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My surgeon, who told me *no running*, told me that race walking was fine. It doesn’t have the impact of running.
P.S.: I run anyways.
Hoppie
Dear NJ Runner,
I think it is normal for you to still have swelling at this stage. I had swelling when I exercised that leg for many months. Whoever told you that you’d be back to normal in 3 months was mistaken. It took me 3 months to be able to walk 5K, and it took me a year to be able to run. The recovery period for a THR is about 1 year, and full bone remodeling can take 1-2 years. I am 22 months out and still experiencing improvements. You are more than 3 months out, so you can go to PT for strengthening exercises, as opposed to gait training. I went back to PT at 7 months post op, because I could not run. I remember my PT expressing his complete annoyance at how many surgeons discouraged their patients from PT, as it is essential to get the best recovery that you can.
Good luck, and keep us posted.
-HoppieI am 18 months post op, and my experience was similar to yours.
I went back to physical therapy 7 months post op because I could not run. My PT said I had muscle imbalances: strong quads and hamstrings from all the walking I had done, and weak muscles on the sides of my thigh. We did a lot of strengthening exercises and some stretching. It took a couple of months, but I can now run. Just did my first actual race yesterday.
Hoppie
Hi Ollie,
I agree with Tom’s recommendation to get a second opinion. You might also want to consult with a different physical therapist. I know from my own experience with my hip that not all PT’s are equally skilled in all injuries, and a different PT may see something that your current PT does not.
My own story is that it took me a year after surgery to be able to run. In order to do that, I had to go back for an additional 3 months of PT 7 months after surgery.
Good luck, and keep us posted.
Hoppie
Thanks, Janice. I actually wonder if the long incision and the fact that it’s a second surgery are related. I suspect that the surgeon had trouble getting the screws from the surgery out, and that’s one of the reasons my incision is longer. My operation ran quite long–it was supposed to be a 45-minute surgery, but it ended up being 2 hours. (Yikes!) My first surgery was certainly easier to recover from, but that was only a 2 1/2-inch incision.
Hello! This group is on Facebook. Here’s the link: https://www.facebook.com/hiprunner
We are all different.
I am 6 months post op and today was the first day I could run a few steps without it feeling too weird. I tried a month ago, and the foot on my operated leg wanted to pigeon toe in and my entire thigh hurt for a day. And that was after only about a dozen steps.
I decided to wait a month and try again. Today I tried the same dozen steps, and my thigh muscles feel OK tonight.
It seems to me–and this is just my observation, nothing scientific–that people who have anterior surgery can return to running sooner than those who had posterior. I had posterior.
–Hoppie
Thanks, OB. Starting with 10 steps sounds like a good idea. Did you build up your running by yourself, or did you go to PT/athletic training?
-Hoppie
Thanks, Tom. I am encouraged by the success of folks here to try a little running. Not yet– I’ll wait until the swelling has completely gone down because I think running would aggravate it. But you are so right about quality of life. I don’t like the idea of having running taken away from me if in fact it would be OK for me to do it. So I’ll give it a try when the time is right.
-HoppieThank you, Pete! Not only is there a lot of information here, but the links in the footnotes led me to even more good information!
Thanks, Pete! It’s interesting that you found a paper on dual mobility implants which had been removed; I didn’t find anything like that when I was doing my pre-op research. If you still have that link handy, I’d love to read it.
I’m doing lots of walking now, about an hour a day. Power walking is up next; I hope that the swelling around the incision has gone down enough to tolerate the addition stress of the power walking.
Cheers,
Hoppie
