Post op physio management

[Guest guest]

Hi Eleanor,

You raise important points which are supported by Dan's email...........

That was a very good way of putting it Dan and I am going to bring this to

my son's attention - he is at Uni attached to a dept training young ones in

muscle exercise and fitness etc............

I don't know whether it is the nature of some of it or not but quite a few

of us seem to be travelling long journeys to get these hips which isn't

helping with follow up post op treatment physio wise.............. Often the

best surgeons are very busy surgeons too......... with the strange thing

that as you say many $1,000's are spent on the op with little after care

think through...........and many of us have a complex range of related

hassles mainly centering on our backs and sometimes our knees...........

These 2 areas being those most upset by hip problems.......... Mine extend

to arms because of the long time I was left to deal with this myself and

believe me it gets quite frustrating........

My OS put a condition on the op that I spent a fortnight in a Rehab hospital

afterwards and a fortnight near by.......... Well I lasted 10 days and could

see I need a lot of general recovery before much rehab was going to do me

much good so I cleared out the 1000 plus miles and came home......... The

Rehab hospital did clear that and actually suggest that there was little

they could do with the likes of me............ I half suspect that a

fortnight spent there now 18 months later would be of more

value.............

Perhaps we could start by making some suggestions to Corin managers through

their web site that we as a group feel that the recovery issues are being

neglected........... They would be the ones speaking with surgeons and

health officials - thus in a position to suggest changes with more chance of

success. And again it would be in their best interests to have better

outcomes from the implant of their prothesis...........

> For those who are new to this site---the 'turtles group' is for those of

> us who not only can't do karate within a week of their op, but who can

> be limping along months post-op with various aches and pains and

> difficulties, but who none-the-less know that we'll get there in the

> end. We tend to worry that we're going to put people off by writing

> about our difficulties, but be rest assured that the majority on this

> site who have resurfacing are very soon pretty pain-free and progress at

> a steady normal pace to finding a new active life (even without managing

> karate and especially bungee jumping!).

>

> So-back to my original query---who has expertise in post-operative

> difficulties? Several of us with 'problems' have been e-mailing on and

> off the site to each other. One thing that has become apparent is that

> it is difficult to know where to go for an assessment or more complete

> understanding of why we might be struggling. How interested and/or

> knowledgeable are surgeons about difficult recoveries? Should they be

> more interested or is this not really their area of speciality? Is this

> really more the area of the physiotherapist on the medical team? When

> is it appropriate to get referred to other specialists---neurologist/

> spinal specialists? I am in the UK and use alternative therapists a lot

> for my difficulties, but if I didn't have money to do so, could I get a

> referral? Has there been any evaluation of this? Is aftercare

> different in the US and Australia than in Britain, and, if so, in what

> way?

>

> Sorry---this is all rather garbled, but it doesn't feel like there is a

> clear path, just trial and error.

>

> And, perhaps, that is how it should be, because, of course, everyone's

> body is different and I know there is a lot of trial and error when

> working through difficulties. But, (as I've raised here before) I do

> wonder if there have been any detailed studies about turtle

> problems-slow recoverers? It would be interesting to look at the

> difference certain variables might make---gender, age, problems pre-op,

> surgical technique, exercise pre and post op---I'm sure there must be

> others.

>

> And thank you, once again, to all those 'turtles' much further down the

> line who have given me faith that all will eventually be well.

>

> Eleanor

>

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