Weeks 7 to 12
I had an excellent follow up appointment with Mr Bajwa who was pleased with my progress. He suggested that until week 16 that I should stick to double leg weight bearing strengthening avoiding any deep hip flexion and single leg weight bearing.
I found this period certainly more challenging having returned to work and now doing usual long hours. The front of my hip was easily inflamed, aggravated by sitting on a chair of normal height, going up and down the stairs frequently, getting on and off the floor with clients and driving.
Pain levels increased and I was forced to take strong anti-inflammatories at the end of the day more frequently than in the first 6 weeks post op. I was certainly very tired by the end of the day and did not feel like doing much once I had got home from work.
Strengthening exercises were reduced to 3 x per week. I managed to get to the pool to swim front crawl for 2 x hour sessions per week and 30 mins easy pedalling on the Watt bike at weekends when I wasn’t working. I decided not to go for walks after work, as I had been on my feet for long enough and really did not want to provoke the joint more.
Mentally, I found these few weeks tough as there was little measured progress. Was I going to get back to the level of function I had prior to my op ??????????????
Weeks 13 to 16
My hip really started to settle within this period. The front of my hip was much less painful and I could go about my working activities without too much discomfort or difficulty.
I could walk up to 5 k with a normal stride length and sitting on a normal height chair was tolerable.
I could now use my road bike and at week 14 I managed a 30 mile undulating ride without any after effects other than the normal overall stiffness !
I am not quite back to my pre- op level of function. My range of movement is still restricted into flexion and external rotation (pain) and I am working on gradually improving my walking tolerance. I remain very optimistic that there will be further improvement with more time.
