Freaking out a bit post op.

[Slinkycarrot]

Hi, i posted this in the recovery bit but didn't get any responses and I'm freaking out a bit.

I'm 10 days out of bilateral hip resurfacing.So far my recovery has been ok. My initial post op pain and stiffness has pretty much gone. My left hip feels really good, hardly any pain. However my right is super sore, or more the tendons around my groin running between my legs and the front are catching on every foot step and movement so it's eye wateringly painful. It's like my hip is in a slightly different position and all the muscles and tendons are pullling or catching.


As my left is so great it's hard not to worry about my right. I read lots of people with groin pain issues but just seems weird to have it so early on. I'm icing religiously.  The Physio says it's bad luck and time will just heal it. I know I'm mega early in the process but I'd be interested to know how other peoples early post op experiences compared with there overall trajectory of recovery and whether there was a correlation?  How long can initial post op groin pain last?  Should I keep walking although it's inflaming the tendons? Thanks

[chuckm]

Hi Slinkycarrot, it's really early on so don't worry. Every bilat I read about says the hips heal quite differently from each other.
It might calm your nerves to call your surgeon and tell him or her of your symptoms.


The groin pain that you read about is there right from the beginning. The surgeon has to cut through the bursa cushion under the psoas and so it hurts for everyone coming from the surgery. If your other groin doesn't have any discomfort then I would consider that unusual.


For me the groin pain lasted a couple of months but got better and better. It was best for me to avoid any movement that caused pain so it could heal.


Chuckm

[Quig]

Hang in there, it's very, very early.


I'm a Bilat too and would definitely agree with Chuck, the hips heal at different rates and definitely feel different. That, in my opinion, will remain true throughout your recovery. I just hit the 6 month mark and each hip has had it's little issues during recovery and rarely at the same time.


Good luck

[Slinkycarrot]

Hi chuckm


How intense was your groin pain? It's just every movement or step is causing a sharp catching pain.  The Physio is saying I need to walk through it but it's just irritating it. It starts out the day a bit settled but by the end it's much more inflamed.


My left twinges a bit occasionally but nothing that bothers me. I emailed dr de Smet and he just said to give it time. [size=78%]I'm making no progress day to day with this specific problem as you usually see with an injury or post op recovery, I think why I'm so freaked out... it just doesn't feel right or like there's any progress.  [/size] I've  been searching the forum to find others who had he same issue from the start that's got better but haven't found anyone to compare it to.

[chuckm]

My groin pain was not "eye wateringly painful". Are you on crutches or are you walking right now?


My advice would be to get back on crutches or at least one crutch and keep that hip from doing anything that irritates it or causes any kind of pain. That could be totally immobile.


At about 10 to 15 days post op, I clearly remember feeling good and going about my daily life. But after a few days of that my hip and groin got so irritated I opted to go back on the crutches for about 5 days and it was a huge help.


Be very cautious of the physio. You should NOT push through any sharp pain. My physio did the same to me and my groin got very irritated so I refused to do anything that irritated the groin after that.


Chuckm
 

[Slinkycarrot]

I am very much still on crutches and half of the time have to go non weightbearing otherwise the tendons catch or pull.


The physio has me doing mobilisation stuff every day as im working on both hips but Ill be back home in a few days so can back off my right hip totally and just do v gentle stretching to try and lengthen it.


Im pretty sure its due to my hip being in a different position due to my dysplasia being fixed; my right leg used to cave in, now it can't the muscles/tendons are all being pulled. Just hope it doesnt go to tendonitis.

[Quig]

Sorry to hear you're having a rough go of it. However, doing ANY type of 'stretching' or 'mobilizing' this early sounds like a really bad idea to me. Your hips have just been through some major trauma including the cutting and reattaching of muscles/tendons. Those tissues take significant time to heal. I'm one who pushed HARD in my recovery and even then, waited MONTHS before doing any significant stretching and even then I started it quite gently. At your point in the recovery process I'm of the opinion that the only thing you should be doing is walking a bit each day... The rest will come in time.

[Pat Walter]

I am sorry to hear you are having problems.  You are very early in your recovery and patience is a must.  If it hurts, most likely, don't do it.  Give yourself time.  Healing is not a straight line recover.  You will take one step forward and 2 back.  Best to take it easy.  Hopefully, things will work out with time.

Pat

[karlos.bell]

Slink. Don't worry. You will be fine. This is normal.  I went through the same issues but different. Bilateral is very hard. Remember you have gone through major surgery it is going to take some time. The phsyio (Lynda) wants you keep moving so you can get home safely they don't want your hips seizing up while in transit. I had massive groin pain and still do but it is going. It normally is due to Quads - Ilipsoas - not working correctly due to inactivity due to the joint so you fix the joint the tendons have to rebuild and this at present puts huge amount of stress already on your weak tendons of these areas. Dont worry De Smet should have got it 100% right he normally does he is very very good and what you experience is normal.
So take a chill pill calm down and have some confidence. Just don't do what the physio says too much. De Smet also works very hard he has not got time to explain all of this intricate stuff that happens later on in Rehab. Cheers K

[karlos.bell]

  Hi Slink now you and Westro are the same person or different?

[blinky]

When do you go home?


I'd push back against the overzealous PT. Ask for modifications and file away the painful exercises for when you feel better.


FWIW I feel like my body is realigning itself after years and years of being crooked, too. That part has been interesting and is still going on.

