THE EVIL CHAIR!!!!! Sitting ....

[ZAP]

Ok guys I'm looking for some tips on "sitting down"  In chairs or just in general.  I read some where sitting is the worse thing to do for hip arthritis and personally for my self, if I sit to long, I feel it.
So heres my question:

Do you have any tips for pre-op ?  Sitting on phone books, raising chair, stretching every 30 minutes, etc?   Any tricks at all.  Same question for post- op.  I heard it can slow down the recovery process. Is that true?

Thanks again.

[Lopsided]

Sitting for long made me stiff and contorted. The seat had to be just the right height too. Getting up and walking around the room was good for another fifteen minutes sitting down.

The operation sorted it all out. No restrictions on sitting down after surgery.

[ScubaDuck]

I can totally relate to the pain and stiffness of sitting too long.  Although this was relieved some once I was more diligent about stretching and strengthening my legs, it still happened.  Over the last 16 months I have had 6 hour car rides to my girlfriend's house.

Specifically I found that if I would move the hip around.  I would actually change the angle of my seat back several times in the car and on the office chair.  I think adding phone books achieves the same change in angle but then you need to remove them to change the angle again.  I also would do butt squeezes and leg lifts while seated.  Since I only have OA in my left hip I would make sure to pull my left knee in since the OA would cause it to splay out to the left.  Also getting up and moving around as often as possible.

Good luck.

Dan

[FlbrkMike]

The OA in my hips screwed up my ROM so badly that, when standing or walking, my knees would point a bit outward so I looked almost bowlegged (it also made me walk with a slightly bent over gate).  I had very little inward or outward rotation and I couldn't sit with my knees together.  The most comfortable position in a chair was with my feet crossed at the ankles an my knees pointed out.  It got to the point where I had a very hard time standing up from a chair, especially a low one, without a lot of help from my arms because my legs were so far out of alignment.

I can now sit comfortably with knees and feet together at the same time.  I can also stand straight up with no assistance from my arms.  It's like a miracle, really.

[hipnhop]

Sitting for long periods of time is the hardest part for me.  Here's something I learned - take the wallet out of your pocket.

[Anniee]

Yes, sitting can be quite tricky, which probably sounds strange to someone who does not have hip problems!  When I went to visit my mother in Sweden a few weeks ago, I discovered that all of her furniture was exactly the wrong sizes for me to sit on comfortably for any length of time.  (Last year, neither hip had gotten to the stage that I noticed this!) Most of her furniture is much smaller than my own chairs and couches, and I just could not get my "unfixed" hip at a comfortable angle.  My resurfaced hip was perfectly fine, but the other one hurt more than ever and almost ruined my vacation.  Believe it or not, even sitting on an airplane for about 12 hours on the way home was better!

I agree with Dan that it helps if you can move the hip around every so often.  I get very stiff and sore if I sit in the same position for very long.  Also, my recliner helps a lot, because I can support the leg at various angles.  My bad hip got better almost immediately once I got home. 

I don't think you'll have to worry about it after the surgery, except perhaps for a week or two - especially if you have a recliner or a comfortable couch that can provide support for your leg at various angles.

[ZAP]

The OA in my hips screwed up my ROM so badly that, when standing or walking, my knees would point a bit outward so I looked almost bowlegged (it also made me walk with a slightly bent over gate).  I had very little inward or outward rotation and I couldn't sit with my knees together.  The most comfortable position in a chair was with my feet crossed at the ankles an my knees pointed out.  It got to the point where I had a very hard time standing up from a chair, especially a low one, without a lot of help from my arms because my legs were so far out of alignment.

I can now sit comfortably with knees and feet together at the same time.  I can also stand straight up with no assistance from my arms.  It's like a miracle, really.

This is exactly what I have. Even the sitting position is the same.  I noticed siting that way was making it worse so every now and then I will force both feet planted on the ground with feet and knees straight. Sometimes try to lock my fingers together around knees holding them together (30 - 60 secs at the most) I really feel the stretch and how bad the alignment is.

One of the best things I found that works is sitting on a baseball.  Its like releasing trigger points but you can move it around while you sit from spot to spot.