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I can't put any weight on my "bad" leg after sitting or lying down

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sue62407
sue62407

It's 8 weeks since my op and I'm walking  a lot more but am alarmed at not being able to stand firm on my leg for a few minutes after sitting or lying -plus pain at the front of my thigh. I'm not sure whether I'm doing too little or too much or whether there are particular exercises needed to stretch and strengthen the muscles in this area. Or is it just a matter of time?

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  • irene18536
    irene18536 sue62407

    Posted

    Hi Sue, I am 8 weeks on Tuesday and I am having the same problem. It started 3 weeks ago and is gradually getting worse, I have seen my doctor who had X-rays and blood tests done, these did not show any problems. I then saw the physio who thought it was a back problem and gave me some exercises, but still no different. I don't see my surgeon until 2 June. It is really getting me down. I am back on two sticks and can't walk unaided.
  • Paulus1949
    Paulus1949 sue62407

    Posted

    I am 14wks post THR and only in the last few days able to put my full weight on the operated hip or lead climbing stairs..so I would wait a bit longer before worrying..

    Don't forget everybody's outcome is different,it can take up to 12 months for some people to fully recover.

    I had a short physio session yesterday and tbh it's made my joint feel worse than it did.

    On the advice of a forum member I am going to try hydrotherapy next.

  • Billiegirl77
    Billiegirl77 sue62407

    Posted

    It's 9  weeks tomorrow since hip replacement feel well but last 2weeks have groin pain when getting up after sitting even if only a short while when i move (which is quite painful ) the pain goes away and I can walk not perfectly yet but getting better .like you not too sure whether to do more or less .surgeon says muscles just need to get stronger ,as I am 70 and limped for a long tme before op guess it might take a while yet although I feel fine other wise  and back to doing normal things around hose and garden .

    Probably just trying to rush things I guess !

     

    • Paulus1949
      Paulus1949 Billiegirl77

      Posted

      I am 65 and due to arthritis I walked with a limp for  the last 20 yrs,which worsened considerably over the last two,forcing me to have a THR.

      I sometimes wonder if over many years our brain becomes so used to us limping that we might have to re teach it to send the right messages to walk properly again after the old joint has been replaced??

      Probably rubbish,just a thought.

    • Billiegirl77
      Billiegirl77 Paulus1949

      Posted

      I think you are right I find I really have to think myself through walking in the correct way can't just do it naturally  ie heel then toe and keep feet straight  sounds strange but it seems to work.l

      Like you I put off having op done for 2years and was in a lot of pain in the end so had to give in and have it done ,but I'm  really glad I did now  .I'm sure we will get there in the end .

  • kaleani75551
    kaleani75551 sue62407

    Posted

    Hi sue...word for word it is my story as well so i am not repeating.  I am now 10 weeks post left anterior hip surgery.  Right hip done a year ago posterior approach and is now perfect....has always been, almost from the beginning.
  • irene18536
    irene18536 sue62407

    Posted

    I can't put any weight on my "bad" leg after sitting or lying down

    Posted about 2 hours ago

    It's 8 weeks since my op and I'm walking  a lot more but am alarmed at not being able to stand firm on my leg for a few minutes after sitting or lying -plus pain at the front of my thigh. I'm not sure whether I'm doing too little or too much or whether there are particular exercises needed to stretch and strengthen the muscles in this area. Or is it just a matter of time?

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  • irene18536
    irene18536 sue62407

    Posted

    Although this seems to affect quite a few of us no one has an answer as to what the problem is and how to correct it. Any answers?
    • kaleani75551
      kaleani75551 irene18536

      Posted

      Well i am currently trying something but not sure if it will work or not, i read about it on another forum.  So here it goes:

      it seems that the problem is caused by an unbalanced pelvis,while the hips are fixed and legs are fine, the pelvis is still not back to its normal place and there is an exercise that, supposedly, is straightening the pelvis.  You stand on the operated leg and lift the other leg off the floor and hold it in this position for as long as you can, while holding your body as straight as possible.  You will notice that at first the torso will tilt towards the operated side but eventually and with practice,you will be standing straight while doing it.   I'll keep you posted on my progress...hopefully it will work

    • ros007
      ros007 irene18536

      Posted

      I suggested it and the exercise is correctly described but the explanation isn't quite right.  The pelvis is partly stabilised by a set of muscles termed the hip abductors which also move the leg away from the midline. If these are weak the pelvis drops and I've found this exercise a good way of isolating these muscles and exercising them.  I discovered I was recruiting other sets of muscles when I did the leg to the side exercises and with this one I could check to make sure I was using the right ones.  It also improved my balance.  I can now hold it for about 35-40 seconds and I'm working up to the full minute.  I notice the imbalance if I don't do it two or three times a day and then have to really work at it.
    • kaleani75551
      kaleani75551 ros007

