What can I expect as far mobility post surgery?

[johns567]

I am scheduled for resurfacing on December 18th. I am 46 yrs old and in decent shape (other than than the hip). What should I expect in terms of mobility post surgery? I know this has been addressed but it seems like YMMV depending on patient age, health, etc.

Thanks in advance for any input.

[Staggerwing]

Hi, johns567.  I had a LBHR 17 days ago.  I'm 48 and did a lot of bicycling up through August and tapered off some in October.  I had read on here how many people felt so good they ended up overdoing things and it set them back in their recovery.  So, I have been conservative.  My doctor, Dr. Brooks, requires I stay on two crutches for 6 weeks.  I got home two days after surgery and each day made laps around the house every hour or so.  At week two, I started walking on our road.  I went about 400 meters.  The first time it was a little difficult.  I am going a little bit further now.  This morning, I felt good when I finished so I intend to go back out and walk another 400 meters this afternoon.  I've also made several trips in the car with my wife and that has gone well.  I've been icing frequently, especially after exercise.   I have some muscle soreness but it's a good soreness.  I've not had any cramping or intense pain.  I've been on Tylenol since the first day home and today I haven't taken any. 
I hope that helps.  Just don't get in a hurry.  It will come.
Who's your doctor?  Good luck to you.
Nathan

[chuckm]

Hi johns567, you should be excited to have this done. I had my left hip resurfaced last November and I was 46. I had two crutches for a week and then on one crutch for two more weeks. Was walking fine after three. Never looked back after that.

Last week I played two full competitive soccer matches and the hip feels great - even the next day. I can flex and bend my hip the way I could many years ago before any OA. When I play the leg is strong like a normal leg even when sprinting. No one would ever know I had this surgery.

But, it was a tough go for the first 6 months trying to build the strength and get the flexibility back.

Just be organized and disciplined with your rehab and you will return to "normal".
Good Luck.

Chuckm

[johns567]

Nathan,

Dr. Schmalzried in Los Angeles is doing my HR.

Thanks for the insight. Have you tried walking without the crutches?

[Staggerwing]

Johns567,
No, I have not tried walking without crutches.  Again, my doctor is very conservative but has an impeccable record of success.  So, if he says stay on the crutches for 6 weeks that's what I'm going to do.  I will tell you the last few days I feel like I could probably get away with it but would be limping.  My muscles are not ready for that yet. 
As Chuck says, be excited and look forward to this. 
Obviously, it is a major surgery and everyone is nervous.  But you have a great doctor and you will be amazed at how it goes 
Prior to surgery, I had to twist and contort to get my sock and shoe on.  Then my wife had to do it for me for several days.  About 4 days ago, the swelling had gone down enough I did it myself!  Sitting on a chair and bending over like a "normal" person!  Hadn't done that in several years. 

[maxx6789]

john - the general guidance would be within 6 to 12 months (different doctors use a different time table), you should be able to return to "all activities you want that you were doing pre-surgery".

although everyone's result will vary, the outcomes for me have exceeded my expectations. i tell people that today i can be "as active as i want to be". there are people here who compete in running races post-surgery; i am staying away from running but i do everything else ... tennis, golf, gym, bike, snowboarding, surfing ... you get the idea!!

best advise: pick the best doctor you can, take things slow post-op, and within no time you will be back to enjoying life!! good luck to you!!

[Miguelito]

Hi,

You don't specify timeframe you are inquiring about, but here goes. I was 41 when I had surgery. Relatively good shape (not cardio!) going into surgery (though my glutes on bad leg had atrophied significantly).

Post-surgery: I could stand immediately after surgery, but more than a step or two would use two crutches. My leg was a log for the first week. Not like a log, a log. I called it log-leg. Completely unusable. I think I was on two crutches for roughly two weeks, but I was still using two crutches for walks out to at least five weeks. Then one crutch out to probably five or six weeks, then a cane out to at least eight weeks post-surgery, probably a little longer.

It's a long recovery. I know even at six months post-surgery if I had tried to run across a street to beat traffic I would suddenly be reminded of my surgery because the operated leg would refuse to comply.

I would say that I didn't feel some athleticism return until exactly one year post-surgery (and then that only lasted for just weeks before my other hip started to go rapidly).

