What can a pt do for me?

[Jbennett]

I'm about 9 weeks or so post op with Dr. Gross. No pt ware recommended for me other than at the 6 week check up for out of towners. (that was good by the way. Dr. Gross said my x rays looked good and the pt said I seemed to be ahead of the curve for most hip patients. I still have enough muscle pain at night that I'm not sleeping as well as I'd like. It's partly my bed. Many nights I end up moving and sleeping in one of my kids beds because it's firmer and that seems to help. I've heard people talk about their pt really working on their IT bands and how that helped and talking about using foam rollers. Should I look into that. In TN I can schedule an appointment with a pt directly without a Dr's order up to six times a year. Would really massaging or stretching the it band help me?

[Woodstock Hippy]

I had 4 orthopedic surgeries before my hips and I've always had PT.  One time the doctor send me there on the way home from surgery.  After my hip surgeries I had 8 days of in house PT at the hospital.  The therapist will stretch, message, teach you exercises and make sure you do them right.  Get over there and start working on your recovery.

[phillwad]

I had some exercises explained while in the hospital for 3 days and then I was on my own - sometimes it is hard to understand but I have kept stretching and it is paying off - follow the Doctor's orders - they know what they are doing

[hernanu]

I feel like I really profited from both in home PT and outpatient PT. The surgeon I used believes in them and scheduled my in home PT, then arranged for the outpatient PT when those were done. Both were professional, thorough and definitely helped me.

I felt that both in training me to take care of my recuperation, and in the immediate care that was taken during the sessions, I progressed. Different doctors have different thoughts on this, but this was my experience and it was very positive both times.

[John C]

Dr. Gross has some real horror stories about PTs who pushed his patients too hard too early, and did serious damage, including dislodging the cups. This is why he is reluctant to set his out of town patients up with PTs that he has little control over. I did ask him to prescribe some PT for myself back in Idaho, and most of it was very good, though I did have one PT who I finally had to yell at to back off, because he was trying to push the range of motion too hard too early.
I think that PT can be really great in many regards. Like anything else, it all hinges on the wisdom and experience of whoever your PT is. It might help if they called Dr Gross's office, in order to understand his concerns and guidelines.

[maxx6789]

my doctor prescribed 9 weeks of PT rehab (3 x 3 weeks in-home PT and 3 x 6 weeks out-patient PT). both times, i stopped the out-patient rehab after 4 weeks mostly because i was doing well, promised to continue rehabbing on my own, and had to get back to work/life. if insurance will pay for PT, then i think everyone would benefit from it. if i had to pay 100% of PT, i still recommend it but suggest finding a PT that offers a discount to self-pay people (i had to do this for my first hip) but maybe only pay for once or twice a week (as there are many exercises you can do on your own).

for me, the PT was good to get a list of suggested exercises from a human being (rather than the internet, no that there is anything wrong with getting information from the internet), learn the correct way to do each exercise, and to have a sounding board with some expertise to provide progress comments along the way.

although not connected to hip resurfacing, a friend who does speech PT rehab (stroke patients, etc) said that often the patient would likely recover their speech on their own but the PT just speeds up the process. i assume pretty much the same can be said for hip PT rehab.

so, for me, i would highly recommend it.

[Dannywayoflife]

I think PT/Physio must be drasticly different in the US. Personally ive not got a great opinion of them based on my experiences. Ive seen probably 20+ Physios over the years for various injuries both private and NHS and they have all been without exception wastes of skin!
However im assured that good ones do exist but ive given up looking for one!
But if you have a good one and feel that you can benifit from it go ahead

[Woodstock Hippy]

That's it Dan, just like there are good and bad doctors, there are good and bad PT's.  I've been going to the same group for a long time.  I know them, they know me and we work well together..

[Dannywayoflife]

That's all that matters isn't it wood. If you get benefit from it that's all that matters.
My last "run in" with a physio was just after my op. And at 13 days she was trying to force flexion in my operated hip. It was agony and my surgeon was not impressed when I told him about it.

[Woodstock Hippy]

The PT's at NYU Rusk Rehab were like drill sargents, but much prettier.  Thanks to them I walked out of there on just one cane, nine days after bilateral surgery.

My regular guys were timid compared to them.

