Post hip replacement - back to riding questions

[frugalannie]

I read the thread about hip surgery, but have more questions about going back to riding post op.

I had an unscheduled dismount 10/1/13 resulting in dislocation of left femur and fracture of the femoral neck as well as a traumatic brain injury. Had a partial hip replacement, bony ingrowth type, and have just gotten back on a horse for a few minutes of walk this week after PT and surgeon OKing it.

I still get sharp pain just above the knee on my LT band and independently at the very front of the hip (I don’t quite know how to describe the place: in the crease between abdomen and thigh halfway between crotch and bone), and the latter hurts when riding. It feels like it’s all soft tissue when I palpate the area.

Can anyone suggest stretches/ massages/ exercises to help minimize these pains? PT has run out and Orthopod admits he is not great with soft tissue.

More info: the LT band problem is weird. I normally walk two miles a day and then do whatever else must be done pain free. This morning I vacuumed the house, and then the LT band fired, and now I can hardly walk the pain is so intense. I’ve tried a foam roller and Ibuprofen so far. Generally when this happens it lasts a full day, but is gone the next.

[Eclectic_Horseman]

[QUOTE=frugalannie;6883796]
I read the thread about hip surgery, but have more questions about going back to riding post op.

I had an unscheduled dismount 10/1/13 resulting in dislocation of left femur and fracture of the femoral neck as well as a traumatic brain injury. Had a partial hip replacement, bony ingrowth type, and have just gotten back on a horse for a few minutes of walk this week after PT and surgeon OKing it.

I still get sharp pain just above the knee on my LT band and independently at the very front of the hip (I don’t quite know how to describe the place: in the crease between abdomen and thigh halfway between crotch and bone), and the latter hurts when riding. It feels like it’s all soft tissue when I palpate the area.

Can anyone suggest stretches/ massages/ exercises to help minimize these pains? PT has run out and Orthopod admits he is not great with soft tissue.

More info: the LT band problem is weird. I normally walk two miles a day and then do whatever else must be done pain free. This morning I vacuumed the house, and then the LT band fired, and now I can hardly walk the pain is so intense. I’ve tried a foam roller and Ibuprofen so far. Generally when this happens it lasts a full day, but is gone the next.[/QUOTE]

Hi-
I didn’t have any soft tissue issues post THP, but mine was due to osteoarthritis and not an injury.

I do have pains in the areas that you describe. But these pains are due to spinal stenosis compressing the nerve roots at L2/L3 and L3/L4… An intense pain that comes on suddenly and goes away after 24 hours doesn’t sound like soft tissue to me. It sounds more like nerve pain–and no matter where you are feeling the pain-- the real cause may be to the nerve that serves that area.

Obviously your surgery differed and may have cut through muscle and tendon and scar tissue may be causing a problem somehow. But if it persists, I really think that you need a better diagnosis.

Good luck.

[flyracing]

I have similar types of pain (thr 11/15/12). I had poor range of motion, especially for an anterior approach. IT band aggravation and trochanteric bursitis is extremely common post op. it can hurt all the way into your knee. For me, after a second surgery this week, they discovered extensive heterotopic ossification that doesn’t show on X-ray because it is still in the cartilage stage. I also had scar tissue over a nerve that was cleaned up and prp put in the bursa. In rehab, they said my flexors and abductors where in a protective spasm. They did a couple of hours of gentle massage and passive range of motion and that increased my hip flexion from 90 degrees to 105 degrees that day. I was told being young (I’m in my 20’s) can sometimes lead to a much greater scar tissue response.

There’s some random food for thought for you

I hope your issues are all muscular and resolve quickly!