Rehab - Total Hip Replacement

Two Days Post Hip Replacement Surgery

LOL... Shakira video this morning as I woke up - "Hips don't lie." That is no joke as my hip was barking at me as I walked myself to the kitchen with my walker.  It's no lie. I was stiff and just standing straight was difficult...but doable. It's very amazing that there are no specific restrictions on movement after hip `replacement, I had the Anterior (from the front) surgery which I think is the most used these days as the posterior (from behind) goes through too many muscles. My understanding is that from the front they just move everything aside to get to the business end of the hip and then cut and drill bone and install titanium parts. Of course that's a layman's description.

I have my first physical therapy session today - movement is medicine. And as I convalesce, I'm keeping an eye on my law office. my assistant sees me reading and responding to emails and she wants to talk to me but I'm not doing that for a couple of weeks. I gotta get better.  

Still getting info about the Camino de Santiago hike and right now I'm not sure that 9 months from now I will be able to walk 400 km on my pilgrimage through Portugal and into Spain. But it is motivating and I need that goal and objective in front of me. My friend who had the same surgery told me that she was hiking in four weeks without the pain she experienced before hip replacement. So i'm keeping my eye on the ball and looking forward to that challenge along with other personal goals associated with the Camino. I have overcome quadruple by-pass heart surgery and now hip replacement and I should be good to go. it will happen. I will do it.    

So this morning, I have already walked around the house a couple of times with my walker and done several exercises as I didn't know the PT person was coming today. I imagine by the time PT is done with me I will be wiped out and ready to sit down and watch the Dodger game.

The first physical therapy session went well. Lots of intake questions. I am less that than 24 hours from my full hip replacement surgery, so its slow going, but amazing that I was immediately up and walking after surgery yesterday and today doing various exercises to wake up my muscles and keeping them active. And to my surprise, the pain in negligable and very manageable. No need for heavy pain killers, but some medication none the less. 

I would say primarily my bad leg (now a better leg) just doesn't work very well and the hardest thing is just picking up my left leg... can't do it right now. So walking is slow with small steps. That's my journey.