[Anniee]

Dr. Gross does not normally prescribe PT after surgery, probably for the reasons described by John C.  I did ask for a PT prescription after my second hip, and I found it very beneficial.  Dr. Gross's orders were for the PT to only help with the post-op exercises he prescribes for all patients., but the post surgery instructions left some room for others that did not violate the rules.  The PT helped me walk normally again (I had developed a strange gait due to many years of pain), and also helped with some of the residual, post-surgery pain.  If you feel you need it, I recommend e-mailing Lee and asking for a prescription.  I had to ask for several, because the initial prescriptions were for a very limited number of sessions.  Good luck!

[Neild5]

Both of the surgeons that did my hips sent me to PT.  The first surgeon was both a orthopedic surgeon and a physiatrist and after both I was seen by both the surgeon and another physiatrist so PT was looked at as a required activity.  I felt it was time well spent at 3 times a week for 8 weeks.  They made sure I lost the limp, worked muscles that had felt ignored due to the limited ROM.  On the second hip for the first 4-5 weeks she would tell me 2-3 times per session that "you just had surgery!"  She would not let me push myself too hard.

I do not understand how I would have been able to do this without PT.

[krpedm]

Having had the surgery a little over two weeks ago I was surprised that I was not scheduled for extensive pt.  in the past three years I have had tendon reconstruction in my ankle and a knee scoped with pt prescribed.  I think pt would definitely help but I have been doing the stretching on my own.  Is there a model workout plan out there that can be used as a guide where there is no prescribed pt?

[imgetinold]

I started PT about 3 weeks ago......4 months out from surgery.  I found I was clunking more than I wanted to (common, I know), and felt that the big muscles had come back pretty well.

That was my plan all along.  Do the exercises Dr. Gross gave me, walk, start exercise biking and swimming, until I'm several months out.  Then, I think PT would help to start working more specifically on targeting the smaller, supporting muscles.  And, that's exactly what is happening....the PT is centered mostly around working the supporting muscles.  A lot of balance and hold exercises, core/hip things.  And, it's working.  Plus, even though the PT is specifically NOT for range-of-motion (per Dr. Gross's orders), my ROM is nevertheless improving.  I am much closer to tying my shoes from over my knee than before.

I would definitely recommend it, but stick only with strengthening as Dr. Gross suggests.

[Tin Soldier]

As Woodster and Danny pointed out I think there is lots of variation in PTs.  I can understand why Gross would be relunctant to send a new patient off to the land of PT without knowing if they have a good, hip-knowledgeable PT.

I had a really experienced PT.  He was recommending patients see DeSmet for HR back in the late 90s and he also worked with Philipon on an indepth study of hip surgery using arthroscopic techniques.  So I guess I was totally confident in my PT and the best part about it was that I didn't just get a few new exercises, I learned a lot about the hip, bones, soft tissue, THR vs. HR, the industry....So I'd recommend doing PT, but I'd also recommend looking for a PT that specializes in hips and recovery from hip surgery.  And don't get a drill sargeant.  That's the last thing you want in the first few months of recovery.

[Neild5]

I started PT about 3 weeks ago......4 months out from surgery.  I found I was clunking more than I wanted to (common, I know), and felt that the big muscles had come back pretty well.

That was my plan all along.  Do the exercises Dr. Gross gave me, walk, start exercise biking and swimming, until I'm several months out.  Then, I think PT would help to start working more specifically on targeting the smaller, supporting muscles.  And, that's exactly what is happening....the PT is centered mostly around working the supporting muscles.  A lot of balance and hold exercises, core/hip things.  And, it's working.  Plus, even though the PT is specifically NOT for range-of-motion (per Dr. Gross's orders), my ROM is nevertheless improving.  I am much closer to tying my shoes from over my knee than before.

I would definitely recommend it, but stick only with strengthening as Dr. Gross suggests.

By seven weeks after surgery I was able to put my foot over my knee, by 8 weeks I was more flexible than I ever remember and I was able to but my right foot on my left hip unassisted. 

[Rob6297]

I also think for the proper form of the excercise a PT is great to have watching and keeping you honest.  There are not many PT's near me that actually know the HR procedure and that is a bit concerning but not a huge deal.  I usually tell them they can watch it on utube and see everything that is affected during the procedure.  For me it was a posterior approach, but also make them aware that there is a local Dr. here in CT that does the anterior approach and they may see more patients that had that procedure done.  Anyway, I do believe the PT helps and is warranted to rehab the best way possible.
Joe