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Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Ups and Downs

Now past week six post-op, I can agree with my doctor that hip surgery recovery will be up and down.
On Wednesday I felt great.
On Thursday my hip ached.
On Friday the pain was almost constant, just aching and throbbing a little.
On Saturday the pain vanished, and I felt not a twinge the whole day.
On Sunday I felt mostly wonderful, but some aggravation after a long walk.
On Monday I was in pain.
Ugh!

I'm plugging away at PT, and can now do:
- Bridges
- Squats (not all the way down)
Leg lifts
- Lunges (!!!) - believe it or not, they do not aggravate the hip, and are a great mild stretch to the hip flexor, as long as you keep the back leg totally straight and directly below the hip.
- Balance moves on half-bosu (or at home, a stack of pillows)
- Side leg lifts
- Wall sits

The better I am about PT, the better I feel, so I have been trying to get it in twice a day, although I occasionally slack off.

Last week I got a chance to talk to another runner who was having the same surgery. She had it this Friday; I spoke to her Wednesday (I just met her, but I know her boyfriend well). She had a lot of questions prior to the surgery, but I felt like I had NO helpful info for her - there is just so little consistent information out there about hip labral tear surgery! She is seeing the other hip specialist in town, Dr. Suri, and his post-op instructions differ hugely from those of my doctor (like, wearing a brace for only 10 days versus 6 weeks from my doc!).

I'm being patient with the ups and downs, because I was told to expect that. I'm just hoping that in time (but not too much time!) the ups overtake and leave behind the downs.

3 comments:

  1. Hang in there. If you are where your're supposed to be in recovery... the only thing left to do is wait!

    These logs of your surgery and recovery process will probably come in very useful one day to some other runner who has to get the same op. I don't know how common this surgery is, but the fact that there's no consistent info out there is bizarre.

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  2. Ups and downs but all moving in the right direction overall. I hope you are back out there sooner rather than later!

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  3. Hi, random person here - a runner friend of mine linked me to your blog/tags on the surgery. I'm a (not very good) weightlifter who just got diagnosed with a labral tear with some cartilage fraying - not horribly bad, but for over a year I've been feeling like someone was stabbing me in the ass with a knife when I did deep squats (there is no other kind really) and conventional deadlifts. So, thank you for sharing your experience - it's helpful as I face a possibly similar venture!

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