Frustrated with physical therapy

OMG, I have been worried about dislocating also, but my Dr. AND my physical therapist ( who also said I would be pain free immediately after surgery) told me it was near impossible to dislocate anterior.

I would like to share with them how you did it, what movement ( if you know) caused you to dislocate it? Do you remember the exact moment?

Honestly I'm not sure.  Think it could of happened immediately after surgery as I remember walking around the hospital day 3 with therapist using walker and I told her that I was walking on my tippy toes on that leg.  Didn't think much of it.  Then Once at home I remember  getting a shirt out of drawer.  I was not facing the drawer, I twist to open drawer get my shirt then when I closed the drawer I remember a sharp pain in my hip.  No pop or anything like that, it was a Saturday by Monday the pain was gone.  I told my therapist and she didn't think it was anything as the pain went away.   I was week 2 by then.  Was going to see dr in another week but I noticed it was getting harder to walk or put all my weight on that leg.  My family noticed that I was crooked.  In the mirror I saw my hip was really high and when I laid down my foot on operated leg  was touching my ankle of my left leg!!  I was walking and exercising on a dislocated hip for at least a week.  I feel like the odd ball!  If something is going to happen that's out of the ordinary it's gonna happen to me! 😫   So yea doesn't matter what operation you get dislocations do happen.   My dr thinks I twisted which he says I should not of done.  At least maybe for the first 6 weeks.   Just be careful.  And remember the donts of hip replacement.  I forgot them I guess.  It wasn't instilled in me as they became after my revision!!  I had to be 6 weeks non weight bearing and no hip exercises or hip flexion past 80 degrees.  Things are better but it's been a very long slow recovery.  I'm now having nerve issues.  Pain and sensitivity in my thigh.  Pain dr says it's Meralgia paresthetica.  Taking 75 mg of lyrica 3x day.    Just be patient.  Best of luck to you!  Hugs 🤗Linda 

Both my physical therapists say there is a low chance of dislocations, so that is not no chance! Although the doctor said no restrictions, my PTs have cautioned me to be careful.

Linda, I was able to lift my leg prior to surgery as I was doing exercises in preparation. Patience is not my strong suit! You were so unlucky to have a dislocation, but it is great that you are doing well after the revision.

It is very confusing, some Dr.s say no restricitons,but it sounds like you just can't be too careful. That is why , I am trying to sleep on my back. I am such a wild sleeper, and do find myself twisting up not only in bed, but I forget when I am reaching for things, i used to twist to get things.

I am off of the cane  at 10 days, because I am so clumsy with the cane. I could be off the walker if I walk very slow, but at least with the waker, I am much more cognizant of staying straight within the walker and not twisting.

In the last few days, starting at 7 days post op, I started getting pretty hefty electrical shocks running from the incision down to my knee, which neither the Dr. or therapist spoke about, neither were there  no internet mentions of shocks.

I did see where the skin around the incision would feel numb, and that is happening also. 

Wow, i researched this ad nauseum before doing the surgery, and still finding weird effects.

Thank you for your comments, I don't feel quite so alone. It took me a while to find this site.:}

Ok to leave something funny. I mentioned that I am taking ambien to sleep. I have some comfort food by my bedside. In particular, sealed pudding in a cup. 3 nights ago, I woke up at 4 am with chocolate pudding in my hair, on my face and  on the sheets. Would have loved to had a camera to see that wild interaction!

Deb, that must be hard to be progressing more slowly than expected. I can do the clams which I was not able to do before the surgery without a lot of pain. Most annoying is that every time I sit down it is really hard to get back up and the stiffness in my hips returns. Hopefully this is something that will improve with time. I hope that you continue your improvement.

Hello, all. Can someone post a link to what a "clam" exercise is? I must not be being asked to d them yet...

Also , has anyone experienced electric shocks after hip surgery from surgical incision down to the knee? I am being asked by PT to "march in place" with the walker , and when I raise the operated leg up, I get little shocks.

I don't know if I'm allowed to post a link, but I can describe it. You lie on good side with knees bent and feet together. My PT likes to put a pillow between my legs, but at home I don't use one. Then you raise the upper knee just like a clam shell opening, being sure to keep both feet together. I can only raise mine slightly.

So how do you look up old posts??? 

Jodi-France, I found your old post! I will certainly ask the PT tomorrow about iliopsoas tendonitis! Thank you so much.

GROIN Pain not Grain Pain, geesh...

I think if you click on my name you will find it.

But I added a comment to re-up it so it should be listed in the threads now.

A good physical therapist should be able to take their hand and push down with their fingers on the Psoas muscle. Mine did, he went right to it and pushed down and asked if it hurt here.

