Everyone is different

[John_stashick]

Moderator edit: Please beware that this kind of activity 5 weeks out is not what most doctors would recommend.  Check with your doctor before doing any heavy lifting or climbing hills


I've been doing things in the past few days that other ppl I bet do NOT do 5 weeks outta surgery. Examples: climbing up hills. Mixing concrete. Laying bricks.

I think all this hard labour I've been doing is helping me out. It's only been 5 weeks. I already stopped using my crutches. I think I'm barely limping. Everyone in my life including me are amazed about my recovery time.

I got locked out of my apartment last night and had to climb up 2 stories. It was really sketchy but I made it. So idk, it's just great that doctors know what they know. I'm excited to see what's next. 3D printed bones?!

[oldsoccerplayer]

Be careful! The relief from pain is almost immediate after surgery so you feel like you can do all sorts of things right away but you do need to give the muscles that were cut open time to heal. A common thread here is of people who have tried doing too much too soon and regressed. Check with your surgeon about do's and dont's.

[obxpelican]

I have to caution you against doing any heavy work.  Most doctors frown on this and you could end up with a really quick revision to a THR.

Chuck

I've been doing things in the past few days that other ppl I bet do NOT do 5 weeks outta surgery. Examples: climbing up hills. Mixing concrete. Laying bricks.

I think all this hard labour I've been doing is helping me out. It's only been 5 weeks. I already stopped using my crutches. I think I'm barely limping. Everyone in my life including me are amazed about my recovery time.

I got locked out of my apartment last night and had to climb up 2 stories. It was really sketchy but I made it. So idk, it's just great that doctors know what they know. I'm excited to see what's next. 3D printed bones?!

[Dannywayoflife]

Jeez mate it's great that you feel so good at this stage but for the same of the longevity of this gift you've been given slow down. Surgeons say no heavy work etc for 12 weeks minimum and this is with good reason. Having this surgery is a massive assault on your bones and they actually get weaker and weaker up until about the 12 week mark when they reverse this and start to strengthen up. This continues and at 6 months the majority of the bone has healed however it still carries on healing for a full 12 months. This is why Mr McMinn states no heavy lifting of impact for 12 months.

[whyme]

Hi, glad to hear you're doing so well...
What I'd say is: if your surgeon is happy with you doing all these things at this stage of the recovery, then fire ahead... If not, you're not acting wisely and it might go wrong.
And, apart from listening to your surgeon, listen to your body...

Most of us had very clear restrictions for at least 6 weeks regarding certain movements, hip flexion, angles and carrying weights.

At 5 weeks I was walking up to 8-10 km/day, but mostly with 2 crutches. Even like that, most people were doing less. However, my surgeon told me to walk as much as I wanted as long as there was no pain (during or after), and use the crutches until I felt comfortable, stable and was no limping.
He also told me I could start jogging at 3 months, but I didn't feel it... Only starting now at 10 months, very very slowly.
I believe there is some evidence based on research, regarding healing process for bones, tendons and muscle, those can't be messed around with, although is true that some people heal faster than others.
Then, there are other factors that depend very much on the person (age, sex, weight, fitness, status of the hip found during surgery ...) and that's why the same surgeon can give different people different guidelines.

Doing too much too early won't get you ahead of yourself in the long run (say 1-2 years from now), but you increase the risk of having complications. That's why most people take a more conservative approach.

Good luck and keep us posted!

[John_stashick]

Good call, I'll take it easy til I see my doc.

[Jason0411]

I did too much too soon read my story about what happened to me. Don't overdo it. I was very lucky. (so far)

[Pat Walter]

I think you should definitely give your surgeons office a call and find out what you can and can't do.  Pushing too early can have very bad results in some cases.

If you are still hardly limping - then according to surgeons I have interviewed, you should still be using a walking aid.  A limp means your body is not healed.  It takes 6 MONTHS to mostly heal and a full year to heal completely.  Usually at 6 months, most patients are allowed to do normal activities, but usually not weight bearing activities like running.

It is great to have a quick recovery, I did, but even though you are feeling well, it does not mean your body is anywhere near healed.

There are people on the discussion group that ended up with revisions from pushing too early.

Please talk to your surgeon and take it easy.  You have a full live ahead of you to push hard - as long as you let your body heal first.  You can't make your body heal by pushing hard or mentally trying to will it to heal.  Bodies have a timeline and you have little control over that.  You can see the bone growth around components when future x-rays are taken.  Until that bone growth has happened, you have not healed.

Good Luck.

Pat

[shoraztri]

Thanks Pat for your uptake and veiws. ITS timely for me , and CERTAINLY WILL KEEP ME IN CHECK . Whooa boy , take it easy,lots of time ahead to "catch-up" is what I consistently have to tell myself. Cheers.

[Pat Walter]

Glad it helped.  We all want to push since things usually work out so well, but over the past 9 years I have heard some very sad stories from people that pushed too hard. 

Just take it easy and things will work out.

Pat