8 months post op – slow and steady

Brent

Hi all,

Just wanted to post an update for others interested in a recovery timeline. I’m 51 and had a right THR just over 8 1/2 months ago (8/2/21). My surgeon used ceramic ball with a CrossLinked Poly (CoP) cup. Prior to this I was an ultra runner so I knew recovery would take some patience.

Week 1
Recovery went as well as expected. First week I focused on allowing the swelling to come down – lots of icing and very short walks. Didn’t need a crutch or walker after the first week. Mostly used it for piece of mind that my hip wouldn’t suddenly give way going up and down the stairs.

Weeks 2-6
I concentrated on slowly building up my walking speed. Just focusing on my stride. Thankfully, my surgeon did an outstanding job as I didn’t have any leg discrepancies. I continued to ice after walks as some days it would be fairly sore. I think around week 3 or 4 the stitches came out which felt like such a relief.

Weeks 7-11
At about week 7 I was back in the pool, on the bike and elliptical. Around week 10 or 11 my hip started to feel somewhat normal. I wasn’t as pensive about putting weight on it. Started speeding up my walks – getting in about 3-5 miles a day. Glad I did it in the beginning of the fall as it was great walking weather. Winter in Minnesota is brutal otherwise.

Weeks 12 – present
For the past 5 months I’ve focused on building up my walking speed to roughly a 13:30 min/mile. That’s if I’m alternating some slow shuffles into the mix. I make sure to alternate with swimming and biking to allow the hip to rest. I also threw in a few days of cross country skiing as well and that felt pretty good.

So my big takeaway from all of this is to be patient. Honestly, I’m trying not to run until I’m at least 10 – 12 months from the surgery. From all my research the key take away is to allow for “in-growth” (allowing the hardware to meld with your bones as much as possible). I know there are many others on this board that also waited – I think that’s wise.

Time will tell how everything works out. I look forward to running again in the somewhat near future. In the meantime, if anyone has thoughts to share on when they started back to running I’m all ears.

Home › Forums › 8 months post op – slow and steady

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    • April 14, 2022 at 2:15 pm #20164
      Brent
      Participant

      Hi all, Just wanted to post an update for others interested in a recovery timeline. I’m 51 and had a right THR just over 8 1/2 months ago (8/2/21). My
      [See the full post at: 8 months post op – slow and steady]

    • April 14, 2022 at 7:13 pm #20167
      Hip Brother Tom
      Keymaster

      Awesome report Brent! Be Patient! Couldn’t say it much better. Stay optimistic, Listen to the hip, and beee patient!
      Hip Brother tom

      • April 15, 2022 at 3:04 pm #20173
        Brent
        Participant

        Thanks Tom. Your words ring true in my ears whenever I’m out for a walk. Just be patient!

    • April 15, 2022 at 4:22 am #20172
      OB
      Participant

      Hi Brent

      Thanks for update/status. It reminded me of my journey almost two years ago. I followed the same path back to running. I had my hip done at TCO in Edina and live just over the border in Wisconsin.

      I started adding back with short runs…what I call “parking lot shuffles” during my walks at about 4 months building from 10 strides up to about 100 strides. I would do this maybe 10 times during a 4 to 6 mile walk.

      6 months is when I committed to myself that I would start real running. I picked 6 months because that is what other fast THR runners in the Twin Cites suggested to me. I started as you would as a beginner runner with 1 minute runs and 1 minute walks until I got tired but not sore. I slowly built up over the next several months to 5/1 minutes run/walks with a total distance of 6 miles. I wasn’t concerned at all with pace.

      This past winter I lived in Atlanta with our daughter so was able to really start training targeting the Atlanta half marathon the end of feb….it was also that last race I did before my hip replacement in 2020. The Atlanta half is very hilly and it rained the entire race with 45 degree temps. I didn’t run fast, but I did run pain free this time around.

      I hope this helps as you start your journey back to running.

