Sitting

[Asalisbu]

Hey hipsters,

I am 15 and 17 days out from a bilateral.  I think things are going well, some days super stiff and sore others I’m gliding on the crutches.   Although today my phone was ringing and I went to get it only to take about 3.5 steps before realizing I didn’t have my crutches.   It didn’t feel any different then with the crutches and didn’t hurt , so I’m taking that as good progress,  even Doc wants me waiting to 4 weeks to start no crutches. 

My question and the only nagging annoying that is really lingering is sitting upright in a chair.  I think it’s getting better but after about a half hour in a dinner or desk type chair my hips start getting sore, to the point I need to get up and move to alleviate the achiness.   It not at the incision but in the new joints themselves.   

I thought sitting upright. would be one of the more less problematic positions but it seems to be consistently the most challenging.  Is that a common occurrence from anyone else’s experience and when did you noticing the ability to sit become relatively easy?

Actually itching to get back to work on restricted activities which basically means sitting there, but not sure I could pull off a full day semi comfortably yet. 

[blinky]

I recall being happiest standing up in the early days. Not sitting. Sitting didn't hurt, but it made some muscles tired. Especially sitting with my legs propped up. FWIW I did not like the incumbent bike at six weeks either because it put my weight in a bad spot. It felt like I was sitting on a lump.

So I'd monitor, but not worry.

[jimbone]

I spent a great deal of time in a recliner for the first 2 weeks of recovery after both of my hip resurfacing procedures.  Mostly very iced up with my toes above my heart.  This never caused me discomfort.  Other sitting was on a tall stool at the counter.  I didn't have a particular problem with sitting but did learn that being immobile for more than 1/2 hour did usually leave me sore and stiff when I got up and sometimes that felt like in the hip joint itself which unnerved me some and left me feeling anxious about potential damage.  This was a more pronounced experience with my second surgery.  Now at just 8 weeks and a couple of days post 2nd hip, and probably 16-20 PT sessions with daily home home work on the exercises and regularly increased walking challenges those pains are behind me.  We end up with a lot of traumatized muscles, tendons, ligaments and nerves from the surgery- even when they are not cut the dislocation of the leg really does a number on those tissues and it takes nearly everyone a good bit of time to overcome that.  At just past two weeks your body is just beginning to heal.  It's kind of cool that first time you realize you forgot your crutches and it's great you don't feel pain w/out them, just remember to take it easy on yourself- continue to challenge yourself in recovery by slowly using all the help you need.  I'm not a Dr. Gross patient but I have been through his website including his recovery programs and I think he advises the same.  Remember- what feels like the joint is very likely deep muscle connective tissues adjusting to what they've been through and how they now need to work.  A couple more weeks should feel different. 

[hernanu]

Sitting was an issue for a while for me.

My opinion (untutored, but educated by events) is that much of the support for sitting comes from the same muscles that have been compromised from the surgery and need to be retaught and restrengthened.

I think in time it attenuates, but for me it lasted a while. Standing was most comfortable, but sitting for long stretches was an issue.

Icing the area helps, but is clumsy.

One great help when sitting for longer stretches was my handy dandy bum icepack (TM) which was invented by my PT nurse and shown me when I got home from surgery #1.

• Take a small towel (I used a thin dish towel)
• Wet towel thoroughly, then wring it so it is wet but not dripping
• Fold the towel in half or quarters, whatever covers a 6 inch by 6 insh square
• Get an appropriate sized ZIP lock freezer storage bag
• Slide the towel in so it fits without buckling.
• Put in the freezer flat

This gives you an icepack that easily fits under you wherever you are sitting, even  (and most helpfully) in the car. But it can be used anywhere else and doesn't put any pressure on the hip or leg.

It also melts in about ten to fifteen minutes, so you don't have to worry about frostbite. It also is thin, so it freezes in about the same time, so it gives your body enough time to recover and reapply.

It worked great for me, and was a comfort when I had a longer drive. You also don't have to re-wet the towel, it's a closed ecosystem. I had my little ice pack for a good two years and used it for other things once I got back to working out.

[Asalisbu]

Thank you.  Great suggestion on the traveling ice pack. 

Hadn’t even thought about driving yet.   That might prove interesting.