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Pain on weight bearing 10 weeks after hip fracture repair

Posted , 20 users are following.

RrnR
RrnR

I had a femoral neck fracture 10 weeks ago and a dynamic hip screw repair.  I am still needing two crutches to walk and cannot full-weight-bear on the affected leg without considerable pain.  I wasn't expecting this long. Can anyone comment please?

5 likes, 62 replies

62 Replies

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  • AnnieK
    AnnieK RrnR

    Posted

    Hello, RrnR! Most of us have had total hip replacements, and there may not be any people who have had your particular procedure who are active on the forum right now. For a THR the femur is cut off and a prosthesis is pushed down into the femur giving us a new femoral head. So there are some similarities, to be sure. Most people who have THRs are able to walk without aids within 6 - 12 weeks, some even sooner. Some people have complications (like me!) and have soft tissue damage that requires either surgical repair or a longer recovery time.

    Your surgeon should have given you some guidance about when you would be allowed to weight bear, when you should be able to weight bear, and when you can expect to ditch your crutches. I'd be contacting my surgeon with these questions, if I were you. Having that much pain at this point would be a big worry to me and I'd certainy be telling my surgeon about it. Be persistent. I had to go for a second opinion to get my complications diagnosed and a plan for treatment.

  • renee01952
    renee01952 RrnR

    Posted

    hi RrnR,

    welcome to this wonderful forum of hippies. ...

    interesting....

    did you have a follow up appointment? with thr a follow up appointment is usally scheduled around 6 weeks post-op. ..

    you had a fracture and repair and I agree with Annie that your surgeon should have told you. ...

    Please let us know how you're getting on. .

    big warm hug

    Renee 🐱

    • RrnR
      RrnR renee01952

      Posted

      Hi Renee (and AnnieK),

      Thanks for your responses.  I did see the ortho at 6 weeks, but at that stage there was more stuff going on (I had existing neuropathic pain issues form chemo 10 years ago).  I've had 3 weeks of physio now and things are starting to setle down, so I am starting to notice stuff more, and it just occurred to me that everything had settled down apart from the weight bearing thing.  I have another ortho appt in 2 weeks so I will quiz him then.

    • AnnieK
      AnnieK RrnR

      Posted

      It's good you will be able to ask the expert in two weeks! Hope things improve soon.
  • annie.conway
    annie.conway RrnR

    Posted

    I'm so glad (sort of) to hear I'm not alone in this boat of not being able to place any weight on my right hip. I can't straighten that hip either, which makes the one leg shorter than the other.
    • RrnR
      RrnR annie.conway

      Posted

      Hi Annie,

      Thanks for your comment. Are you a THR or a fracture like me?

    • AnnieK
      AnnieK annie.conway

      Posted

      Annie C, so you still can't put weight on your right leg? How far out are you now? Hope you can see your surgeon soon, as that just doesn't sound right to me. Almost everyone who is allowed to weight bear from the beginning is able to do that to some degree, at least. Take care...
    • annie.conway
      annie.conway AnnieK

      Posted

      Nope. Sharp pain inside the hip joint and groin when I try to put weight on. Sometimes extends to the top of the right buttock. Seeing the surgeon again on 6th May. The last time I saw him he said I should be able to be off crutches by now.... But for now he's gone on holiday so we hurry up and wait. Strange how good we become at that 😊. Absolutely no improvement on the right hip.
    • AnnieK
      AnnieK annie.conway

      Posted

      So he is gone for almost a month on vacation? I think that your situation is one that should warrant an immediate appointment. I am not a medical professional, but the fact that your right leg is still totally non-functional and has sharp pain when you try to use it, sounds very serious! In my area, if your surgeon isn't available and you absolutely need to be seen, there is always another doctor in the practice who can see you. 
    • annie.conway
      annie.conway AnnieK

      Posted

      Ah, I've become rather fatalistic about it. Rather let the guy who did the job see things through. Not long now.

      He's actually not on holiday all this time - some holiday, some conference, passover (?) etc and you have nearly a month gone ....

    • AnnieK
      AnnieK annie.conway

      Posted

      Well, I am very sorry for your long wait. Good for you for hanging in there!
    • RrnR
      RrnR annie.conway

      Posted

      Two at once,  Wow.  It must have been murder for the first few days.  I can't image that.  I'm disabled in my R leg so I was lucky that I broke by R hip - I'd be seriously out of action if I broke the L one.
  • annie.conway
    annie.conway RrnR

    Posted

    Have you been to a physiotherapist for an opinion? That would be my first port of call. My physio told me that the muscles in my right hip are in spasm. She worked on it some, but very cautiously. It didn't help much, but at least I know what the problem is.
    • RrnR
      RrnR annie.conway

      Posted

      I'm in physio at the moment and I talked to him yesterday about this.  He reckons its muscular in origin as well.  I'm reassured, and I see the ortho in a couple of weeks. 
    • annie.conway
      annie.conway RrnR

      Posted

      But what did the therapist suggest you do about it RrnR?
    • RrnR
      RrnR annie.conway

      Posted

      Grin and bear it...!  I have an existing neuropathic pain syndrome and partial paralysis on my R side anyway (legacy of chemo 10 years ago) so he is of the opinion I should start pushing into the pain envelope if we want to progress.

       

    • AlexandriaGizmo
      AlexandriaGizmo RrnR

      Posted

      Did you manage to become pain free on weight bearing, would be good to know as I'm 12 weeks post fracture and although I have just started weight bearing its not bad when doing it or exercising its after when I sit down, any advice from anyone would be good.

      Thanks

    • RrnR
      RrnR AlexandriaGizmo

      Posted

      Hi Alexandria

      Well, I'm now 8 months post hip repair and I've only just graduated to one crutch.  I have one physio appointment every week or so, and also use the gym equipment at the physio at other times.  I usually do 10 mins cycling and 10 minutes leg presses (all pretty gentle) and then a bit of walking in front of the mirror to try to correct my "bent" posture.

      I still can'y weight bear fully on the R leg without pain but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now.

      I spent a long time worrying that the pain was due to sinister things going on with the repair, but I've now accepted that all my pain is muscular in origin.  I think my recovery is taking so long because my leg was in very poor condition to start with (as far as muscles go).

      The positive is that every week I see a very small improvement.  I have a pretty switched on physio.

      Very best wishes for your rehab.

      Ross

    • AlexandriaGizmo
      AlexandriaGizmo RrnR

      Posted

      Thanks Ross for coming back to me, although I didn't have op it was still a hip and pelvic fracture, it has seemed a long process but after reading all the stories etc I'm still glad I chose the conservative route,

      So glad also you are starting to improve, my friend did point out to me today that hip fractures are a great trauma and its bound to hurt and after reading your comments I feel a bit less anxious, my heart goes out to some on hear who have it seems gone through some horrendous ordeals, thanks again, would be good if u kept us posted. It does help.

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