pain is perhaps a sign of over doing it.
Take heart, you will find this past week a distant memory in just a few more days.
Dave
Quote from: Kiwi on November 30, 2011, 11:36:00 PM
Day 8: I might be over doing it. I feel great in the morning & today I walked for 900metres with my crutches. Every afternoon I'm completely wiped out & just want to sleep. Does that mean I should back off exercise? Is it the meds or a combination of the body recovering from surgery, meds & exercise?
You said it yourself, Simon - Day 8. I like the attitude, but your body's backing you down. I did about 400 meters on crutches three times per day, but after about two weeks. I also spent the afternoon sleeping as much as I needed it. Your body is expending a lot of energy fixing cut and strained muscles. Having said that, I think your body would be wiped out anyways and the activity just adds to it, is not causing the fatigue.
Gotta keep moving, but I'd scale down until your healing muscles catch up to the rest of your muscles that are full of getup and go now that they see the OA is gone. The time for heavier exercising is coming up fast, but you want a good foundation for that.
Okay thanks guys. Too excited I guess. I'll scale back the daily walk & stick to McMinn exercises just once per day until after the two week mark. I agree I think I'll be wiped out anyway. Doesn't the body do a lot the healing when you're asleep? It was just blowing me away how knackered I have been from about mid afternoon compared to the morning where I seem to be full of beans. No abnormal pain - as long as I keep up my meds.
Day 11: Earthquake rumbled shaking our house around 7.30pm, without a second thought, ran through lounge, dining room, kitchen, down hallway to get my children out of their bedrooms (they are screaming), ran into 1 year olds room and picked her up out of her cot - we all got under dining room table. Shake had then stopped. It was a decent rumble (5.7).
Wife came in from outside where she had been in the garden planting, saw me holding our youngest and said where are your crutches? Looked over and they were leaning against the chair where I had been sitting watching cricket on TV.
As some of you will know, we've had our share of major earthquakes in NZ lately - in Christchurch, but the whole country's a bit on edge when these occur. We live in Wellington which is where they have been talking about 'the big one' since I was a young fella.
Family is all okay - that's the main thing. No damage done there.
Iced up the rest of the night, had few strong drinks. All I hope for now is that I've done no serious damage to my cup (i.e. moved it a mil or two). How would I know? My muscles are a bit sore this morning that's all.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/6082343/Earthquake-near-Picton-rocks-capital-felt-afar
I think you'd know. I know the descriptions of dislocation sound very painful. I think you're fine. Check with the doctor if you're nervous, but its like my car accident when i was a month or so along, I didn't even notice it until later.
A fellow hippy has reiterated your comments Hern via email. Just a bit of paranoia creeping in on my part. The extra pain is likely to be the soft muscle tissue which I've irritated when I ran. I've sent an email to my Surgeon... just to be safe. :o
You had a car accident a month after one of your ops??
Hi
Did you get a reply from Hugh? ( I am still waiting for my sick leave certificate). Anyhow, I think it is soft muscle too. I feel like I have torn or damaged an inner butt muscle with some over exuberant clamshells and I am 5 weeks post op. I am still thrilled with the hip but still quite weak - though my foot drop has complicated things.
good thing I pulled out of the ironman in January- don't think I would have done a good job ;)
Rachel
Thanks for the prompt Rachel. Hugh did respond saying that I would not have done any damage to the hip by running.
Have you found out any more about your dropped foot and did Hugh say anything about how long until nerve pain goes?
btw - I just realised that we were due to be operated on the same date but my op was delayed 3 weeks due to me getting bronchitis.
Ironman less than 3 months after a resurfacing.... you're would have be keen mate.
Quote from: Kiwi on December 04, 2011, 12:51:02 AM
A fellow hippy has reiterated your comments Hern via email. Just a bit of paranoia creeping in on my part. The extra pain is likely to be the soft muscle tissue which I've irritated when I ran. I've sent an email to my Surgeon... just to be safe. :o
You had a car accident a month after one of your ops??
Double checked it Simon, apparently early "forgetfulness" is setting in. It was four months after my second procedure, as described here:
http://surfacehippy.info/hiptalk/index.php?topic=2411.0 (http://surfacehippy.info/hiptalk/index.php?topic=2411.0)
I must be in some contracted frame of time :-[.
