Hip replacement operation.

Hi ALongColdWinter,

I’m really sorry you’re dealing with that — it sounds very frustrating.

I’m 61 and recently started having problems with my left hip and right knee, which made walking and sleep difficult.

I found that a short balneotherapy (thermal spa) treatment helped relax my joints and ease stiffness a bit.

I’m not a doctor, but gentle warmth, soaking, and light movement might be worth exploring alongside your GP’s advice.

Sometimes just a few sessions can make stiffness easier to manage, especially if joints are sore like mine.

Has anyone recommended a balneotherapy treatment to you?

I wasn't trying to get back on a horse -just normal life and my Aquafit classes. It was forced knee bending that did for my poor knee and led to such trouble. Re hip : no need for any exercises and, anyway, all the physios at the hospital had been made redundant. I have full range of movement in my replaced hip and no physio could have done more.

Aveline

MaizieD I've had both!! I've been around orthopaedics for years it seems.

OK. So which set of exercises gave you the problems you described? Were they for a hip or a knee replacement?

I do know for sure that walking and stairs wouldn't have been enough to get me back on a horse

All my ops have been done with a spinal anaesthetic and sedation. This worked very well.

My 90 year old friend had hip done last year with only local anaesthetic she has little memory of it but apparently was chatting throughout She says she remembered hearing a lot of banging, cracking noises and apparently asked what the building work was that was going on. 🤣 of course it was her own leg ….she’s had no after effects and has no pain

MaizieD I've had both!! I've been around orthopaedics for years it seems.

Oh, my last post is to Aveline

......I am talking about what I know. After the hospital physio exercises led to inflammation and adhesions I had to have a manipulation under anaesthetic. I looked at the NICE guidance and found that there was no evidence of efficacy for physio after knee replacement.

But we're talking about hip replacement here, not knee replacement. Can you clarify which you had?

I know that knees are different. I have only had one THR but I know from friends who've had TKR that there is quite a difference.

Ask to be referred as an NHS patient to a local private hospital. Much shorter wait. I work for an orthopaedic surgeon and the wait at the local NHS hospital 18 months, private hospital 2 months for initial appointment and then less that 3 months after for op. It's a very good service.

Yellowcanary - I cannot lie on my side at the moment but have learnt it is inflammation - called bursitis. It can be cured so please ask your doctor or a physio for a proper diagnosis and treatment. You can do a particular massage (get advice from a physio before you try this) and if that fails there is an injection which can sort it out.

I had my first hip replacement after 2 years waiting, 10 years ago in April, I was 54 - and my second one 2 years later (yesterday to the anniversary). Second one was in private hospital via NHS. After the first one people said I looked younger as I was out of pain. Did the exercises given on both times, recovery was slightly quicker second time - whether because of the private hospital or because I knew what to do that time.

On the whole out of pain but know it if I overdo it - the only thing is I can't lie on my side for any length of time as it's too uncomfortable so it is a bit more like the recovery position . It is also more awkward getting down to/up from the floor but again that could be my age (now 64).

Your poor DD Aveline. Was it caused by arthritis?
I still use my walking poles when out on a long walk. I probably always will. I'm 77 not 40.
I'm leading a walk for our group soon and tomorrow is the reccie.

My DD never used a stick at all after her hip replacement. She was only 40 but even so, a miracle recovery.

I was apprehensive in advance - but now am so grateful for my new hip! I did all the exercises afterwards - very important as they make your bone grow how you want it to, to fit with the new hip.
Now I walk without pain or a stick and am so glad and so grateful that I have had the surgery.

DrWatson I am talking about what I know. After the hospital physio exercises led to inflammation and adhesions I had to have a manipulation under anaesthetic. I looked at the NICE guidance and found that there was no evidence of efficacy for physio after knee replacement. I also discussed it with the consultant surgeon who also said that he would avoid these passive exercises after joint replacement.
Interestingly, when I returned to the same hospital for my next joint replacement, the physio dept had been closed down. Nuff said.
I would suggest that along with walking for rehab, people buy new shoes as they could have become worn down by their previous gait.

Totally agree about physio Although walking is very important. If whilst you were waiting for your op your gait became misaligned the physios can point you in the right direction to improve it It is something you don’t always realise yourself and it will help with the longevity of the new hip/hips.