[Slinkycarrot]

I just got home this morning. Journey wasn't too bad really apart from the first bit atvthectrain station - trying to pull my wheely bag whilst going very gingerly on crutches. I managed to bag a row on both long flights so I could lay down. The worst part was pumping milk in the grimmest toilet in Istanbul airport and trying to explain that to the wheelchair assistant!


My pain is definitely a bit better as I've really rested the last three days.  My groin really flares on any of the PT exercises so I just have to limit my range right now.


I'm treating my right as if I've badly strained/torn some of the hip flexor/abductors. Feels like it does when you've torn a muscle so think that's what's going on. So giving it 8 weeks before I worry (easier said than done!) and hope I can make progress. I'm going to get ultrasound and dry needling this week, will see how that goes.



 

[chuckm]

So giving it 8 weeks before I worry (easier said than done!) and hope I can make progress.

That's the plan that worked for me. My formal PT didn't start until week 4. By the end of the first week they had my psoas aching all the time. By the end of the second week I refused to do any exercises that affected the psoas such as leg lifting etc. It became obvious that there was a lot of healing that still needed to occur even though I was 6 weeks post op.


My plan after that was open ended. I was going to protect the psoas until it calmed down completely - however long that took.


It did take about 8 weeks but I clearly remember the day. It happened so suddenly. Where I had always been sliding my leg across the bed to rise in the morning this time I woke up and swung my legs off the bed and it was absolutely pain free.


Since that then, the psoas has always been a work in progress with tightness but that sharp pain never came back.


So hang in there.


Chuckm

[Slinkycarrot]

Thanks chuckm


I'll llook forward to the moment of being able to get into bed without a lot of effort and wriggling!   [size=78%]Do you have any tips for getting legs up? I find this is really causing my psoas to twang no matter how much I try and ease my legs up.[/size]

[catfriend]

Try using a leg lifter for getting in and out of bed. That was an essential tool for me after HR.

I've been empathizing with you throughout this thread. Bilateral must be tough. I had groin and abductor pain after surgery, but not at the level you describe, so I'm not sure I can make a positive suggestion for you. Factors for my groin/abductor pain included injections in the area, the muscle differences from dysplasia that others have described, and the general fact that I had major surgery that involved moving a lot of stuff around. It did dissipate over time, although I would rate it as my slowest are to heal. I had my surgery January 19 (crap; I guess I need to update) and everything feels perfectly normal now, and it has for a while. Everybody heals differently. I have every confidence that you'll be fine in the long run.

[Slinkycarrot]

Thanks catfriend, your words give me some confidence that these issues will subside    Did you have hip dysplasia?


Progress is occurring, albeit slowly. I'm using my dogs lead to get my legs on the bed - poor thing thinks he's going for a walk every time I use it   I'm walking around the house with my crutches but have to take small steps else it pulls my abductors/flexors.


Looking after baby is tough! I have help but they leave at 3 so im home alone for four hours with her before hubby gets home - carrying her around in a sling when we need to move and the witching hours... such an extra effort!

[catfriend]

Yes, hip dysplasia. At some point I will need to have my left hip done, too, but it is currently only about 50% worn out so not yet (x-rayed just last week). My full story, including post-surgical, is on this website someplace, or on my site hipresurfacingwoman.com.

The first few weeks are tough. Dare I say doubly so for bilats? But it does get better. At this point I feel pretty much normal. But there were days early on that were tough, and there were times that I would move in some fashion that convinced me I had done something bad to the implant, etc.

[Slinkycarrot]

thanks catfriend - i checked out your story (:  thats a bummer re your left hip but at least you know what to expect.  I definitely wont be going in for a bilateral again if i can avoid it!


Progress here is SLOW. Im still pretty sore now on both hips - just my abductors and flexors are super cranky, especially in the mornings after shifting around all night trying to get comfy.  I'm not really progressing my exercises or how far I can walk - pretty much just crutch round the house (although its a bit house). 


I am making progress but its tiny steps and incredibly frustrating when I read other stories of people walking a fair amount at this stage.

[Ljpviper]

I think you over did it early on, that set you back compared to others. I did the same at 8 weeks, and got psoas tendonitis, took at least 3 weeks of babying to get it back to what I would call comfortable.

I am 7 months out and my hip flexors are still cranky, they have been dysfunctional for so long, its going to take time to unwind. I think people fail to realize that muscles can take along time to start working properly/symmetrically again. All the years with a bad joint your body adapts, now with a new joint in cannot just snap back. I know it stinks I have been through it, and the hip flexors are just finicky causing back, groin and tightness.

Hang in there you will get there!!!

Larry

[karlos.bell]

  Hi Slinky Carrot - Hi  Viper the same. I have just started the gym with a trainer to get these things to work properly now.
I am not a gym person. Interesting the Left side is starting to change with the training she has provided and seems to be holding. The right side still has the groin and or hamstring - groin - ilipsoas issue but it may resolve with time and strengthening.
Why it is good to go to these people because they see the faults with you and give you new ideas. They initiate changes and sometimes they are for the benefit of you.
Totally with it and one has to give it time to heal change and tissue to rebuild.
All those years yes of bad joints your body does adapt. When the new joint is put back in it then has to adapt back to original if the joint surgery has been done well.
Bit of a process but achievable.
Catch ya later. Cheers K