No worries Hernan, based on how vigilant you are with responding to everyone on this site you're bound to lose something ;) ...do you ever sleep? :)
Cheers
Simon
I do, and pretty well now!!!
Good for you mate!!
Looking forward to getting to that stage.
Two weeks - things have been going well.. maybe too well. I have been walking with one crutch a lot and feeling fine. I 'could' confidently walk without crutches for small periods but still some pain.
Today - out of the blue, I get pain all around my (23cm!) incision & can literally feel the swelling. I'm also clunking now as well.
This has taken me by surprise as I've hardly had any swelling since my op & my bruising has virtually gone. I'm icing right now which is helping ease the pain. Has anyone else experienced this suddenly coming on - clunking, swelling & pain?
I will add that I did go out last night to our local bar for a couple of quiet beers with mates I wanted to catch up with. I walked there & back - it's only 400m each way. This on top of an earlier walk of similar distance. Also sitting on a hard bar stool may not have helped. Just weird the way it's come on half way through the following day & so suddenly.
Nothing serious ...I hope.
We all get setbacks, Simon. I had a tearing feeling one day in the incision, no clue what it was from; I think it was scar tissue in the incision letting go, since it didn't come back later.
Ice it, elevate and see how you feel and call the doc even if just to clear your mind.
I had some of the same sensations as you and hernanu have described a number of times. Sometimes worse than others. Although it worried me a little bit I didn't see any bruising to make me think something tore. I also attributed the feeling to scar tissue releasing.
Best wishes.
Dan
Cheers Hernan & Dan. Iced all yesterday (and everyday since op), icing as we speak. Clunking & swelling still there. Didn't seem to matter how common I knew clunking was, it still took me by surprise.
I thought I had dodged it. Will push on through this minor setback.
Still okay to go for walks & do exercise? Any exercises appropriate for reducing clunking?
Hello Simon!
I'm about seven weeks into my recoup from BHR on my right side and my Physical Therapist has me working on my "Pelvic Floor" which involves too many Latin names for muscles to repeat here! I'm not computer savvy enough to include some sort of link to direct you to, but you might try a search for the "Pelvic Elevator" and see what comes up for exercises involving your core!?
Part of the problem might have been your "Quiet Beers"...better to go for the loud ones!
Good luck!
Bruce
Bruce, is that specifically for clunking?
Thought I'd best take it easy & save "loud" beers for closer to Christmas when I'm off meds completely ;)
Quote from: Kiwi on December 09, 2011, 03:11:53 PM
Cheers Hernan & Dan. Iced all yesterday (and everyday since op), icing as we speak. Clunking & swelling still there. Didn't seem to matter how common I knew clunking was, it still took me by surprise.
I thought I had dodged it. Will push on through this minor setback.
Still okay to go for walks & do exercise? Any exercises appropriate for reducing clunking?
Oh definitely, Simon, the strengthening is what lowers / gets rid of it. Core exercises are one aspect of the solution, but time and exercise (within reason) will do it.
Definitely get exercises that strengthen the hip capsule. I found that my big muscles came back pretty fast. That allowed me to walk and cycle pretty easily. But the smaller hip support muscles are much weaker. These need specific exercises to strengthen.
I suspect that is why some people have problems well after they have "recovered." I believe they don't realize these smaller muscles are not strong. Then they do something that strains the hip. And the pain and even clunking comes back.
My PT has given me all sorts of odd exercises to do. In each case I can feel how weak those muscles still are four months from surgery. I am working diligently to build the best hip capsule to protect my investment.
Best wishes.
Dan
Simon-
Looks like Hernanu and Dan have covered your question. Did you have any luck with a search of Pelvic Elevator?
Did you say Wellington is home? Trying to remember a local beer name for your neck of the woods!
Bruce
Thanks very much team - righto - strengthen the hip capsule, I will get a program of exercises from my Physio when I see her next week.
Surgeon said as long as exercises don't cause clunking I can do them.
Bruce - yes I found Pelvic Elevator exercises on Utube so will being adding those to my my routine too.
I'm from Wellington, NZ. We have a great beer brewed just out of Wellington called Tuatara. They have a very tasty range indeed. You're from Alaska I see!?
