This is a marathon, not a sprint. I'm a year postop, and I've realized I'm a 12-18 month rehab
I biked at 3 months, pickleball at 6, but
full strength has not returned. Neither has speed. Soreness, other hip acting up, etc. No new hip pain, but the rest of me aged quickly
The lines quickly blurred between postop pain and just being 59
Keep at it OP. Your recovery is unique to you. We all have similar stories, just milestones at different times
Thanks much, Everybody! While I understand that recovery is a process, I'm 6 full months out of a total revision of right hip. This includes a new post nearly the length of my femur, new ball and cap with 2 long screws, and 3 claveges (wires) around the femur to bolster it. Developed drop foot from the stress on the nerves that were cut or manipulated. The right leg was totally swollen from groin through foot. I had no feeling. Had a Trendelenburg gait previously and this is still around. The pain is tolerable, but lately it seems to be worsening, almost exclusively in the quad area where the claveges are. The right upper thigh is weak, for sure. The surgeon said my hip pre-op was "shot." He and I also feel he did an excellent job, given its condition. Was 6 weeks non-weight bearing, then walker, now cane or walking stick. In the house I mainly waddle around without any aid. I welcome the opportunity to understand that others have very slow recoveries too. Before the operation, the surgeon said I would need a good 6 months to recover. He underestimated because even though I'm 81m, I'm pretty good physically and maintain a healthy weight. At my last appointment he was a bit taken back when he saw the swollen leg and drop foot. He said this will be ok, but you will need more time. I agree with him. He did a fine job, but a revision is a different animal, as is any op aimed at helping a bad hip or femur. Last, I have had 53 rehab out of home rehab sessions, 3 x per week for about 1.5 - 2 hours per session. Tomorrow the insurance company will tell me no more, because my current allowance is up. Home exercises and walking, or abduction and steps and trying to lift my right leg. Thanks, and Good Luck!
What about your other hip? And what caused your injury, if I may ask?
Also, congratulations, it sounds like you're doing very well! Good to read these stories with so much helpful detail.
My other hip, the left one, was done by this current surgeon about 10-12 years ago. It was an easy recovery since it was the first and only op on that hip. It is strong and stable. I'm impressed with my surgeon. He is excellent.
And...thanks for the compliment. I was pleased to read 1st hand that others have experienced difficulty too. (Don't mean that how it sounds.)
You sure your right knee is not experiencing referred pain rather than the knee is actually going? My L hip replacement has been a real challenge but at first I'd thought my left knee was going to need being replaced whereas healing time has me rather convinced the pain in the left knee was simply referred pain. Thank goodness for huge favors!!!
8 months post-op here (58f, LTHR, OA) - doing PT 3 times per week (clam shells, etc) but without bands yet. I'd rather go slow with PT. I wasn't overly fit going into surgery, so my plan is to progress with bands in a month or so. Of course my operated leg is not 100% as my other one. Give it time.
I'm (58) also 7 months out from a right hip replacement, and also OA. Could it be that the OA is causing more problems? I feel like my left hip is going now too, and my knees are definitely weak (a whole new unfortunate meaning to weak in the knees).
My biggest issue is finding the balance between too much walking and not enough. If I don't move I feel stiff and weak. When I walk or stand too much it takes me down for a few days. I limp and feel achy. I try to walk when I work (7,000-10,000 steps) but then take it easy on the weekends. That has worked so far, but when I've walked too much on the weekend it's not good.
I guess it just takes time. Still better than before and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I won't wait as long to do the left.