      • April 15, 2022 at 3:13 pm #20174
        Brent
        Participant

        Hey Ob,

        Funny, I had my hip done at TCO as well. Dr. Owen O’Neill. He did a fantastic job. You probably also used their “suite” services. Pretty nice to say the least.

        Thanks for your input. It’s great to see others that are thoughtful about healing and not rushing into things too fast. Parking lot shuffle is right on point. I’m tempted at times to pick it up but keep telling myself to “be patient” and concentrate on speed walking.

        Did you ever have any soreness as you were working up to running? I get occasional soreness after faster/longer walks. Mostly it is int the c-cup region/groin. Its right where the ball would meet the socket – on the front side of the hip. Nothing in the femur though. It could be scar tissue or it simply could be the additional stress of the components against my bones. Not sure but it is a reminder to back off and swim or bike instead. thoughts?

        thanks for your note!

    • April 16, 2022 at 3:41 am #20175
      OB
      Participant

      Cool Brent.

      Dr. Anseth did my surgery. Between 4-6 months prior to running I did a PT program not related to TCO. It was a series of strength building hip movements putting sideways stress on my new hip such as sideways banded walking. As a result, probably, when running I did not experience the soreness you are talking about. I did feel it early on going up stairs when lifting my leg to clear the stairs. Dr. Anseth did tell me if the Periforma started to hurt in the early stages, that I was overdoing it. The only pain I have now is when it is really cold outside (10 degrees f or colder) and I run, I get femur pain. So I try to avoid that and run on the TM or go someplace warmer in the winter:-)

      • April 20, 2022 at 2:16 pm #20178
        Brent
        Participant

        I met with Dr. Anseth about 2 years prior to discuss resurfacing vs THR. Long story short I wasn’t a candidate for resurfacing but he was great about answering all my questions. He is also a runner.

        Thanks for the advice concerning the sideways banded walking. I’ll have to work on that. I’ve been doing clams and leg raises but have neglected the resistance bands.

    • April 21, 2022 at 9:52 am #20179
      Coddfish
      Participant

      My surgery was September 21. I am not and never will be an ultra runner, or even a long distance runner. I am also never going to be fast. I did find I lost a lot of aerobic fitness during the period before and immediately after surgery, and that returning to gentle jogging helped enormously. I started a few tentative steps at running 3 months after surgery, and at 4 months after surgery used a Garmin 5k plan to get me back to running 5k comfortably.

      I am so glad I did. Shortly after starting the programme, I got a recall from a routine mammogram and find I have breast cancer. I am convinced the fact that I was happily running 5k and wanted to continue doing so made the BC operation (thankfully a wide area excision, not a mastectomy) easy to get through, I just needed 2 weeks out of running. Next step is to decide in consultation with the oncologist whether or not to have chemo, plus I definitely have to have 5 doses of radiotherapy. I want to be as fit as possible to get through this.

      So I guess my message is none of us know what’s around the corner, so if running matters to you, I probably wouldn’t keep on delaying. I know I am only running 5k slowly, but I have had absolutely no adverse effects. Quite the opposite, it’s helped in so many ways, including with the mental health aspects of what I am now going through.

    • April 26, 2022 at 11:54 am #20180
      Raymondo
      Participant

      I’m 7 months now after THR had both done now.Just started jogging again and it’s going well just going to keep at 5k.No more long distance running.Hopefully this will help me keep going for a good few years I’m 55 now.So go steady and it’s possible to get back doing what we love.

    • August 22, 2023 at 7:56 am #20703
      DF
      Participant

      Brent,
      So I just joined this site and I came across you post from over a year ago. But it has given me a good idea of what to look forward to. I had a left THR, ceramic on plastic in June 2023 and am about 10 weeks post surgery. My hip feels amazing! Although by the time of my surgery I was bone on bone so anything would feel better. I’d like to hear how you are doing now and what type of running you are able to do now. Great post!

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