I will also state that I was very conservative with my recovery. I did almost nothing (aside from some small amount of walking and some minimal physical therapy) for the first six months and even after proceeded very cautiously. I am pretty sure that if I pushed it a little more I would have recovered certain abilities quicker, but I didn't want to take any chances.

Good luck!

Mike

[lgbran]

Hi there,
I had surgery on the 11/11/13. 50 year old cyclist . Averaged anywhere from 80 ks a week to 200 ks a week cycling and a bit of swimming with flippers. Yesterday I walked 200 m x 2 on 2 occasions. Will do the same again.iced around the clock for 2 weeks and still do overnight.
Advised to be on crutches for 6 weeks , ted stockings for 6 weeks and stretches as per physio. As hard as it is for once I will be kind to my joints and take it easy. My surgeon was quite adamant to not do to much.The inactivity is killing me but have to be patent. I would love to ditch the crutches now but I won't. Down the track I will progress to trecking poles, cycling. It's been better then what I expected. I have no osteo pain and no back pain and walking well with crutches. Every day getting better and better

Cheers len

[whyme]

I had my HR done almost 3 months ago, at age 46 like you.

Regarding walking, at 24h post-surgery I was encouraged to use the crutches while still at the hospital. A couple of days later I could walk 100m or so, within 1 week around 1km in one go (slow and ugly). After 1 week I needed one crutch only, but kept using both while walking outside for another 2 weeks until I felt stronger and confident that a small stumble wouldn't bring me down. Also, with 2 crutches, passers by on the street seem to give you a bit more room and respect!  Between weeks 4 and 6 used just one, and I could walk up to 10km per day, typically 6-8km in 2-3 walks. Probably that's too much for some, but I never walked in pain or had issues after the routine. Then at week 7 gradually got rid of the remaining crutch, only when I wasn't limping anymore.

Regarding mobility, it wasn't easy to sit down (particularly in the toilet) the first 10 days or so, but things improved (slowly, gradually) all the time. I used the toilet riser for 6 weeks (to not break the 90 degree rule, but I needed it anyway).
Given the usual mandatory restrictions that normally apply for 6 weeks or more (no crossing legs, no flexion over 90 degrees etc), you feel limited, but still can do most things by yourself. In any case don't try to be a hero.

Putting on your socks and shoes you can't do at first (and you shouldn't), the sock aid helps but is not easy. I managed after 3 weeks or so to do this by myself most of the time, by bringing my foot/heel to the back of the leg and reach the toes from behind (and slightly lateral, but there is also a restriction about bending laterally, so must be careful and if you don't reach, don't try), while the heel is resting against the edge of the bed or a chair.
About the compression socks, which I was asked to use for 3 weeks, I needed help to put them and take them off every time.

In and out of bed was also difficult, the first few days I needed help sometimes to bring the operated leg up to the bed (although in theory you can carry it with the other leg, pushing from underneath), getting out was easier.
While in bed, I couldn't move much (the first 4-5 days I wouldn't even try to turn to the good side), so lied on my back. Then, with a pillow between legs, I could gradually get used to be on the good side. Lying on the operated leg is still not comfortable now, so I don't do it.

Getting in a car I found very difficult for 2-3 weeks, even if you retract the seat as much as possible. Getting out of the car was easier.

I could shower on my own within 2 days (walk-in shower), and able to get in/out of a bath tube at 10 days (there are some guidelines on how to do that), but I used flip-flops in the shower for 6-7 weeks to avoid slipping, and also made sure I had a hand support at all times.

So normal things (those that you don't even think of now) will not be straightforward initially (and some impossible), but still you will manage with patience, being cautious and with a little bit of help. And soon you'll see improvements.

[johns567]

Thanks for all the feedback.

[dawnski99]

Wow!  I thought I would be moving with minimal issues after a couple of weeks and now I am rethinking this with these posts.  I am having my first surgery Jan 15 and the second Feb 24th.  My surgeon, Hickman in Bountiful UT, said I should walk walk walk.  I cycled a lot prior to the demise of my hips since September and am now working on glutes and hamstring strength to help post operatively.  I learned presurgery strength helped with both my ACL repairs in which I bounced back quickly.

My question to ask is, am I being to aggressive by saying I can be on my feet for a few hours working in an aid room at my local ski area a couple weeks post surgery?  I know I can't ski this season but would like to still be involved with the ski patrol.

