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At the 5 month Mark. Post hip replacement..limping!

Posted , 11 users are following.

Pilotswife
Pilotswife

Am I too impatient? Being an active 62 year old with a new hip...that feels too big..squeezed in...and not able to walk without a stick or shop without a walker! No issue with arthritis but had a bone spur that caused cartilage to disappear...other hip is "only 40" ..still fine! I'm not overweight, very positive thinking and swimming and doing physio.... pain is mostly in front thigh and knee doesn't bend easily when weight-bearing. No rhythm to movement. 🙄

Maybe I've gained 1/4 inch in length on that side..now legs are the same length.-as the left leg has all its cartilage and the new one is like adding the lost "cushion" back...it has improved low back pain..but Hey I want to walk...

Ideas? Suggestions for testing besides x rays...which are just fine!

2 likes, 60 replies

60 Replies

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  • RichardKen
    RichardKen Pilotswife

    Posted

    Seems to be an unusually long time for your recovery. Surely your doctor could help sort things for and with you.

    Cheers Richard

  • beth2509
    beth2509 Pilotswife

    Posted

    I agree that speaking too the doctor is a good idea. But people do recover at different rates for no particular reason at all! You may be nothing more than unlucky.

    The knee would suggest to me asking for MRI - it may be something muscular. That knee not bending is not, as far as I know, a common issue.

  • renee01952
    renee01952 Pilotswife

    Posted

    hi pilotswife , 

    warm welcome to the hippies forum ...

    i am not sure what to tell you ... when was the last time you saw your surgeon? I saw mine at 6 weeks and 12 months post-op - 

    do you see a physical therapist ?  

    would love to hear back fro you -

    big warm hug

    renee

    • Pilotswife
      Pilotswife renee01952

      Posted

      Hi Renee:

      I have seen my surgeon 3 times before today... each time getting a new x-ray... all fine in black and white...

      I do physio weekly... and prescribed exercises at home as well as physio pool exercise classes and also water walking and side stroke swimming... I walk in the mall  with a walker or anywhere with a cart to push... but stationary bike is like driving a poker from my knee to my glutes... a big ouch...

      I am open to ideas!

      P.W.

  • AnnieK
    AnnieK Pilotswife

    Posted

    Hello, Pilotswife. Sorry you are still having problems 5 months later. There are all sorts of possible complications and soft tissue injuries that can have occurred, even if your bones and prostheses are perfect. In my case, for example, at 5 months post-THR, I could not walk without a limp and pain in my glutes. Several orthopedists and many tests later, it was discovered that I had torn gluteus medius and minimus tendons. 15 months after my THR, I had them surgically repaired by a surgeon for whom this was a specialty.

    Your situation will be different, since your pain is in the front and involves your knee. I suggest you get second and third opinions from excellent orthopedists who are in a different practice from your original surgeon, and who are knowledgeable about soft tissue injuries, too. Also, even if your hip x-rays are fine, have you had your knee x-rayed, too? Keep questioning and pushing for answers!

    • AnnieK
      AnnieK

      Posted

      The test that showed the torn gluteals was MARS MRI (metal artifact reduction sequence). Musculo-skeletal ultrasound is also used for diagnosing soft tissue injuries.
    • Pilotswife
      Pilotswife AnnieK

      Posted

      Hi Annie

      Just came from my surgeons office.

      He won't run ant tests at all...sees no reason for them..

      Told me to get pain meds from Family Doc and and get useless government funded physio..

      Then he said "You are a puzzle. GOOD -BYE. GOOD LUCK" walked out of the room left me crying. With the door open!

      Mmm?

    • RichardKen
      RichardKen Pilotswife

      Posted

      How horrible for you that he could not at the very least have been a bit kinder.

      Best wishes Richard

    • beth2509
      beth2509 Pilotswife

      Posted

      That's pretty unacceptable. I hope you will complain?

      I assume you are  in the UK? Can you get a second opinion? 

      Why do you think "government funded physio" is useless? There are some great physiotherapists out there in the NHS. But if that isn't acceptable, then unless you have private insurance, I'm afraid your only alternative is to pay for it privately. This may speed things up for you.

