One leg is now longer than the other !
Posted , 14 users are following.
Went to hip class today after seeing the surgeon and a physiotherapist twice . The female OT took less than three minutes to observe one leg is now longer . The bad leg . It seems they have made me taller ! No wonder one leg felt so off kilt . If I
Stand on the bad leg I am off the floor with the other one! She said it can happen in about 20% of cases and is referring me to podiatry for a shoe raiser/ implant . I went into hip class hoping to come out like Shakira and instead it's long john silver !!!😳😳
2 likes, 32 replies
beth2509 hazel14263
Posted
It might not feel like much of a consolation right now, but try not to panic too much about it yet. Everything will have to settle into its new place, as others have said, and that includes the bits of the body you already had. People don't realise it, but nobody has legs the same length. Nature is clever, but not that clever! So an inch is actually not that much of a difference. Right now it is all just very new, so you haven't got used to it. But you will. The fact is that you never knew how much of a difference there was before because you got used to that as you grew up - it was normal so why would you have measured? I'm sure the insert will help, but you will find that if you practice without it, more often than not in time it'll be forgotten. I friend of mine had a similar problem, and she was recommended using "barefoot skin shoes" around the house. These are like slippers that fit right to your feet - so it is like walking barefoot but with a little protection against slipping etc. It took her several months, but eventually she stopped noticing there was any diference and adapted.
Good luck
hazel14263 beth2509
Posted
Very informative reply I will look out for those shoes
Cheers
morriewynn hazel14263
Posted
Hi Hazel,
I thought I had a leg discrepancy , but turned out, I had a pelvic tilt . X Ray revealed it. I have today received a letter from the Consultant to my GP cc'd to me in which he refers to the pelvic tilt. He states "I think physiotherapy can help her to try to correct the pelvic tilt". Apparently, this is quite common when suffering with osteoarthritis. It might be worth you making contact with your physio before trying corrective adaptations. I'm seeing mine next week.
Hope this helped xx
morriewynn hazel14263
Posted
Oh I'm so sorry Hazel, I didn't read this correctly. It's still early days and you still have alot of healing to do. When you say "off the floor" how long is the discrepancy? It maybe, that like me, you could have a pelvic tilt which, with physio, could help. Didn't your Consultant check your leg length at your appointment?
It was only because my original Consultant took the day off to celebrate his birthday that I had a stand in and, fortunately , he is one of the top surgeons in the Country. He measured my leg length ; showed me my X Ray and pointed out the tilt; explained the procedure and emphasised the importance of the twelve week restrictions.
From your previous posts, it seems as though your Consultant was somewhat dismissive.
I am seeing my physio next week who will show me exercises to help the tilt. I shall let you know what they are. It can't hurt can it?
Aros yn gryf xxx
beth2509 morriewynn
Posted
And that will almost certainly be how your pelvis adapted to the changes the arthritis brought. Our bodies are really clever at adapting, but the adaptations are not always helpful or quick to change back. I'm finding that my stance has adapted to cope with the pain from the osteonecrosis and the ankle but that is now causing some pressure on my back because the hip is fixed. So it's back strengthening exercises for me!
I assume you're a Welsh speaker? My brother married a lovely Welsh speaker ( well two of them actually, but that's a whole other story!), and my gorgeous nephew has grown up bilingual. Lovely language!
I'm sure that
morriewynn beth2509
Posted
I am not Welsh speaking; just a few phrases that were taught to me.
As opposed to Hazel, my last op and due to the pelvic tilt, left my leg slightly longer . I am practicing by walking indoors barefoot heel to toe.
Hopefully, my physio, will give me further exercises to help.
Thanks for your comment. Always appreciated.
Maureen xx
hazel14263
Posted
Sorry not a Welsh speaker !!
The consultant did not offer to measure my leg but showed me an X ray of the new hip versus the old and said will see me in 3 months to X Ray again . I thought it was just healing so didn't mention it until physio spotted it .. But the first physio didn't . I will try to measure this weekend . I am
In 2 minds whether to say don't panic it's all just healing and will settle down once the bone grows round the hip part ( uncemented) or to be a bit miffed as I walk like a drunk and am worried what damage and wear and tear this will do over time . The physio asked me did I sign a disclaimer ?! This happens in 20% of surgeries she said . Plus they said my other hip was ok no arthritis .. So don't understand why I am out of whack .
