Matt’s Hip Resurfacing with Dr. Prtichett 2014

September 6, 2014

I had my right hip resurfaced on August 12th 2014 by Dr. Pritchett in Seattle WA. Things are going pretty well for me but I don’t know whether or not I may be pushing things too fast. I don’t have good success listening to my body about my limitations so I’m hoping you all can give me some guidance.

I was told I could bear weight on my hip as tolerated. Well, I can tolerate a lot so I stopped using crutches on day 8 and have been walking without aid since; the first 3 days without were rather clunky but now I’m doing pretty well. My right leg is a bit longer than the left due to my left needing a resurfacing too and I feel pretty tight around the front of my leg/hip area (I can lay  flat on my back with no problem but extending behind me when I walk feels a bit tight, not painful, just tight). I can walk up/down stairs normally but my right leg is definitely weaker than my left.

On day 22 I wandered down to the gym at work and did 15 minutes of no resistance recumbent exercise bike, which felt OK. Next day I did another 15 minutes then once around the weight circuit, making sure to not do anything that pressured my hips (no leg press, 20 lb  hip adduction/abduction for one set of 15), which  felt pretty good. Next day I did 15 minutes again on the recumbent but no lifting; had a slight fluid leak out my incision which left a 2" diameter stain in my shorts, so I’m thinking that I pushed it too far. Today I did nothing but my post-OP PT exercises and walked. Pain has been taken care of with aspirin and tylenol since day 10 with it being, for the most part, 0-1 on a 0-10 scale.

This is giving me, what I think is, a possible false sense of confidence. I’ve read the stories here about people who have dislodged or loosened their resurfacing components and I think I would be someone who could unwittingly do that by pushing it to far too fast.

I’m starting PT on Tuesday, 09-Sept-14, so I should be able to get  an indication of my limitations then, but I would like the advice of people here on this board; am I pushing it too fast? When should I expect to be able to bike again (I only live 1 mile from work and feel I could do it now without a problem, but should I)? I know I won’t be running again for about a year after I get my left hip done (hopefully in Nov-14), how about things like rowing, or elliptical training, etc?

September 7, 2014

Thanks everyone for your responses, you’ve given me some good food for thought. When I went to my 2 week post-op appt. Dr. Pritchett said that I could start biking again if my seat was high enough to avoid breaking the 90 degree rule. I hadn’t considered the consequences of falling off my bike so I think I’ll just exercise bike in the gym until the 6mo. mark. Since I can walk as much as I am capable of I think I’ll do that instead. I see a physical therapist in two days and can discuss things with him. I’ll also send a query off to Dr. Pritchett about what I can do in the gym (he knows better than the PT) and see what I’m allowed to do there.

I definitely want the optimal healing on this (as does everyone who’s had this done) and thanks again for everyone’s input.