[Miguelito]

I would probaBly not have been able to do that at two weeks, and most certainly would not have been in the frame of mind to do it. For me (and for most people) the first two weeks after surgery really suck. It sucks. It just suckety-sucks. Yes the arthritis pain is gone, and if yours happens to be terrible, that is definitely a comfort.

Ideally at two weeks your only concern should be getting pissed off that the TV show Las Vegas Jail isn't having a Sunday late night marathon like they did last Sunday, not standing on your feet for a few hours.

I think Whyme's post was fantastic and can clue you in to how limited you will probably be after surgery. I remember all those things (though I dispensed with the riser relatively quickly - so there!).

Good luck!

Mike (Have I been signing posts Miguelito? If so sorry. A little groggy lately).

[chuckm]

Dawnski99, my recovery was on the very fast side. But my record shows I was taking pain killers up through the seventeenth day post op. After that things improved rapidly. For me it was a lot like having the flu. You could get around and a few pills made you feel ok but you really wanted to stay on a couch for a couple of weeks. At three weeks I was back doing normal things for work but still needed to cut back to "crash" a couple of times a day. That went on for a couple of months.

Chuckm

[chuckm]

Another thing I just saw is comparing hip resurfacing to knee surgery. Over the years I have had five knee surgeries and to me the hip resurfacing was MUCH better to recover from over the long run...but NOT the short run.

The post op effects of knee surgery are very localized to the knee. It is far from the body's core. 

Hip resurfacing is very acute for the first two to three weeks because your entire body is involved - not just the hip area. You experience aches and pain in the arms, legs, head, back, knees, feet...you name it. But once that diminishes (for me about thee weeks) you function fairly normally. Some take longer.

Chuckm

[REM]

It is obvious that everyone recuperates differently. I am bilatteral 16 and 19 days post op.
I started walking a mile this past Sunday 12/8, emailed Nancy @ Dr. Gross's office and she said to limit it to no more then 1.5 miles total a day. Yesterday I did a total of 1.5 and will do it again today and until they tell me I can do more. I am walking with one cane only and feel I don't need it all the time it is mostly for balance. Since I have a physical job it will be sometime before I can return to work. My biggest problem right now is not being able to drive since I did have them both done. If you have an I phone Map my Walk is a great App. I can go different directions from the house and keep up with my milage.
Richard

[hernanu]

It is obvious that everyone recuperates differently. I am bilatteral 16 and 19 days post op.
I started walking a mile this past Sunday 12/8, emailed Nancy @ Dr. Gross's office and she said to limit it to no more then 1.5 miles total a day. Yesterday I did a total of 1.5 and will do it again today and until they tell me I can do more. I am walking with one cane only and feel I don't need it all the time it is mostly for balance. Since I have a physical job it will be sometime before I can return to work. My biggest problem right now is not being able to drive since I did have them both done. If you have an I phone Map my Walk is a great App. I can go different directions from the house and keep up with my milage.
Richard

Sounds like you're doing well, great stuff.  It's good to be able to do as much as possible, especially having both done.

There is a great motivation to get away from the supports.

Crutches, canes, etc. do a great service to us, but are obvious signs of recuperation. Especially when you're used to being in great control of your body, it's something that annoys sometimes and often is in the way.

Patience with them is important, since one of our goals is to walk, run and just move again without any lasting impediment. Using them until there are no issues with your gait is important, so one thing to look for might be having someone look at your walk and see whether there is still a need for the support.

You're having a great recovery, excellent!

[Granton]

I second hernanu's point about not moving away from crutches / walking sticks until you have got the gait perfect. I recall from my first hip that I had to work quite hard at that. My wife would frequently shout "limping" at me, which was very helpful.

Having said that, I had no limp at all when I started walking after my recent operation.

I can think of two possible factors: 1) I had not been limping for so long this time before I got it fixed; 2) the operation seemed to go even better this time - I thought it was pretty good for the first one, but I recall that my operated leg was like a log for a few days, I had to lift it with a towel under my knee or support it with my other foot. This time, the day after surgery I found I could lift it painlessly off the bed.

I asked Mr McMinn about the latter point. I expected him to say they had discovered some technical improvements in the intervening years, but he said it was luck. However careful they are, sometimes you end up with bruising.

The main learning from this thread seems to be that people's experience varies widely and it is probably not a good idea lot make commitments in advance.

All the best for your op. The loss of pain is wonderful!

David