I asked the PT about the tendonitis and she said that she did not think that was what I had. She did some muscle massage and today I do not have the groin pain. We are also being more careful about the leg raises as they were irritating the groin area. I'll see how my at-home exercises go today.

Did she put her hand on your groin and press asking if this is where it hurts? There are different levels of skill in physical therapists. S/he should have physically palpitated the area that hurts. Please please don't do any exercises that gives you groin pain. Mark your calandar and give yourself 6 weeks without aggravating it by exercizing it and stretching it and see if it is better in 6 weeks. Just visualize little tears in the tendon and as you exercise you are making those rips deeper and adding more rips.  You may test your physical therapist by asking him/her to press down on your psoas muscle next time you see him/her. Just a thought there for you Anne.

Did you read this comment

Mine was anterior. I had mri at 5 months which showed nothing. After lidocaine in that muscle took away pain i had steroid shot which did nothing. Surgeon went in arthroscopically 3 days ago to release tendon and found 3 tears in my iliopsoas tendon. Explains my pain and why rest did not help. Back on crutches for a month ugh. Hope this helps it heal.

That is in this thread

https://patient.info/forums/discuss/tenotomy-of-the-iliopsoas-tendon-release--553648

You really want to NOT hurt further a damaged tendon by exercising it. You rest it, let it heal up, and hopefully it will heal. It can take a while.

 

In that comment I copied & pasted for you, see the rips in his iliopsoas tendon never healed. Perhaps during surgery they were damaged to much by the surgeons manipulating the leg around during surgery, or he overdid it after surgery exercizing and made it so that there was scar tissue and it becomes a perment condition requiring surgery. I only write to you Anne to help you.

She did not do that. I did feel much better for the rest of the day on Monday, but then today it hurts again. Where exactly is the psoas muscle? I guess I can Google it and find out for myself. I have PT tomorrow and I will let her know that the pain is still there.

Dear Anne

I wonder if you could explain exactly what she did.   Did she apply steadily increasing pressure in the sensitive spot for a time perhaps?

Cheers, Richard

In your place I would ask the physical therapist exactly this, "I continue to have this groin pain, can you kindly palpate my psoas muscle?" My physical therapist did not poke around looking for it, he straight away put his fingers on my psoas mucle and asked, "Is this where it hurts?" when I said yes he said it was my psoas mucle and he would discontinue all exercises that aggravated it. He basically quit all exercises with me and arrived every other day and simply gave me a leg massage with massage oil. That is how important my physical therapist thought it was to not aggravate the iliopsoas tendon & psoas muscle. He stopped the exercises and said it needed to heal.

You know what Anne I suffered terribly from tendonitis which never healed & turned into tendonosis a permenent condition. I had 3 different doctors tell me that, my GP, a Rheumatologist and finally the orthopedic surgeon. I have tendonosis in my IT band on the leg I had my THR on. I wouldn't wish tendonosis on anybody, and it is really a shame that anyone has to get it when the remedy is so simple, don't aggravate it, let the muscle & tendons heal. That is it, that is the entire remedy. 

I spoke with the PT this morning and told her that I am trying to avoid any irritation to that groin muscle. She decided against a couple of new exercises that she had planned to introduce. When she asked me to see if I could do even a tiny straight leg lift I was unable to get my foot off the floor. She said that she had not realized how very weak that muscle is and she is now going to work on strengthening it. All the other exercises I did today did not cause any type of discomfort. 

Richard, the PT did some gentle stretches, some pressure points, and used a massage roller.

 

Dear Anne

Thanks for explaining. What was her technique with regards to pressure points please?

Cheers Richard

It was a great relief reading your comment. However the physical therapist is not correct, your psoas muscle & illiopsoas muscles are not "weak," they have been injured. You would be doing a great service to that physical therapist and every patient that physical treats after you to print up from the internet a reasearch article on iliopsoas tendonitis after hip replacement surgery. And I would print screenshots of some of the comments in that other thread I linked to, the thread where people required surgery to release the permently scarred tendon. Your physical therapist's approach of a "weak" muscle is completely incorrect, weak muscles you do exercize to build strength back up, INJURED muscles/tendons you MUST let them heal first before commencing exercizes again. 

Just like I take my time to comment on this forum you should also take the time to pass on this knowledge to your physical therapist so that s/he doesn't go on to hurt patients after you. For some reason iliopsoas tendonities after a total hip replacement is not well known. 

If sitting is uncomfortable, especially raising up after sitting,  I suggest you lay down rather than sit, lay on the sofa, lay in bed. Protect your iliopsoas tendon and psoas muscal at all costs be very conscience of any pain and whatever it is that is producing pain to them stop doing it. I am concerned because in physical therapy for the last two weeks you have been injuring this tendon & muscle, it would not surprise me if it takes 2/3 months to get them healed up now. I hope they heal, but if they don't at least you know what is going on.