glute "pinching" pain

[rag33]

Hi, I'm 3 1/2 months post op. I started the resurfacing to 5k program 3 weeks ago. I had some disomcomfort that the PT said was muscular. It disappeared after a couple days. I went on Wednesday and was fine, but felt some discomfort along my scar. It's now Friday and I have a pinching pain in the back of my hip/glute. I don't know what it is and not sure if I should worry about it. I only feel it when I lean on my operated leg, but it's like a sharp pain not constant. Wondering if anyone else has experienced soemthing like this, if it's a warning, if I should see the Dr? I'm just scared of damaging the hip and also missing a training. I already missed 13 months of running Thanks a lot !

[John C]

Hi rag33,
I am not a runner, but I am a professional skier and windsurfer, as well as an enthusiastic tennis player and surfer. I will share some observations from my experience with one resurfacing that is almost 11 years old, and another that is about 10 months old.
*You are only about 3 months into a soft tissue healing cycle that takes 18 months to be mostly complete. No matter how athletic we are, my understanding is that it takes that long for the body to completely heal and remodel the soft tissue.
*As my doctor says, you can expect lots of twinges and little pains over the first year.
*Some doctors, like my surgeon Dr Gross, do not allow any running for six months, so 3 months is a little aggressive in the eyes of some surgeons.
*Dr Gross does not allow any sports until six months. When I started back to skiing at six months, I experienced lots of little aches and pains everywhere around my hip at various times. When I called the office, they were reassuring and suggested taking NSAIDs. It always got better within a few days.
*At 10 months, I am skiing every day, but if I push too hard I can still make the newer hip a little sore. Last time it was 18 to 24 months before that completely stopped happening.
*After my first hip, I got back into tennis at one year. This caused some pains which again lasted until about 18 months, and then went away completely.
*If something concerns you, it is always best to touch base with your surgeon, even if it is just for piece of mind.
No one on this site can, or should, give you medical advice, but perhaps some of my above experiences might give you some insights.

[petemeads]

Everything JohnC says. I am a runner, and I was jogging at 8 weeks and racing at 9 months with my BHR, which is now just over 4 years old. Things generally improved steadily, niggles resolved themselves, but I will always be able to feel the (lateral) scar.
My THR is different. I was jogging at 6 weeks, my surgeon said I would not break it,  and racing at 9 months but there is always a niggle from something. Initially the pain came when taking my weight off the leg, and going downhill has been harder than uphill, but at 22 months things seem to be improving - at Xmas I had to use a crutch briefly, it felt like a week after surgery rather than a year and a half. Scar is no problem. No idea what had happened but overuse was implicated, mixing bouldering, mountaineering and running with insufficient resting between - fortunately I have not tried skiing with hip replacements yet! Be patient, rest adequately, jog carefully...
Pete

[blinky]

I'll chime in with more agreement.

You are still very early in your recovery. We all bounce back differently. You may need to take more time.
If you are concerned with this new pain, absolutely reach out to your doctor.

I am another Dr Gross patient, bilat, was super eager to run again. I took a whole six months to heal, no running, then started a C25k program. It went fine for awhile, but I found I needed to take a break and heal some more, then picked it up again. Maybe I am older than you are, maybe I let my hips get worse before resurfacing, but I found I needed more time. I would surge forward, then do too much, then have to step back many times the first year post op. For example, I remember that c25k program was based on time and by time I ran up to about five miles while following it. Yeah, I did it, but it was too much. I didn't run that far again for a few months. I had to let my body catch up. When I ran that distance again, I was ready and had no problems.

[rag33]

Thanks everyone. That's the exact reassurance I needed. I realized after panicking that my hip was fine and it must have just been the surgery site and muscle working out some kinks. My scar is sore after a "run"  and I have soreness for 36 hours after a run but then goes away. Dr. De Smet gives the green light earlier than a lot of surgeons. I'm running really slowly and thinking about my placement. Are my hips straight, is my core tight, is my pelvis right, are my legs going out straight? And I'm so conscious of every little twinge that it's exahusting. Thanks for chiming in. It's so helpful to hear other experiences !