Cheers
Simon
3 weeks - After good progress in first two weeks i feel like I've hit a snag. Apart from clunking I had a massive muscle spasm which literally floored me. Since then I've had bad swelling & pain. I phoned my physio & she said just rest & ice for next couple of days. This was 5 days ago now and swelling & pain has not improved. So I've not been able to exercise. I ice all day & go to bed with more ice, drinks loads of water & take my meds. every morning - ground hog day. Walking around is fine, sitting & lying is not good and VERY uncomfortable.
I'm trying to get further advice from surgeon on what exercise I should do (if any) and any tips to reduce swelling, but he's pretty busy & is likely to just say rest & ice. I'm considering buying some compression shorts as I was never given TEDs to wear. Probably the old patience thing again.
I had mild pain & swelling for the first two weeks & was walking around very smoothly, now i feel I'm taking steps backwards. Probably over did it & spasm was a result, but 5 days - no improvement??
Frustrated.
S'alright guy, there really is no time limit, just do what you can. We all hit snags like this. Having said that, nothing wrong with calling at ANY time. The doctors work for you.
Sorry to hear that the spasm has had consequences. I keep reading about periods of smooth sailing and then a minor set back. Here's hoping you are over your minor set back soon. Where are you experiencing the swelling? Are you taking an kind of anti-inflammatory? That might help.
Swelling is around hip / upper leg, it's extremely tight, swollen & uncomfortable. All resulting from that spasm. Apparently spasms happen when your muscles are screaming "stop - I can't take any more!".
I'm taking diclofenac which is an anti-flam, perhaps i need to up my dosage. I know it'll be fine, but 5 days & no improvement seems a bit long to me. I'm sure it's just another one of those little set backs. It's defiantly more comfortable standing and walking than sitting or lying which unfortunately not that practical.
Our worlds early post surgery can all of a sudden become small, until we're comfortably mobile &able to get back to more 'normal' day to day activities.
3.5 Weeks - After a couple of snags (Clunking & large butt Spasm) things are going pretty well indeed. I still have pain resulting from my spasm but it's slowly subsiding & I have resumed most exercises.
My very long 23cm incision looks incredibly clean. Although still a lot of swelling, I think that it will still be okay to hit the pool in the next couple of days.
I'm back driving now, but only our 4wd automatic, our sedan has bucket seats & sits very low, so staying clear of that vehicle for now.
I've also started working again, but just from home. I'm fortunate to have a job (& an employer) which allows me to do my work remotely.
Other positives; Have taken my wife out for dinner - a much needed break for her. We had a really enjoyable evening. I only took one crutch out, I had to bring in ice packs to sit on ;D. This morning I made I huge pile of pancakes for the family & stood pretty comfortably without crutches the whole time. I can walk without crutches around the house, but still use one crutch for my longer walks.
Cheers
Simon
That is sounding good. Are you rubbing bio oil into your scar? We have started rubbing the scar a bit harder to get rid of adhesions and loosen muscles, though I am a couple of weeks in front of you.
I started driving my manual 4WD just over 3 weeks after the op. My foot drop makes it interesting and I have to wear my orthotic but it feels like second nature again now.
I have been really busy with end of year exams and work so my exercise rehab has been crap apart from the stuff with my rehab man. However there is a spin bike (that the kids are using ::)) that I will get onto. I have to balance the problem of not compressing the nerve that I want to regenerate.
That spasm sounds sore. Listen to your body and try to use it again 'normally'. Something I am learning is that I have some really bad habits in exercise because of compensating for my hip for 3 years so I am starting all over again with learning what a good squat is.
Have a sunny Xmas! We are hoping for one down here!
Rachel
I'm not rubbing anything into scar yet, but after reading Danny's post I am considering some scar massaging. Apparently it's good for scar tissue down the track.
Your rehab sounds like it's going well, albeit with the added challenge of not compressing that nerve. Amazing how quickly you've adapted to wearing & driving with your orthotic too. Good stuff!
The spasm was sore & still is, but only sitting and certain movements. I've come to the conclusion that the Tramadol, although really useful early on, was the reason I over did it in the first two weeks, resulting in the huge spasm. That and my over zealous desire to get on with it. I felt so good it was ridiculous! Lesson learnt.
