Paranoia....Part Deux

[imgetinold]

I guess I'm looking for the same sort of advice/support that Jbennett was.......

I'm basically 3.5 months out now.  As a Gross hippy, I haven't had any PT (although I'm starting some next week).  He does not want range-of-motion PT until 6 months, just strengthening.  So, I've faithfully been doing my hip exercises:

Leg lifts
Leg abduction (?) - lay on my side and lift the leg.
Psoas stretch

I also exercise bike around 3x per week, for about 45 minutes, and use an elliptical maybe 2x per week for the same.

The last two weeks I've had more groin pain than I have since surgery.  Not really very painful, but soreness.  Also, soreness right in the front....I think the psoas muscle. 

It could very well be that I'm not stretching often enough, but this seems like either a setback or plateau.

My other issue is the clunking.  I've posted several times on other's questions about having it and not worrying about it.  But, I'm starting to.  It seems to happen quite a bit, and particularly if I do any bending-over move....to pick something up, to stretch hamstrings.  When I straighten up, I feel it.  Doesn't hurt, but I am now wondering if it's getting worse when it should be getting better/less often.

I will now wait for words of wisdom/advice.

[einreb]

I had odd pains in different places come and go for many months.  I dont thing what you are experiencing is abnormal at all.

Also, is your 'clunking' possibly tendons and whatnot moving over the device and getting adjusted?  I had that a bit and it was unsettling, but now rarely happens.

3 months is still early in the grand scheme of things.  I've REALLY turned the corner at 14 months... it feels so 'normal'.... you have a lot to look forward to and should expect some ups and downs along the way.

-Bernie

[hernanu]

No worries Andy, both are pretty normal. I still clunk very lightly, only once or twice and only when I'm brushing my teeth. Go figure.

At your point, I was clunking quite a bit (it seemed), especially when doing new things or exercising. I think the smaller muscles just get tired and can't batten down the hatches on the capsule as much as they can later, and so ... clunk.

Groin pain came and went for me, especially when I started doing some more demanding exercises. I usually took some time to let it calm down, stepped back for a few days, then slowly built my exercise back up again.

One time I remember, I had just begun walking/running on the treadmill (about 9 months or so) and I had been doing leg presses for a bit with low weight (about 190 lbs), when A Bright Light went off in my head and I decided to combine the two. At the beginning of the third set of reps, I felt a twinge in the groin area. I stopped, showered and left, then for the next three days or so, every time I bent down, I felt a pull in that area.

After about 5 days or so of rest, voila' ... no more pain and I went back to working out, alternating the leg presses and the treadmill. No pain. Other times, the groin still twinged every now and then, but I rested the same way (immediately) and it was good.

Now, I can do both one after the other with impunity, no problem - the muscles overall have gotten a lot stronger, and I'm expecting a second wave of further strengthening as I close in on my 2 year anniversaries.

So my advice is to be patient with it, stop doing what hurts immediately, rest and ice, then go back in a moderate way and build your strength.

[mslendzion]

We are days apart with our surgery I'm having the same issues.  Moving in new ways scares me as sometimes things seem to 'clunk' or something.  At times when on my XRide (seated elliptical) it happens and is painful with each pedal motion.  I also hurt really bad trying to reach down to my feet.  Some other excercises, leg lifts and the like, are really uncomfortable and leave me sore and, at time, causes 'clunking'.  At the end of the day, I'm in a lot better shape than before the surgery.  I can put my socks on without the tool, more than I could do pre op. 

[John C]

Hi "getinlold",
I never had any groin pain, so I can't address that, but I did have my share of clunking. I had a ton of it in the first few weeks, and then it seemed to ease up. At around the three month mark, I was starting to get more active, and was back into practicing Tai Chi which involves a lot of slow twisting and bending in the hips; accompanied by lots of clunking once again. As before, it got progressively better over time. I wouldn't say that I ever get a real clunk anymore, but subtle little "slips" do happen occasionally; no pain or big deal, but I can feel them. Any extreme stretching does seem to be the main trigger, as some impingement may shift the polar contact of the cap in the cup.
I remember asking Dr Gross if the clunking ever completely goes away. His response was that he was not sure, but it seemed like people stopped mentioning it after awhile, so his belief was that it got better over the first year to the point that it did not seem to be an issue anymore. I am sure that yours will do the same.