Post-Op recovery: 1 month milestone
It’s one month today since my hip revision surgery. I find this week 4-6 period of post-op recovery the most boring. The first week is mainly feeling ill and getting over the trauma. Weeks 2 and 3 are about getting more mobile as the swelling and pain subsides; balancing movement with rest. But the second three weeks can drag - I no longer feel ill, I’m not in a lot of pain, but I’m still really restricted in what I can and can’t do. My exercises are still quite restricted, I have to vary my sitting position too regularly to sit in one place for any length of time. And there's not much variety in the days. It's the boring phase!
For those who haven’t read a previous blog post, I had a full revision surgery of my 22 year old hip replacement, one month ago. I’ve had 13 surgeries all due to being born with bilateral hip dysplasia (CDH) with one hip socket missing along with a lot of my pelvis. You can listen to more of my history on this Steps Charity Podcast here.
So what am I up to every day?
Walking, always with crutches.
As well as continuing to march up and down the garden, I’m now also taking a walk around the block each day, on crutches. Walking is by far the best PT for post-op recovery. The surgeon was strict about using crutches for eight weeks, even indoors, and to date I’ve been using them together (ie both crutches go down together as I take weight on my operated leg). As of yesterday, my physio has added a small amount of walking in the garden using the crutches reciprocally, which means a bit more weight through each leg, and a bit more of a natural walking pattern. Sadly, I still can’t walk to the local cafe, as I can’t then sit down (chairs not high enough to meet the precaution height). Nor am I braving the local coop as there are too many ‘hazards’ like people, wet or uneven floors, baskets etc to feel safe. But the daily walk is enjoyable, and extends my bubble beyond the home.
Physio exercises, with some progression.
After a hip replacement you get one NHS physio appointment for post-op recovery and a pack to follow a standard progression plan. So I decided to use a private physio who has worked with me for the last 20 years. She knows my history (so we’re not starting from scratch with me having to explain how different my hips are). She also knows who my surgeon is and how he likes to work. And most importantly, she knows all the ways I can find to ‘cheat’ the movements I find most difficult! Over 50+ years I have become very creative in this regard, but that gets in the way of me exercising the muscles that actually need to learn to work properly. For someone like me, with a complex case, it’s important that the physio doesn’t expect to do much that’s standard, and can be bio-mechanically creative - ie find different positions or props that help me exercise the right muscles safely.
For the last two weeks exercises have been:
- Standing: Heel flexes, Hip abduction, Hip extension, and then standing on my operated leg (with crutches) and moving the other one into various positions (looks like an odd tap dance!) - so that I get comfortable with the left leg taking the weight and encouraging independent movement of each leg.
- Laying: knee/hip bends, hip abduction with knees bent, hip adduction with knees bent (pushing on a rolled towel) and pelvic tilts with knees bent (but still NO bridging allowed).
For the next 3 weeks this has progressed to:
- Laying: hip abduction and pelvic tilts
- Sitting (new position puts more weight through the hips): leg extensions and holds with ankle weights, hip adduction (squeezing a towel between my knees which works the glutes more sitting than laying, and standing from a perch position without using my arms (REALLY hard!)
Short bursts of reading, watching TV, writing, learning to paint :-)
It’s important to keep my brain busy. But I have to be super careful not to sit in one position for more than about 40 minutes. So things I can do in short bursts are good, where I can also switch position between my high seat chair vs. the bed with legs up. I was never an artist at school (I’m very literal, and my creative outlet was always music) but I’ve bought a small watercolour set and a book which is helping me learn to paint natural things like leaves and flowers. Don’t expect the gallery opening any time soon folks! But it’s a very relaxing thing to do.
Visits and calls from friends
I’m very grateful for everyone who has visited or arranged calls/zooms. It’s lovely to see people, hear about things other than my boring little daily routine, and just laugh and enjoy the company of people who I know well. It also adds some variety to my day and means I will still have some social skills by the time I go back to work or choir in the Autumn.
So these are the things, day-in, day-out, that stop me from getting too bored - which would lead to my doing too much, too soon. My surgeon has put the brakes during this initial period of post-op recovery for good reason. So I need to trust in that, until I see him in two weeks' time. Hopefully then I'll find out that everything is going OK and the new hip will have ‘set’ enough, with new bone forming to hold it in place securely. Then, hopefully, the handbrake will the released a bit to allow proper rehab to start - including hydrotherapy. And I'll be rewarded with a chance to see an Xray of my new hip for the first time - Xrays of my hips have always been how I understand and connect with my hip dysplasia.
So until then, thanks for reading this and for following my progress. Stay tuned for the next episode in a couple of weeks xx
Jill Pringle was born with bilateral hip dysplasia in 1971 in Sheffield, UK. She has had various childhood and adult surgeries on her hip and knee. She writes this blog to raise awareness of living with CDH/DDH and being a ‘differently-abled’ walker.