Off to PT today so will see where I'm at and get some gauges to measure from now & moving forward. Like you say, there's a lot of old bad habits from several years of compensating. The amazing thing is, I can already walk further than I could pre-op and without that nagging, grinding arthritis pain!
Enjoy your sunny Xmas break!
8)
6 Week Post op update:
Feeling really good. Ditched all walking aids on Xmas day (@ 4 weeks post op)....awesome Xmas gift. Gait has improved considerably and I am going longer periods without thinking about my operated hip at all - this is a good progress gauge for me.
My PT is impressed with where I am at for 6 weeks. I'm her first ever BHR she's worked with. She has had loads of THR & other hip op rehab experience.
My exercises include the pool, walking hilly Wellington & targeting strengthening my glutes, hip flexor & my trunk stability in amongst standard exercises. I seem to be going up & down stairs swiftly (once I've loosened up after waking up) and are now more comfortable sitting since my PT gave my operated glut a good deep massage.
I'm massaging my scar tissue using cross friction technique, this seems to helped my ROM & should help later in the year when I ramp things right up the activity scale.
Feel confident moving into next "strengthening" phase.
"Softly, softly, catchee Monkey".
All good news, Simon - nothing like seeing your life expand instead of contracting like before. You're making really good progress.
Thanks Hernan. You've hit the nail on the head there man. The big decision to have a BHR has started to started to pay dividends. There's so much to look forward to!!
Good to hear the progress. I am needing lots of strengthening of glutes but pretty pleased.
the compressed nerve in the foot makes me walk 'funny' which tightens the front of my hip capsule so a bit of a PITA at the moment. Patience patience
My husband LOVES tuatara beer and we were trying to work out (whilst on holiday and with no internet) where it was brewed so now I can say "near Wellington".
Is the foot improved?
You pay about double the price of mainstream beer but it's really good. Actually originated in the hills out the back of Waikanae, my old stomping ground.
Yeah....like Hern asked... Any improvement in your foot yet?
Patience is the key for sure. I've been doing loads of pool work, walking & hip, thigh & trunk strengthening. Feeling really good.
I've never enjoyed walking so much as I have post op. I'm holding myself back from doing anything excessive and sticking to my PTs & Surgeons guidelines. I do feel like I could do so much more, but I need to remind myself that's I'm only 9 weeks post op. I planning on this being a long term investment, so nothing silly to put that plan in jeopardy.
My husband has begun to brew his own beer so he is now as snobby about beer as he is about good coffee and I can pinpoint it to Waikanae now!
Won't threadjack on my progress- will update my own thread
Yes, patience is the way- wish it was one of my virtues though!
12 Weeks Post OP
Time is flying by & things are going well. It turns out I had bursitis but a cortisone injection seems to have sorted that out. It wasn't impacting my activity level at all.
Still walking any where from 2 to 5 miles daily and current strengthening exercises include; trunk stability, bridging with straight leg raise, side lying hip abduction, wall slides, side lying & standing leg lifts & mid back stretches. Every 2-3 weeks my PT gives me harder exercises & expect next I'll be doing some light weight work. It all seems to be building up nicely. My PT is quite conservative, but I'm in no hurry... well maybe just a bit.
Last night I hit 60 balls at the driving range which was great. Didn't hold back much on the follow through either & managed to get hold of a few. No adverse effects today & the hip feels great.
Excellent!!!!
Something I found helpful was when I got back to the regular gym workouts, to include the PT balancing, etc. in my workouts, not just doing the big muscles.
I'm a menace at the driving range. Lots of undirected power, spraying shots at impossible angles, many people flying out of the way. I have managed to turn golf into a contact sport.
Good advice Hern. I'm still a bit of a stranger to the gym so will have to get my trainer wheels on there!
Golf "a contact sport" :) good one! Great fun on the range aye... I didn't mention I sprayed just as many as many as I got hold of. Best thing with our local range is once the ball is hit a new one automatically is placed on the tee for you. No bending all the time. Just stand & deliver (or spray!).
Previous [DELETED] message was posted to wrong thread. [My Bad].