For the OP, waiting times of course differ round the UK, like most things! I had to wait over 2 years for both mine to be done, the first one I got referred to a physio, then got near the top of the list, another chat (one of the operating team), and finally a pre-op. It was done at one of the best NHS sites in the UK, Oxford. I recall I went in early on a Sat, the op was lunchtime, I went home Monday teatime. It’s a magical thing, you wake up after the op, suddenly pain-free!

The second one was a similar pattern of assessment, but it was done at a private clinic, paid for by NHS (to ease the wait-list). That was 8 years ago, slightly different technique, a smaller scar, and the anaesthetic was targeted at the lower half of the body, trying to lessen the effect it has on your plumbing (they check your bladder every hour or so until they’re sure you are peeing OK again!). If they’ve by now reduced the problem by only using a local, wow, so much the better!

Now, whether it’s Aveline or anyone else spouting this wildly ill-informed tosh about “no need for exercises” – treat that with all the contempt it deserves! They will give you a set of exercises, do them religiously, in fact, try to exceed what they suggest! And they’re quite simple, you can do them in the kitchen (ours has handy worktops at the right height for support). Your body gets quite a shock during the op, muscles severely interfered with, so you need those exercise repetitions to get them back to normal asap. Walking alone does NOT help all the areas that need it!

I recall meeting a woman at a quiz night, she was on crutches, when I asked if she’d had an accident, she replied that it was due to a hip replacement (& 6 months earlier). I asked about the exercises, she said she HAD NOT DONE THEM . . . “what good would they do”?! I felt bound to tell her that I didn’t even need a stick for support, after a week, so yes they had done quite a lot of good!!

Oh, the physio folk will also guide you through using a stick or crutch to go up and down stairs (Able, Bad, Crutch to go up, and Crutch, Bad, Able to come down). And for basic walking, lots of people shuffle about with a stick, but using it incorrectly. You might also be advised about heights for chairs, and bed, and possibly get awarded a raised loo seat, though any or all of that might have changed by now. Jolly good luck – it’ll make an enormous change for you!

My husband has waited for a year …..but has op date for next week…we are now just hoping no cancellations.
It’s so hard to be waiting, but everyone is under such pressure
We are in E Midlands

To contact the consultant’s secretary, here, in Scotland, we call the main reception, and either ask to be connected to said secretary, or for the number you need to call.

I have had both mine done over the past three years. Only waited three months for the first one. I live in Suffolk.
It's one of the best decisions I have ever made. I walk 8 miles a day with my two dogs and I am pain free.

Predictive txt again should have said consultant

If you don’t know the name of your constituency don’t let that put you off. There is likely to be a pool of secretaries who will sort you out. Good luck

It’s miraculous! I have had both hips done privately as I was desperate. I had to wait for a CRTd (Pacemaker defibrillator) to be inserted and that pushed me way down the list. So as soon as I recovered from that, I was only had to wait a month. I just couldn’t wait any longer.
It’s truly life changing surgery or at least it was for me. I did all the exercises and really worked hard at the rehab.
I have total flexibility and can walk miles now.
I had a surgeon who uses a robot for insertion so it’s very precise. He also does not use staples. A friend had staples and found the removal very uncomfortable.

Both of my hips were replaced some time ago (left one 24 years ago when I was only 55; right 11 years ago; very early, because of undiagnosed hereditary hip dysplasia led to severe OA by the time I was 50) and I got my life back both times. Of course there's post-operative pain - it's a pretty brutal operation - but you just keep going, do the exercises and you soon find you can walk again without the awful pain you had. I live in London so the waiting lists are very long indeed - my first hip now needs 'revision' (re-doing) now but it's well worth waiting for. My sister had both of hers done much more recently with just sedation and made a rapid recovery. She, too, feels the replacements have changed her life. Go for it.

I had my right hip done pre Covid, I paid privately having been on a waiting list for many months I had got to the stage where I was popping painkillers every day and walking like a chimpanzee, with no quality of life, despite it taking me five years to repay the bank loan it was worth every penny, my op took longer than usual due to me having bone spurs where cartilage should have been which apparently had to be chipped off. I was walking with one stick within four days and using stairs. A bit of soreness for a couple of weeks, I now just get the odd twinge but I will never be sorry I had it done.