      Posted

      Thanks for explaining further...and much better.   Now I remember you talking about in a previous post.  It was also mentioned by someone else on the Topix forum, but it is after you said that i started doing it.  
  • juliette39133
    juliette39133 sue62407

    Posted

    I think Paulus is right. Something happens in the time when the arthritis starts to when we have the op. My pelvis was completely normal and I was an avid yoga practitioner. However after my first thr I had a seriously tilted pelvis which appeared to point to a leg length discrepancy. Physio and exercise corrected it. During the years of pain and limping before the op, my body tried to compensate somehow. Bad posture becomes normalised. After the op the whole skeleton has to realign itself and it takes time and working at it. I remember ringing my surgeon's secretary in tears at six weeks post op because I couldn't put my own boots on. I got told by the surgeon that I must not force my body to do anything..It was the best advice ever. The body just gets there in its own time. Everyone is different. There is no should or ought.. The years of disability before the op take their toll and it takes years to recover. I am certainly never going to be the flexible strong person I once was but to look at me now you would never know that I have two replacement hips. I used to walk miles in the mountains of Southern Spain but now much much less. However a neighbour who had one hip replacement can do an eight mile walk yet she has a strange posture which I haven't liked to mention. Everyone is different for sure. I saw a short video on tv of something called "the scissors gait" It's what would happen if hip replacement was unavailable. The legs eventually cross like scissors. It may be available on YouTube. If I am feeling sorry for myself, I thank God I live in a time and a country where the op has given me my life back.
  • cindy6649
    cindy6649 sue62407

    Posted

    I have a similar problem with front thigh and groin pain. It started about 3 weeks post op and is a little better now that I'm at 6 weeks. Mine is tendonitis in my iliosoas and "stem" pain in my femur where the stem of the new joint goes. 

    I am am having a steroid injection in the iliosoas on Tuesday for the groin pain but there is no quick fix for the stem pain. It will last 3-6 months and hurts more when I put more weight on my leg. 

    The iliosoas tendonitis developed because it was working so hard to compensate for the muscles that were cut during surgery (mine was posterior). The therapist has me doing clamshells to strengthen the muscles in the back to help redistribute the work and relieve the iliosoas a little. 

    I've improved some with exercises but the steroid shot will help me do more because it will hurt less. I've heard a lot of people mention that the groin pain and lessened ability to put weight on the leg increases exponentially as we begin to walk more and be more active. 

    • kaleani75551
      kaleani75551 cindy6649

      Posted

      This may be a silly question but how do you know if you have stem pain?   it is the first time i hear this.

      i too developed groin pain at the 6th week post surgery, it came suddenly one day after a long walk, the doctor simply said 'stretch the iliopsoas tendon' so i googled to see what these stretches are exactly.  The one that is recommended is to sit on the edge of bed and let the operated leg hang while you bend the other leg holding the knee.  I think it helped me a bit.  I have been doing the clam exercise since last year not knowing exactly what it was for....thanks for your explanation now i know

    • cindy6649
      cindy6649 kaleani75551

      Posted

      My doctor said stem pain happens in about 30% of patients and the reason he said that's what it is was because the pain is coming from the bone instead of soft tissue. 

      I have nerve damage from the car accident so I figured out the differences between nerve pain, other soft tissue pain (muscles, tendons and ligaments) and bone pain. The deep ache that radiates up and down from the center of my femur is the stem pain. The doc said it's the bone getting used to having a big piece of titanium stuck in it and that it can take 3-6 months to resolve. It also hurts more when I put more weight on the leg. 

      Another way I know it's not a soft tissue injury is because I can't feel the source of pain when I or my therapist put pressure on it to try to rub the pain away like you can with a muscle or tendon and sometimes ligament. It's too deep and won't rub away. I do, however, get my husband to lightly rub or scratch the skin on my thigh and that triggers sensory nerves which can sort of distract my brain from the deep ache and focus on the soothing scratch instead. Kinda weird, I know but it works so I keep doing it. 

      A moist heating pad for 20 minutes a couple times a day also helps but the doc told me to keep taking a lower dose of pain meds for the next couple months until it improves. 

    • kaleani75551
      kaleani75551 cindy6649

      Posted

      I know that eventually down the road, you will be totally recovered from all this, one thing i am learning is that it takes time and we have to be patient.   So good luck to you and good continuation with your recovery.

