GROIN PAIN AFTER Total Hip Replacement- Hip Tightness after THR

blimey i kept on hunting for these symptoms on this site but only just found you since you made a cheeky comment about codeine as my secret word - its actually success. and yep i am straight back to sleep.

I have been in a bad way since my thr in Dec 13 with symptoms as you fescribe - as well as leg length and wonky hip - so i now live as a house elf and can drive inly vert short distances.

Heres my bit about adding to the understanding. Yes i do have these symptoms but they have gone in longer because the surgeon and now 2 second opinions say the length of the head is too long. This puts my psoas and glutes in permanently tight and makes any walking up awful and i am very slow as i can literally feel everything tighten as i continue to walk. The only solution is to replace the head - a medical scientist described me as being jacked out and up.

I am due to have other hip replaced soon and my consultant hopes that the very small chance that this will help my operates hip and avoid a redo.

From reading the posts this is far more common than the literature you can find on google. As i only found this thread by accident how could we get it more discoverable so that others could be helped?

cheers from chris (happy after another solid 8 hour sleep)

May I ask did you have the postier approach or the anterior?

I had the anterior approach and hate to say it but kind of want my arthritic hip back as this new pain is almost unbearable. I had a cortizone injection 1 week ago and it felt better for 2 days - but the pain has returned in full force.

Mine is not so much in the groin but down the whole front of my thigh starting at the top of the hip bend. When I stand up  can not apply ANY weight to that leg. Slowly as I apply a little weight at a time and after about 15 seconds it goes away. Was this your experience also ? 

How can they identify a rip? MRIs are out due to the mental implant. Will a CT scan show?

Jodi,

I just had THR posterior surgery 9 days ago, and whenever I do certain exercises from the PT, my groin spasms...or it feels like a cramp...but it's a good 10 seconds of agony and then goes away.  I CAN drag me heel up like you describe, and I CAN'T do the leg lift.  In fact I was so surprised because I could do everything else pretty well. 

During several of the PT exercises I get this crazy pain, and I've only been in the car once yesterday, and yelled out for 10 seconds of so until the pain stopped.  I'm not doing several of the PT's anymore that trigger this, but is there anything about the two week mark that I can hope this will go away? 

Other than this I'm really mobile for 9 days, but I do feel a general tighness in the groin and it was very swollen after surgery.      

I have some info.  I developed this same ileopsoas tendinitis two weeks after left hip and two weeks after right hip replacement.  The surgeon denied it could be the hip causing this.  He sent me to a rheumatologist and low back surgeon, wasting my money.  He is considered the best surgeon in the state!  He got so frustrated with me.  The pain became so severe I could barely walk.  I was in misery.  Finally, he put cortisone in the trochanter bursa and the pain went away in a couple days.  When the same pain occurred after the second hip, I got the cortisone.  I have also tried cortisone directly into, by ultrasound, the tendon.  That did not work any better than just doing the bursa.  So every three months for five times each hip, I got cortisone.  I went to PT and stretching made the pain severe and debilitating.  I also had several dry needling from the PT which did nothing.  

The good new is, each hip ileopsoas tendon took exactly two years to heal.  I have been going to PT again  and stretching- the pain nearly made me pass out.  But the pain resolves over night now.  After about two weeks, I can do the stretches and it feels good and I don't feel like passing out.

so there is HOPE!  The worst part is not knowing if the horrible pain will ever go away.  It does.  My suggestion is no stretching because that aggravates it for the first two years.  Then cortisone in the bursa just to survive.  Pain meds don't help,at all.  Most doctors seem clueless to what this issue is.  I had to do all the research.

Hi Jodi, when was your surgery?

I've had 2 orthoscopic hip surgeries one on each hip. My last orthoscopic surgery only helped for 6 months and I had complete hip replacement including my socket. My surgery was done they the front of my leg. Everything is titanium It was done Jan 20th 2016, about a month ago I gradually started getting pain in my tendon and groin area. Now it's horrible, van barely lift my leg to get pants on and getting into my jeep, I literally lift my leg to get it in the door.

I've read what you wrote and I'm so hoping it's something that will go away without another surgery.

Please let me know your thoughts.

Thank you for taking your time to share this valuable experience. It is wonderful to know I am not alone and your advice has me thinking twice about attempting to stretch, immediately after I felt this pain for the third time post-THR! Allow me to explain

I was born with congenital hip dysplasia and underwent surgery at U of Iowa in the mid 1960's, when doctors weren't yet familiar with modern era testing at birth. I owe my thanks and ability to walk to the late amazing orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Ignacio Ponseti, founding father of treatment/techniques for congenital hip dysplasia and club foot/feet. I was subsequently casted and wore braces until 12, continuing developmental evaluation through my early 20's with a full and active childhood, running track and cheerleading through college.

In my early 20's I started having significant pain and local to South Florida well renown orthopedics are advising hip replacement sooner, rather than later. I returned to U of Iowa and Dr. Ponseti came out of retirement to see me (he's almost family given our long history). He and his successor, Dr. Weinstein, whom I've known my entire life as well, wisely advise me to prolong the inevitable reconstructive surgery and hip surgeries until after having my two beautiful children.

A few years after childbirth, I'm in my mid 20's and end up at Boston Children's Hospital Harvard for Ganz Osteotomy, a 9 hour reconstructive hip surgery. This is done to reshape the hip socket for better femoral head coverage and the ultimate hip replacement. During this prolonged surgery, the iliopsoas tendon is moved to reach the hip socket causing stress on it and post-op does not fully recover.

Fast forward a few years and I'm in my mid 30's. I am at Rochester, MN Mayo Clinic for hip resurfacing and end up having a THR because my hip to too far gone and it cannot be postponed, given I am in unbearable pain trying to prolong the life of my natural hip. Post-op, I am nearly pain free and relieved!!!

A few years and a few ER visits later, I have had my hip nearly "pop" out of socket bc I'm only 50 and lead an active life. The pain is excruciating, quite like you'd expect with a hip nearly come out of its' socket. It only subsides when I've had enough medication to relax the damaged iliopsoas tendon, as well as the muscles associated.

Today, I stood up from sitting on a deep sofa for an hour and was slammed with a similar pain. Not quite as painful, my son helps me to lay down on my back and calls his father. My husband has seen me through all of this and knows the drill. This time, however, I'm not screaming in pain and want to try to relax without going to the ER; it's just not that bad yet. I try a few stretching methods I've learned and a few my son has from years of baseball. It's not helping, as you've predicted!! I start researching ideas and find this site. I'm listening to you and will rest until I find relief!! My deepest thanks for your advice leading me to think twice about how I may be hurting myself more by doing what seems like a good idea!!

Keep up the good work, it's not fallen on deaf ears and best of luck to all of you!!

I had thr almost six weeks ago. Everything is going well and hoping to drive this week. I can lie comfortably on the operated side but not the other which seems unusual. I still have a swelling near the groin on the operated side which doesn't hurt but still wonder if this has something to do with the other side sleeping problem. X-ray due in two weeks.

I had exactly what you have described with the tendons and bad fitting prosthesis. I told previous specialist several times after ld had op but crated and said it was fine. I thought l was going mad. I stuck it for 9 yrs. l went to a new specialist he knew straight way what it was. Now don't know if it's been successful yet as it's only 6 weeks in. It's caused me so much pain and a double op which l may not have had to have. Fingers crossed it's ok.