4 Months Post Op
I went for a walk up Mt Kaukau, Wellington yesterday with my 6 year old son. It's a 419M altitude walk (mixed terrain of tracks, steps & banks) & 6km in total. I was a tad concerned as the track was very damp after a week of rain & we meet a couple that had turned back. We persevered - took it carefully & made it quite easily in the end. Going down was probably more difficult. Okay, it's not the highest mountain in the world, but it's the highest point in Wellington & amazing views once you're there! I was stoked as it was my first time up that hill & got to share it with my son. It was his 5th time (he's being going with his Mum), not bad for a young fella (my boy did well too!!! ::)). The best part is I have no pain whatsoever today - I feel great.
Really feel like I can push things a bit harder now.
Current exercises include;
- One leg bridges with weights
- sideways walk with band
- Lunges with weights
- Walking (steps at work & rough terrain, up to 450m elevation)
- Steps
- Golfing
- Swimming (not as much as I'd like)
- Various stretches
Pretty great, Kiwi, especially in tough terrain. 419m is no cakewalk, the best part is sharing it with your son. Congrats.
Thanks Hern. I really enjoyed it & hope he's keen to repeat the walk this weekend. I can see it being part of a regular exercise / bonding routine now. I never used to enjoy walking as much as I do now, particularly out in the bush, where you have the variety of terrain & really have to concentrate on your footing. Much more enjoyable than walking footpaths - but even that I now enjoy. Pretty cool how you appreciate these things so much, post op. Long may it last!
I also took him to the squash club last weekend with one of his mates, I hit a few balls down the wall myself. Miss that.... patience.
Enough about me... How are things going with you anyway?
Things are very good on the hip front. The thing I do find is that since I spend a lot of time in an office, workout time becomes precious. The last hip seems to be lagging a bit (feel a bit like the IT band) but I am trying to do full speed martial arts kicks with it.
I am also being asked when I can get back to my soccer team, since they figure they've given me enough time off ::) and want their token old man back. Just as with everything else, I'm trying patience with it, since my first instinct is to throw myself into our twice weekly games - since the rest of them are semi pros (brazilian , portuguese or latin americans) or just out of college kids who are in freaky shape, I'm thinking easing into it is a good thing. I usually let them do most of the running around and poach anyways 8) .
So things are flowing well now, the daily functioning is easy, standing or walking for hours still brings a bit of discomfort, but an hour or two of working out doesn't have any other impact than just tiring the normal muscles. All in all, doing really well.
Sounds like you're travelling really great yourself. I know what you mean about working in an office, so twice a week I bring in my gear and do the steps as I work in a high rise office building. Just been going up & catching lift down. Doing 100-150 flights currently. I'm still taking it easy on my knees hence why I catch the lift down, but I should perhaps change that soon? Up is certainly where I seem to get the workout.
What does your current exercise routine involve - now that you're post 1+ years on both hips? No doubt you'll be honing your ball skills for the team! Good call to ease yourself back into it. I think sport specific exercises are key when comes to getting back into it. Maybe you can play a few half games to start with? You know, be the super sub!
Nothing crazy, I usually do about four times a week, twice I do my gym near the house, there I go for:
- 20 mins run / walk on the treadmill
- calisthenics (pushups, core work from PT, stretching)
- leg weights (leg press, extension machine, etc - pretty light, only about 30 reps).
- 15 minutes on the punching bag, try to do 1 minute round, then light one minute
- Warm down on the bike for 5 minutes
Twice hit my gym at work:
- 20 mins run / walk on the treadmill
- Free weights (bench press, incline press, curls, etc.) 4 sets of 8-10 reps each.
- leg weights (leg press, extension machine, 4 sets of between 10-30 reps each).
- Stretching and balancing exercises (have to give the trainers there a reason to giggle)
- Warm down on the bike for 5 minutes
At home, I'm doing balancing and leg lifts with my ankle weights, juggling for both my balance and to get my eyes coordinated (had lasix last year), also have a slide board (simulate ice skating) which gets good use.
Will soon hopefully add soccer twice a week from April - November, liven things up a bit.
150 flights sounds impressive, I'd take that lift down myself!
Reads like a good routine mate - and that's the key... a routine, especially when you're busy. Great stuff & good luck with starting up the soccer! Sounds like you're playing with some pretty talented athletes.
The 150 flights is a good start (according to my tracks it's 266M elevation gain), and it gets a good sweat up. I used to do more (pre op days) and run/walk them. At this stage I'm just walking but doing 50% two steps at a time and will increase # of flights as weeks progress.