I am wondering whether this is why I am sti in quite some pain or is that normal at 8 weeks ? I mean I am ok once I get going but getting out of a chair or car after sitting down for more than ten mins is quite painful and makes me catch my breath and sort of lunge and lurch forward until I get momentum to walk then it wears off .
Seems a bit of a setback .. Any wisdom gratefully received and thanks to all the wise words so far ...
Peg leg xx
beth2509 hazel14263
Posted
Eight weeks post surgery and it is entirely normal to still have pain. Getting up takes a lot more muscles than walking does. TBH I am one of the lucky ones and haven't had any pain at all ( plus maybe all the pre op preparation helped!), but I've not met anyone else so far who has said that they didn't have some pain for many weeks afterwards.
Plus, everyone has different pain thresholds. Earlier this year I walked around on an unsupported broken ankle for at least four weeks. Nobody in the hospital could work out how I even stood, never mind walked, on it. Yes, it hurt. But it wasn't painful enough to make me think I had broken it, or to stop me walking. The consultant said at the time that my passion threshold must be the highest he's ever seen, because the injury I had should have stopped me in my tracks!
So don't worry. Pain is normal. It's there to tell you to take it easy, priced with caution, or not proceed at all. It may be that you need to use your arms a little more to support your weight as you rise from sitting so the hip muscles aren't doing as much work. Or there are tools that help you to rise gently from a chair if it's that bad - the best way I can describe them is electronic wedges that rise at the back to tip you forward a little without you having to make as much effort.
But I'll be happy to do you a competition on walking like a drunk, with my left hip recovering and my right ankle now waiting for it
I look like I am permanently sozzled most of the time!
beth2509
Posted
morriewynn hazel14263
Posted
Hi Peg Leg,
Regarding your pain when getting up from a seated position. Yes, before walking, I have to swing my leg a few times and I remember having to do this before. So nothing to worry about.
You are still under the Consultant, who will be notified of your short leg discrepancy. If it were me, I would telephone the hospital and ask to speak with his secretary. Explain the situation along with all your concerns and ask if you could possibly, for guidance only, and before embarking on the routes suggested by the physio, be given an earlier appointment. It may well be that he can offer something positive and at least you will then know, for certain, which direction to take. Emphasise that this is not in any way litigous, but that you just need clarity.
Don't, for goodness sake relay this. But your legs should have been measured at your last appointment along with an examination to see how the hip is rotating. It's insufficient to merely show you an X Ray. You didn't have a tonsillectomy. You had a total hip replacement; a major and also brutal surgery.
Don't be fobbed off Hazel. You are still a young woman who deserves to know what lays ahead.
Try and enjoy your weekend. Cold here, but the sun is shining.
Love Maureen xxx
hazel14263 beth2509
Posted
Na Beth I ain't getting into any
Competitions with you ... You sound like a veritable superwoman ! Good god ! Come back for
Xmas shopping today ... Forgot my crutch- am a cripple now . Thanks X
hazel14263 beth2509
Posted
AlexandriaGizmo beth2509
Posted
hazel14263 morriewynn
Posted
That's twice someone said don't be fobbed off and I am beginning to believe it too ! I was in there for ten mins and he looked at my scar and asked how I was . Thing is I said doing well as I really thought the leg length was normal stuff ..
Until I saw the physio ... She is writing to him and mentioned 2 weeks for something. She seemed more concerned than I was so a bit of a rat is starting to smell ...
I will ring his secretary as tbh when I
Stand alone on my bad leg and the other is off the floor it hurts . Pain still quite bad . He should have measured them
But I think he would have if I had mentioned it . I will just express my
Concerns . He is a nice man my surgeon but I don't want to hobble round like this ...in pain and lilting starboard . Thanks X
hope4cure hazel14263
Posted
That is a problem when the Cartilage is missing worn down 1/4" off before THR or completely gone as in some cases bone on bone worn into hip.in my case I had a bone graft to build up the hip bone area in order for the ball joint to be stabilized.
then legs are different in length before surgery. I wore lifts in my shoes until after THR until my body adjusted to the difference.
I