pain after hip replacement

You just described me! I'll be 8 wks Thursday and my PT seems surprised that I am still in pain. We are requesting an X-ray next week. One indicator I've been using to measure my progress (or lack of) is walking up/down stairs and "clams" in Pt. I can go DOWN the stain with some mild discomfort but I can't support myself enough to go UP the stairs. The clams in PT are very painful and I can only open my legs about 3 inches....

Hello!!   

I'm 14 weeks and still struggling to walk ....

I'm 49 and had a hip replacement for arthritis of my right hip 

My symptoms were lower back pain and hip stiffness 

Unfortunately my back is worse than before my op😩

The consultant says he hat my muscles are weak .. I'm doing all I can including resistance walking in the pool and hydrotherapy and acupuncture...

I just don't seem to be getting anywhere!  Maybe we are expecting too much too soon but I feel like I'm 90 years old some days and it's really effecting my self worth 

So...... although I can't help at least I can sympathise xxx

Take care xx

Amanda,

Sorry that you are having so much pain; but all of us are different and some take much longer to heal than others.  That being said, I went back to my hip doctor several times with pain and he always declared that everything was great with the THR.  I finally decided that despite all my pain being in my hip and leg, possibly they had been right when they said I had a lot wrong with my spine.  A surgeon over in Dallas had offered to fix my spine after I had the hip replaced.  I finally resorted to following that route.  I had 2 spine surgeries in 30 days working on the L4/L5/S1 and still have the severe pain in my hip and leg after sitting for a few minutes.  Still searching for a fix and have a spinal injection scheduled for 09/07/2017; hope it works, as when the pain hits, I can not put any weight on that leg.  But after I keep working at standing, then the pain goes away and I can walk unassisted.  There has got to be light at the end of the tunnel, so each of us "hippies" just keep on trying.  Good luck in finding your solution; please keep up with the posts.

William's pain sounded exactly like mine and maybe some of the other responders. My LHR went well and I was recovering well without too much pain. I started physical therapy and at about 2 ½ months post op, I began having a lot more pain when I first stood up. I would have to stand with pressure for a couple minutes before I dared walk. It seemed to keep getting worse and the pain more intense. I saw my surgeon and it appears to be an IT Band inflammation. This is normally a runner's issue, which I never have been. However digging around the internet I found it occurs in 20% of hip replacements, some to lesser degrees and some to more. My doctor felt along my hip line from top to knee area. I had a small lump or knot about 2" up, although I assume this could be in different spots along that line for others. I had not felt it as the pain radiated from my hip to my knee and I could not isolate it's exact location.  It seems this inflammation or injury happens when you give up your walking aids early before your muscles, particularly the glutinous Maximus have strengthened after being cut during surgery. I felt fine and was shopping etc and after a weekend of that and doing stairs at my daughter;s 2 story house it started. My surgeon gave me a steroid shot mid thigh on the edge. It was heaven, pain gone for two days. It did not last but it isolated the pain where I could tell exactly where it is. He told me to rest for 3 weeks, no PT, no stairs, walking as little as possible, the normal thing is to ice, elevate and take anti-inflammatories. I cannot take anti-inflammatories because of low kidney function and I am in 2nd week of resting in my recliner most of the day. I have to say it is improving although I am sure this is not strengthening those muscles, I guess that will come after we get this under control. I will go slower and be more careful for sure. Some tips that your hip muscles are still very weak. If you sit barefoot on a chair or toilet with no carpeting does your leg with the operated hip slide to one side a bit if you don;t make an effort for it not to?  Also do you limp with an uneven gait? You could be trying too hard and causing inflammation like mine. My hip itself didn't hurt and I was so anxious to get back to normal. It worked for awhile but then I started paying for it. I'm no longer in pain, sometimes when I get up I have no pain and can walk right away. Later in the day I get tired and have some of that again but remember I can;t take anti-inflammatories and am off pain pills.  Hopefully another 1 ½ weeks resting will get me back to where I was. I wish I had known as this really slowed recovery down and depressed me with pain. I do our laundry, I make the bed but mostly I sit in my recliner with legs up. I ice a time or two every day with a big gel ice pack I had from my knee replacement last year. It reaches from my hip to my knee. I see the surgeon again September 6th and hope this is gone. I am going crazy just sitting all day! Thankfully I am retired and don't have to get back to work. I can go slow. My surgeon told me the hip will heal with or without physical therapy (unlike the knee). He said for me to just take it slowly. I am 70 and had knee replacement on the same leg last year. I still need my right knee done badly and surgeon said x-rays of right hip were not much better. I thank my lucky stars it is not hurting me yet, I feel like I turned 69 and fell apart! Sure is depressing at times but hopefully it will all be for the best and eventually I will be painfree. I have learned a lot of hard lessons for the next ones. Good luck to all of you and keep in mind that your backside muscles are extremely weak even if they don;t feel like it. Go slow...your body needs to heal. 

hi mandy

so sorry to hear that ...

the way you describe the pain could be bursitis -- I was diagnosed at some point with trochanteric bursitis -

Maybe because I was trying too hard, doing too much too soon - determined to get "it" over with ... arghhh ..it does not work that way ... For the record though, the grinding pain is gone , right? Now you are dealing with tendons, muscles etc to heal - The hip heals itself without us helping it along - the x-ray showed that all is well with the hardware --- now more patience is asked of you for the rest of your body to adjust to the new -

It is frustrating, I know ... 

Make sure you are walking correctly - Many times I found myself getting sloppy, not finishing my step, a bit hunched over, limping because I walked too fast - 

Allow more time and still be kind to your self ...

you are getting there one step at a time ...

big warm hug

renee

Hi Amanda,

I'm almost 8 months post op and in severe pain. I'm having a long talk with the surgeon really soon. I'm trying to get my appt. sooner than the 14th of Sept.

I had my op three days before you  and I am still in some discomfort in my hip and thigh and my back is also a problem. It is occasionally like a toothache and then I worry! However, the pain is different form pre-op and I think that it is when I overdo things.

Like you I had hoped to be walking unaided and walking for longer distances by now. However, I do have better days and I have found that there is an improvement now that I have cut back on the exercises to once a day and am resting in between walking. Like others I felt that I plateaued after the first few weeks. Progress is slower than I had hoped and somewhat erratic. I am trying to get an appointment to see my GP as I have been discharged form the consultant. He told me that there should not be a lot of pain now and that I need to use support until I can walk without discomfort or a limp. The muscles take a long time to heal. If you are in constant pain then I think that you need some more advice. Best wishes.