Simon
How's the diving/boating/fishing gone over the past summer?
Just seen your post,not on the site much these days as the BHR's I received over 4 years ago I just never think about (which I guess is a great recommendation).
I have no restrictions at all however choose not to absolutely thrash myself with serious running or squash.
Regularly diving,fishing,boating, tramping and deerstalking in Urewera in rugged country...which involves packing a pretty heavy pack from time to time.For indoor serious exercise I use a Concept 2 indoor rower.
Absolutely no issues.
Take a bow Hugh Blackley!!
Gavin (bilat BHR Dec 2007)
That's a great story to hear, Gavin. More power to you and excellent to hear for us behind you.
Gavin,
Diving just the once - went really well, although my wetsuit seems to have shrunk! I've been fishing quite a few times & we've had a really good snapper season here on the Kapiti Coast. I've just purchased a new chartplotter / fish finder which I can't wait to play with.
You sound like you're doing just great. As Hern said, it's really encouraging to hear from experienced hippies like your self.
Hugh's a great surgeon & you're walking, tramping, diving proof! Have you had any joy with the deer stalking lately?
Stay in touch from time to time. Great to hear from you mate.
Cherz
Simon
Simon
Have fun with the chartplotter...it will guarantee many more snapper!
Great roar this year,managed to sneak up on one of those stags which resulted in giving those BHR's a real workout, packing all the good bits out to the truck!
Gavin
Good work Gavin, you're utilising those BHRs the way you should! Great to read.
Not sure about more snapper.... but I'll have fun trying. Just need the weather to play it's part now!
I managed to get (mate shot down South) a couple of feeds of eye fillet from fellow dear earlier this year... wow talk about lean & tender. :P
6 Months Post Op
No major noticeable changes to last report. I feel as good as I did at 4 months - perhaps a little more confident in what I do. I've incorporated a bit of jogging into my walks up the mount. I'm now at the stage where I feel my scar tissue is holding my ROM progress back, so I'm booked in for some professional deep scar massage to see if that helps.
Building slowly but steadily towards my goal of playing squash at 1 year post op.
Overall, I feel great and still appreciating the day to day pain free activities :)
Will let you know results of massage.
Cherz
Kiwi
Great news, Simon. Excellent to hear from you - good step to do the massage.
Thanks Hern - great to hear from you too as always!
How's the soccer going...?
Pretty well, not as often as I'd like but I'm getting comfortable with the movement, etc. I'm starting to work on jumping drills in the gym, just to get used to that push off again. It's fun relearning stuff like that and not dreading the landing.
7 months (and one week)
Played squash for the first time post op on Sat night. Just a friendly game with my wife. Felt great to hit the ball again & was surprised that the timing was still there. I did little running but still managed 3/4 of an hour and got a good sweat up. Feeling a tad tight in certain areas like the glutes, but no adverse effects elsewhere. Hip feels great!
The deep scar tissue massage went well. He said I must have done a good job on it early as there wasn't that much hard stuff to work with. So that's good to know.
All in all things are great.... really got the taste for ramping things up another level - especially after playing a bit of squash, but will stick to the one year plan & slowly build towards that goal.
All sounds good, Simon.
Quote from: Kiwi on July 02, 2012, 05:06:37 AM
7 months (and one week)
The deep scar tissue massage went well. He said I must have done a good job on it early as there wasn't that much hard stuff to work with. So that's good to know.
Hi kiwi, what do you think helped with your scar tissue? I'm eager to do all I can early on, I am only 4 weeks.
Around 6 weeks I started doing self massaging of my scar tissue using cross friction technique.
I looked up the technique via google and found several different methods, so check it out on the 'net.
I also had my PT do some cross fiction massage on a couple of occasions too, but mostly it was myself.
Getting into the pool early is some of the best advice I got. Doing pool exercises was great for ROM. Afterwards I'd soak in the hot pool and get the powerful jets on the scar. That probably helped too.
Played golf on a hilly course in morning, tennis & then squash. Had little left in the tank.
Good news is that a) For first time in years I hardly thought about my hip during the game of squash - a huge mental shift and b) Today the hip feels great :D
Happy days...
Excellent. This is why we work hard on our recovery.
Happy days Kiwi ;D