Re: Anybody have Resurfacing done a few years ago?

[Guest guest]

Hey

This group will be a lot more dull once you and Steve return to work.

I don't mean to be a downer, but 3 to 6 weeks post op was a tough

period for me. I wasn't physically healed enough to do much

rehab, and my former activities and lifestyle were still very much

out of reach. Accommodating the restrictions and limitations and the

lack of a familiar routine wore on me. Who's handicapped body

was I stuck in? I don't recognize it. It doesn't work well.

Why wasn't all that huge hassle called surgery paying off? I

don't do well being a couch potato and wanted my exercise fix. I

worked my tail off pre-op getting my buttocks, hamstring and

abductors as strong as possible and it appeared it was all for

naught. I was being blocked from being vital again. I struggled

mentally and emotionally. I went back to my desk job at 3 weeks and

felt `off' even though it was a welcome change from hanging

around the house. Though the social interaction helped, my thought

process remained muddled. What made it worse is outsiders are rarely

welcome to my inner thoughts and I needed to self-heal mentally more

so than physically. Even when I began to recover physically, I had

limited control over my mental and emotional recovery. It was an

effort not to let myself go into a downward spiral.

The good news is this period was temporary. Things get better, and

they get better at their own pace. I tried, but I didn't have

much control over the process. 6 – 9 weeks was my milestone

period where many restrictions fall away and you can at last identify

a little with your pre-op life. Until then, I acknowledged the

little gains: going off-coumadin so I could enjoy my first micro brew

in over a month and using lettuce in my sandwich again, ted hose off

during the daytime, going to the gym to at least work my upper body,

getting a decent night's sleep.

I began PT on my own. I'm not recommending going against

doctor's orders mind you, but I did things pretty early. I felt

getting the blood flowing in the hip was important. Fortunately I

could get a lift to the local health club. I tried various machines

keeping the 90 degree rule in mind. I was on an upright life cycle

at 9 days post op for a couple of minutes at level 2. I used it

every other day, increasing my time and level. Some leg machines,

even on their lightest settings, were too tough until 5+ weeks. But

the ones I could do beginning at 3 weeks paid off by increasing my

strength. Leg extensions were the easiest, leg presses and abductors

the toughest, with leg curls and buttocks machines somewhere in the

middle. I worked them every 2 or 3 days and added the more difficult

machines as my strength dictated. I used exercise bands attached to

my ankle for hamstring and abductors until I was strong enough to use

weight machines for these muscles. I worked in the elliptical

machine and stairmaster with the life cycle. I also work my abs and

upper body, as much to give my leg a rest as to keep them in shape.

I never really stretched my leg before the 6 week mark. I listened

to my body as much as possible as to how much to do, but yes, I also

overdid it more than once. Then I iced my hip for 12-15 minutes

every two hours until the swelling or pain died down. I'm no

physical therapist, but keeping the blood flowing in the hip through

light exercise accelerated my healing, and the increased stability

from stronger muscles is a big deal. The few times I overdid it

didn't cause any lasting damage. Exercise also improved my sleep

and helped me out of my muddled mental state. But it doesn't'

come in a day, or a week. This takes time. I'm 12 weeks post op

today and have about 80-85 percent of my strength back but only 60

percent of my range of motion.

So I guess this roller coaster period your in is simply part

of the healing process. Some days are still better than others but I

try to acknowledge and be thankful for the return of everything I was

deprived of by my pre-op condition or by my surgery. It won't be

long until all your current hardships start to fade and be replaced

by all the neat things you long to do again.

Sorry about running on so - didn't mean this to be so lengthy.

Let me know if you're looking for more specific recommendations.

Dave

> > > I am curious if anybody out there had their resurf (or know of

> > > somebody I could contact who had their resurf) done a few years

> ago

> > > rather than months? In the spirit of research I am wondering

> how

> > > people are doing 5+ years out.

> > >

> > > Thanks (still deciding what to do - THR v. Resurfacing)