       

    • cindy6649
      cindy6649 kaleani75551

      Posted

      Thank you.  I wish you a speedy recovery too.

      I really, really want to get past this phase of recovery. It's 3:45 a.m. here and, just like every night, I was awakened by pain and won't be able to sleep again until the pain meds I just took start to work. This is getting really old!

      You're absolutely right that it takes time and patience but it has been two and a half years since my car accident and I desperately want my body and my life back. 

      Another thing I've noticed is that my outlook is much more negative when I'm in pain (like now, sorry!). I know that's very common but it's hard to be positive and hopeful when your hip and leg are acting like screaming, crying toddlers. 

    • ros007
      ros007 cindy6649

      Posted

      I would have a serious talk with your doctor about long acting pain meds for night use. If this is really persistent you could suggest a trial of low dose amytriptyline (it started off as an anti-depressant in much higher dose but does attack a different pain pathway to the usual pain-killers).  I took it for a year or two but it does have side effects and even on low dose (I took 10mg) you shouldn't drive for a couple of days until you see if you become sluggish and drowsy. One girl I knew preferred the driving to the pain relief. I was OK after about 10am but if I needed to drive much before lunch I missed the previous night's dose.  I adjusted to it and found that the higher dose wasn't nice so I came off and it will now start working again if I need it.

      Pain and lack of sleep is a toxic combination, hope your doctor is helpful and life improves soon.

    • cindy6649
      cindy6649 ros007

      Posted

      Thanks for the advice. I took amilytriptaline right after the accident but it was for migraines. I had a bad reaction to it so they stopped it immediately. It caused severe depression. Then earlier this year the pain doctor prescribed nortriptaline and it did the same thing. Apparently I'm not able to tolerate those kinds of drugs. 

      The only other longer acting one I've taken is OxyContin and I'm very afraid of taking anything that strong with a very high addiction rate. 

      I have two different muscle relaxers and one of them makes me very sleepy so maybe I can take one of those and have a better chance of sleeping through the night. 

    • ros007
      ros007 cindy6649

      Posted

      A friend is on gabapentene (an anti-epilelptic) for pain but has to take anti-sickness pills with it, other people don't have such bad reactions.  Pain clinics tend to have massive waiting lists but can be helpful once you get there.  Hope your GP has got some ideas.

      Ros

    • cindy6649
      cindy6649 ros007

      Posted

      Thanks. I've been taking gabepentin for a couple of years already because of the nerve pain. It helps but I've gained over 40 pounds from it so I'm really trying to cut it down as much as possible. 

      I was lucky to get in to my pain clinic last year because my surgeon explained the urgency very well. I can also email them with questions about medications and random things so that's very helpful, especially since my patience level has reached the microscopic level lately. 

    • ros007
      ros007 cindy6649

      Posted

      I think that's your next port of call - after all they are the experts on pain management.  If you've been going through all this for a couple of years and no doubt being reassured that the op will really help then I can see why you are finding life so stressful.  I'm just sorry I can't do more than send sympathy and best wishes and feel slightly guilty for the relief that I'm not going through it after my op.
    • cindy6649
      cindy6649 ros007

      Posted

      Thanks for your kind words. We all struggle in different ways at different times but it's great to be able to share our struggles and seek advice and comfort when we need it. 

      Don't feel bad at all that you're doing well. It's people like you who give the rest of us hope.

    • Jodi-France
      Jodi-France ros007

      Posted

      Ros is right about needing pain medication to sleep and how necssary sleep is to recovery. I hd my surgery THR on April 30th and just for the last 2 nights have weened myself off of 50mg of Codeine + 800 mg Paracetmol a night. I had quite the run around in my head about pain meds + plus some intial issues as finding one that worked. My sense is that pain meication i necessary for around a month, it is necessary to sleep.

      Since aparacetamol is not an anti inflamatory and my anti phebitis shot ended on Friday I now swithced rom Paracetamol  (Tylenol)to Napraxon (Aleve). Napraxon has an anti inflmatory in it. Big word of warning with Codine is that it can be terrible constipating, I took stool softners and drank prune juice. As I reduced my Daily amount of codeine, consumed I cut off the stool softner and was able to avoid constipation with about 8oz of prune juice a day.

      It was a bit hard the first night I went without the codeine (only 2 nights ago) didn't get to sleep until 6am. Last night got to sleep at 3am but `i have to admit for controlling the pain I really can do jsut fine with Napraxon.

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