    • AnnieK
      AnnieK Pilotswife

      Posted

      Awful! Then you need to see a different doctor. I'm not sure how your NHS program works, but can you go to your GP now and tell him about your symptoms and pain? And he can give you a referral if he can't figure it out. How can they ignore someone who is unable to walk unaided, when it is very likely that there is a fix for it? There are many bones and muscles, and certainly we are at the point in medical science where most of that can be diagnosed and treated. It's mechanics.

    • Pilotswife
      Pilotswife beth2509

      Posted

      Hi Beth.  

      Thanks for your reply.  I am actually in Ontario, Canada.  Our OHIP insurance plan covers 15 minutes with a physio therapist as one appointment so all therapists work on that cycle.  Even though I do have private funds, it is very close to impossible to find a therapist that has opted out of OHIP... and that cycle of care and works outside the box.  I have all the "at home" exercises... and actually do them as recommended.  I also go to rehab warm pool individually coached exercises specifically for hips AND do water walking and side-stroke swimming 3 times a week to build up energy and strength.  I take my walker to the mall and walk...have trouble on the stationary bike even with no resistance... feels like a sharp pointed prod is going to burst through my gluteus maximus..lol... (wouldn't be a pretty sight!).

      Am considering a private rehab in the United States if I can be sure of its quality!  I'm expecting a 5th grand child (the others all under 4) in the next few weeks...Excited to be well and run with them... (so to speak)...I didn't say "jog"!  lol

    • Pilotswife
      Pilotswife RichardKen

      Posted

      Hi Richard...

      Appreciate your best wishes... 

      The last thing you want to hear from someone who plans to do nothing for you... is "YOU'RE A PUZZLE!  GOOD LUCK"

      ... AND THEN to have no tissue box in his office.... tsk tsk...

      I use humour as therapy...

    • Pilotswife
      Pilotswife AnnieK

      Posted

      Hi Annie:

      Where do you live... Any names or suggestions?

      I'm not prepared to "wait and see".... 

      As you probably have read... I'm about to welcome my 5th grand child in the next couple weeks... (all under 4 and living within 10 minutes of us!)

    • AnnieK
      AnnieK Pilotswife

      Posted

      I'm in a suburb of Chicago, Illinois, and I'd gladly give you the names of my surgeons if you are going to be in this neck of the woods. I know of another excellent glute repair man in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area.

    • Pilotswife
      Pilotswife AnnieK

      Posted

      Hi Annie...

      I will take all those contacts..

      Will check out my options.

      Thank you!

    • hazel14263
      hazel14263 Pilotswife

      Posted

      Wow ! See if he breezes out if you threaten a lawsuit ! Unbelievable !!!!
    • morriewynn
      morriewynn Pilotswife

      Posted

      Oh my goodness "you are a puzzle". If you are in so much pain after five months, then clearly, your body is telling you that something is amiss.

      I am fortunate to have an excellent chiropractor/sports physician. Just by relaying the symptoms, I know he would come up with a probable answer and if he was unable to assist, then he would be able to point me in the right direction . You are complying with the exercise regime for your hip; they are not working.

      You must be feeling so desperate. Please don't give up. You can probably purchase copies of your X RAYS. If so, request them and take them to a specialist. I know it means money, however, you need answers.

      My Chiro diagnosed my osteoarthritis, some two years before it was medically confirmed. He gave me exercises that delayed the progression for over five years.

      Good luck. I'm so very sorry that you have been fobbed off and treated so badly.

      Love, Blessings

      Maureen

      .

    • AnnieK
      AnnieK Pilotswife

      Posted

      I sent the message yesterday. Hope you got it!
    • RichardKen
      RichardKen morriewynn

      Posted

      I needed a hip replacement five or six years before I finally got one and the reason given for the delay was that I was too young!!

      I could not get a decent night’s sleep due to the discomfort and my ex kept saying that I should go and see the chiropractor who was treating her for back pain.

      As the direct result of that first visit for the first time for years I got a decent night’s sleep. This continued and over a number of visits he helped me to strengthen the muscles that supped my hip and kept me going for a number of years until the time eventually came when it was not enough and by then it was considered that I was no old enough for hip replacement surgery!

      I still to this day use the pressure point relief techniques I was taught back in 1992.

      Cheers Richard

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