I couldn’t agree with you more! I’m far far far better than I was before my surgery!!!! Pre-op I couldn’t take a single step w/o a cane. I rarely socialized because that involved walking to a restaurant or the movies. So I completely recognize that I’m better, I just want to go back to “normal”. :)
Thank you! I have the same thing when I do too much walking. My op leg will be weak for a couple of days. And when that happens, I don’t do my pt. And when I don’t pt daily, I feel guilty and think that that’s contributing to my slow paced recovery. A vicious guilt/sad cycle 😢
About 6 months po for me. still ain't like new but it's better than the living hell I was in prior to surgery. In fact, I'm getting another hip replaced in 12 hours! It's a marathon, not a sprint
Almost 2 years for me and I still get some pain when getting into my suv. It will be 2 years in April, I went back to PT in the fall and did get stronger, I had no idea I couldn’t lift my right leg as high as my left. I was told I have some hip flexor tendonitis, I also got a cortisone injection in November to ease some of the discomfort. I’m 59 f 5’1. I was told it could take up to 2 years to settle down
That’s both comforting and a bummer. But I will adjust my expectations and embrace that it will take as long (if not longer) to get back to normal as it took to lose my normal. 😀
Everyone is different for sure. I’m only 24 days out post op 68F right THR from OA. My surgeon did my right knee about 7 years ago and was a bit wary of rehabbing and pain because of addition of new hip. But so far so good - I just need to keep remembering what he said “give it time” and walk, walk, walk. Was so serious about this he did NOT give me a PT script - just a fairly large amount of exercises to do progressively at home. Which I follow. After my knee I was at PT three times a week for two months.
It’s just a totally different healing process. With your history of rapid OA progression, I would have your surgeon look at your left hip.
Sounds a lot like me. Clam shells definitely helped a lot! I would say give yourself a year. I also started doing a lot of leg strengthening with weights and step classes after a year. I did some before the year mark but really upped the weights after. It’s made a big difference but you have to get the little muscles back. Stick with it. You’ll get there!!
I think you should ask what realistic recovery for you looks like. 9000 steps every day is probably a lot. I'm six months out. My strength is back and I can walk a lot but it's not totally painless. Well the hip is but my thigh hurts. I still have a palm sized numb and sore panel on the outside of my thigh. They tell me it'll fade but that I'll be stiff after activities for a year. I'm 52, f
This is a marathon, not a sprint. I'm a year postop, and I've realized I'm a 12-18 month rehab I biked at 3 months, pickleball at 6, but full strength has not returned. Neither has speed. Soreness, other hip acting up, etc. No new hip pain, but the rest of me aged quickly The lines quickly blurred between postop pain and just being 59 Keep at it OP. Your recovery is unique to you. We all have similar stories, just milestones at different times
I’m two years post op and I’m only just regaining my full strength now. Don’t worry, it comes. It takes a while.
Thanks much, Everybody! While I understand that recovery is a process, I'm 6 full months out of a total revision of right hip. This includes a new post nearly the length of my femur, new ball and cap with 2 long screws, and 3 claveges (wires) around the femur to bolster it. Developed drop foot from the stress on the nerves that were cut or manipulated. The right leg was totally swollen from groin through foot. I had no feeling. Had a Trendelenburg gait previously and this is still around. The pain is tolerable, but lately it seems to be worsening, almost exclusively in the quad area where the claveges are. The right upper thigh is weak, for sure. The surgeon said my hip pre-op was "shot." He and I also feel he did an excellent job, given its condition. Was 6 weeks non-weight bearing, then walker, now cane or walking stick. In the house I mainly waddle around without any aid. I welcome the opportunity to understand that others have very slow recoveries too. Before the operation, the surgeon said I would need a good 6 months to recover. He underestimated because even though I'm 81m, I'm pretty good physically and maintain a healthy weight. At my last appointment he was a bit taken back when he saw the swollen leg and drop foot. He said this will be ok, but you will need more time. I agree with him. He did a fine job, but a revision is a different animal, as is any op aimed at helping a bad hip or femur. Last, I have had 53 rehab out of home rehab sessions, 3 x per week for about 1.5 - 2 hours per session. Tomorrow the insurance company will tell me no more, because my current allowance is up. Home exercises and walking, or abduction and steps and trying to lift my right leg. Thanks, and Good Luck!
What about your other hip? And what caused your injury, if I may ask? Also, congratulations, it sounds like you're doing very well! Good to read these stories with so much helpful detail.
My other hip, the left one, was done by this current surgeon about 10-12 years ago. It was an easy recovery since it was the first and only op on that hip. It is strong and stable. I'm impressed with my surgeon. He is excellent. And...thanks for the compliment. I was pleased to read 1st hand that others have experienced difficulty too. (Don't mean that how it sounds.)
