Yesterday marked 6 months from my hip replacement. So today I celebrated by biking 29 miles (almost all hills). My hips are definitely feeling better than they have for years. All that remains is range-of-motion and even that seems to have been improving lately.
It has been quite a while since I have posted anything to this blog. I blame software limitations that have made it more difficult to post. But the real problem is that I have been very busy and also just haven’t seen any spikes in my progress worth reporting. But since it has been so long since I have written anything here, I am happy to report that I am MUCH better than a few months ago!
I have been going to the gym 1 to 3 times each week. My arms are stronger than they have ever been. But my legs are still off their peak. But mostly it is just a range-of-motion issue now. Limited range leg presses are fine, for example. My left side is no longer showing any noticeable lack of strength as compared to my right. But the flexibility disparity is still sustantial.
I have also been biking a lot. I invested in a used road bike, since my mountain bike was just slowing me down way too much on the longer distance road rides I’ve been going on. I’ve been putting in about 40-50 miles each week recently. I have a 50 mile charity bike ride in July. My goal is to do significantly better than my time last year. I am pretty sure I will. I am feeling SO much better than this time last year.
I have also been increasing my Karate training intensity and frequency. I still can’t do many kicks above hip height. But at least my form and strength are coming back. My lack of flexibility is frustrating. But I do continue to improve in almost all areas from week-to-week. Small gains; but better than nothing.
Today marks 3 months from the day I had my hip replacement. I am certainly not completely healed but I have made a lot of progress.
I wouldn’t call what I have been experiencing “pain” but have had my share of “discomfort.” Basically, the biggest limiting factor in my recovery has been, and continues to be, range-of-motion. At this point, I have regained the majority of my strength (80-90% on my left side as compared to what I can do on my right side, which of course is also not perfect). But although I have put a lot of effort into increasing my flexibility, I haven’t reached the point where I think I should be. I do feel that I have increased my flexibility a little each week. But the progress is very slow at this point and makes me wonder if I will ever be able to do high kicks and low stances again…
I went in for my 6(+) week post-op appointment with my surgeon. He looked me over and proclaimed that I was recovering just fine and no longer needed to be as concerned as I have been. I still need to make sure to restrict certain movements, primarily to minimize the risk of dislocation. But he said I do not need to go to physical therapy anymore (I only had 3 visits since the operation this time, but have put in nearly 100 hours altogether since my first operation over a year ago). He showed me the Xray and I was a little surprised to see not one but TWO screws securing the plastic cup to my hip socket (acetabulum). He explained that these are titanium screws that cannot be purchased at our local Home Depot, and that they are put into place using a hex-screwdriver. I no longer need to wear those anti-embolism (blood-clotting) stockings. I was so glad to throw those away.
After making his explanations and answering a few questions I had, the doctor then asked me if I would be willing to speak with another patient who had yet to have surgery. I met this guy out in the waiting room. He had been doing Judo for a long time and apparently all the falls had taken their toll. I gave him my thoughts, making sure he didn’t confuse me with a doctor. Basically, I said that at 50, wouldn’t he rather make the most of his body NOW, as opposed to waiting it out for another 20-30 years and getting a possibly more permanent fix when he couldn’t really make use of it anymore?
I went in for my 2nd physical therapy appointment this afternoon. We did various exercises and they checked my range-of-motion, strength, etc. All was good and, as usual, they were impressed but I was not. The exercises weren’t much of a challenge, apart from the range-of-motion portion at times. The only thing that hurt was when the therapist massaged my scar. I had been minimizing contact with that area but she explained that this massage (“massage” probably isn’t the best word… more like “torture-like poking and squeezing”) was good for the healing process. The scar is quite obvious. The little staple holes are clear on both sides of the thick line about 8″ long.
I am no longer limping. My appetite has returned and I’m back to my usual overly-hectic schedule. But I’m still being very careful not to go beyond the limits set forth by the doctor. The swelling is still evident but much less than just a few days ago. My range of motion is slowly improving. I know that I could bend past 90 degrees at my hip but am only limiting that movement as per instructions from the Dr. The movement of my leg outward, away from my body (abduction) is still very limited. I am working on that through stretches such as horizontal (laying on my back) “butterflies” (no bouncing) and an exercise prescribed by my physical therapist where I lie on my non-operative (right) side and with my knees bent and pillow between them and lift my left knee upward and hold for 5 seconds per repetition. I can feel the strength returning in my hip/leg. Things are definitely improving and it feels good to see definite progress almost every day.
After having dipped down from my usual 150lbs to just above 141 last week, I am now back up to about 145. The swelling and tightness in my quads continues to appear at the end of the day. But I think my limp has become less apparent and am getting some more flexibility (gently pushing knee out to the side). I set up an appointment with the physical therapist for this Wednesday afternoon.
For the past few days, I haven’t really been using crutches inside and sometimes not even outside. I am VERY slow and cautious. I got a cane and may use that instead for outside for a while. But it’s really not necessary. It does help promote good biomechanics, though. So I am going to continue to use cane or crutch often. I still have some swelling in my leg and a lot of fatigue and feel tired most of the time. I took 2 short naps today, even though I slept about 7 hours last night. For a guy who usually gets less than 5 hrs of sleep each night, I have been sleeping a lot. My apetite still hasn’t completely come back, primarily due to my relative inactivity. I lost 6 pounds by early this weekend as compared to before the surgery and am slowly bringing my weight back up. I am working on strength and flexibility but being very careful and gradual about it.
I had a relatively good sleep last night. I went to bed before 11pm (what an exciting New Year’s, right?) and got up around 8am. Of those 9 hours, I probably slept for more than 6. That is the best ratio I’ve had since the operation. I spent quite a bit of time today on 1 crutch and also with no crutches. I will continue to use them as I go out. But I am definitely feeling like I am recovering well.
Nothing significant to report today, other than that I slept much better and am feeling a little more mobile and better overall. I worked from home today. I had to take frequent breaks to move around. But otherwise I had no real problems.