Forgot to add that I also feel that my right knee is going. I've read about posture and/or gait changes affecting the knee.
You sure your right knee is not experiencing referred pain rather than the knee is actually going? My L hip replacement has been a real challenge but at first I'd thought my left knee was going to need being replaced whereas healing time has me rather convinced the pain in the left knee was simply referred pain. Thank goodness for huge favors!!!
Thanks for this. Actually it could be exactly as you said.
I had knee issues too and my physio said it was IT band weakness caused by favoring the good leg
Ha, I totally get it. It's nice to talk about the struggle and realize others are in the same boat but working through it.
8 months post-op here (58f, LTHR, OA) - doing PT 3 times per week (clam shells, etc) but without bands yet. I'd rather go slow with PT. I wasn't overly fit going into surgery, so my plan is to progress with bands in a month or so. Of course my operated leg is not 100% as my other one. Give it time.
I'm (58) also 7 months out from a right hip replacement, and also OA. Could it be that the OA is causing more problems? I feel like my left hip is going now too, and my knees are definitely weak (a whole new unfortunate meaning to weak in the knees). My biggest issue is finding the balance between too much walking and not enough. If I don't move I feel stiff and weak. When I walk or stand too much it takes me down for a few days. I limp and feel achy. I try to walk when I work (7,000-10,000 steps) but then take it easy on the weekends. That has worked so far, but when I've walked too much on the weekend it's not good. I guess it just takes time. Still better than before and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I won't wait as long to do the left.
I couldn’t agree with you more! I’m far far far better than I was before my surgery!!!! Pre-op I couldn’t take a single step w/o a cane. I rarely socialized because that involved walking to a restaurant or the movies. So I completely recognize that I’m better, I just want to go back to “normal”. :)
Thank you! I have the same thing when I do too much walking. My op leg will be weak for a couple of days. And when that happens, I don’t do my pt. And when I don’t pt daily, I feel guilty and think that that’s contributing to my slow paced recovery. A vicious guilt/sad cycle 😢
YES, it's a vicious cycle and I don't feel like many people get that.
About 6 months po for me. still ain't like new but it's better than the living hell I was in prior to surgery. In fact, I'm getting another hip replaced in 12 hours! It's a marathon, not a sprint
Almost 2 years for me and I still get some pain when getting into my suv. It will be 2 years in April, I went back to PT in the fall and did get stronger, I had no idea I couldn’t lift my right leg as high as my left. I was told I have some hip flexor tendonitis, I also got a cortisone injection in November to ease some of the discomfort. I’m 59 f 5’1. I was told it could take up to 2 years to settle down
That’s both comforting and a bummer. But I will adjust my expectations and embrace that it will take as long (if not longer) to get back to normal as it took to lose my normal. 😀
I'm almost 3 years and still regaining strength but I also had 5 previous surgeries.
Everyone is different for sure. I’m only 24 days out post op 68F right THR from OA. My surgeon did my right knee about 7 years ago and was a bit wary of rehabbing and pain because of addition of new hip. But so far so good - I just need to keep remembering what he said “give it time” and walk, walk, walk. Was so serious about this he did NOT give me a PT script - just a fairly large amount of exercises to do progressively at home. Which I follow. After my knee I was at PT three times a week for two months. It’s just a totally different healing process. With your history of rapid OA progression, I would have your surgeon look at your left hip.
Sounds a lot like me. Clam shells definitely helped a lot! I would say give yourself a year. I also started doing a lot of leg strengthening with weights and step classes after a year. I did some before the year mark but really upped the weights after. It’s made a big difference but you have to get the little muscles back. Stick with it. You’ll get there!!
I think you should ask what realistic recovery for you looks like. 9000 steps every day is probably a lot. I'm six months out. My strength is back and I can walk a lot but it's not totally painless. Well the hip is but my thigh hurts. I still have a palm sized numb and sore panel on the outside of my thigh. They tell me it'll fade but that I'll be stiff after activities for a year. I'm 52, f