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Birmingham Hip Resurfacing
Patient Journals, Michelle Gregory
Greetings, Dr. Rogerson! I thought I would drop a line to give an update on
how I am doing :) Well, I am doing excellent. I had an appointment today with
the PT for inserts for my shoes. While doing PT for my hip I had her work on my
right knee, which I was having a lot of problems with – more so then my left hip
now, LOL! Some of it is due to my leg length discrepancy, some of it is due to
how my foot rotates which locks up my heel and causes mechanical issues...so the
inserts should help. I guess all of the pain from my hip pretty much
overshadowed what was happening with my knee. So, we are just tweaking some
things a bit :)
I cannot believe how much better I feel each week. My boyfriend and other close
friends have noticed a change in my appearance because the pain lines in my face
are gone and that tight expression I had so gotten used to has gone. I keep
feeling better and better, which amazes me because I keep thinking WOW, I feel
good, then the next week rolls around and I say WOW, I feel even better then I
did last week!! I have to say I do notice the cold which I was hoping would go
away, but I suppose it will take time for that to resolve, or it may stay, I am
not sure about that.
If I sit for long periods I still am stiff when I get up and I limp for a few
steps until I loosen up. I work very hard to get up every 2 hours at the most
and take a walk. If I don't, I stay stiff longer, but as long as I get up and
move a bit, the stiffness resolves very quickly. I am doing great at the gym. I
started back on my work out routine with the exercises I can do right now. I am
up to doing 2.5 miles on the elliptical machine and strength training is back
full course. I just joined two classes at the gym that I never could do before.
I called first to check to make sure it would be okay. One is called F.I.T. and
it is a step aerobics with weights. It is 60 minutes on Thursday mornings. The
other is a Lift class that is more strength training then aerobics. It is 60
minutes on Tuesdays. I am back to logging my food and have a goal of loosing 1.5
lbs a week for the first 10 lbs.
I want to take the next 7 months to really work on getting in shape for biking
this spring and summer. I would like to ride several cross country races this
next year. It will be the first time in over 6 years that I will be riding pain
free!!! I am really looking forward to getting out on the trails. I already
learned a very hard lesson 6 weeks before surgery though and plan on not going
fast downhill. I got just a bit cocky and had a fall and scared the you know
what out of me. So, I really want to focus on climbing skills and easy downhill
paces. But just to be out on the trails to me is an amazing thing!
As for my
gait, I only limp a few steps if I am stiff or if I am not concentrating on
walking. My joke is that I cannot talk and walk at the same time. There is no
pain at all, it is all retraining those neuromuscular pathways from years of
limping. I have all of my co-workers trained to point out to me if I limp. As
soon as someone says something, I take a moment and the limp totally disappears.
I think that the whole retraining process will take me a bit longer then I
thought it would. But, I can do one leg quarter squats, balance on one leg at a
time and I can now do push ups again using the bench so I am at an angle. No hip
pain and I am slowly able to increase my reps. I started the week before at
three sets of 10 and now I am up to 12. I was up to 30 before surgery and I am
sure I will get back there fairly quickly but I am not pushing it. The last
thing I want to do is to go to fast and hurt myself. I am not sure what all is
normal at 10 weeks out but my workouts are back to 6 days a week. I can walk up
and down stairs without having to hold the handrail, although I still do for
safety. I have a lot of strength in my abductors but am still having to gain
strength in my adductors. I do my leg exercises every day, my classes I have are
great because we do some Pilates squats which really works the inside of my
thighs which right now seem to be my weakest area.
I really am very happy with
how well I am doing and the fact that I have no pain. If I overdo it, I know it,
but I pretty much now do not even think about my hip as far as day to day life.
I still am not bringing my leg up past 90 degrees but I can now bend my knee
while laying down and lay my leg out to the side and bring it back to center
which two weeks ago I could not do. I am really enjoying how much more I can do
each week, it is like having Christmas every week.....
There is one thing I would really love to try next spring after my 6 month mark.
I would love to ride a horse again. I rode dressage and did trail riding and
shows with my horse I had and I have really missed it. When I started having all
of my back pain before I found out what was wrong and that I would need surgery,
I had to place him. Him and I were together for 11 years and that was a hard
decision to make. I am not sure how my back will deal with it though. I think my
hip would be fine unless you feel horseback riding is not something I should
try. I would like to take a lesson and just see how it feels. I know I could
never do a sitting trot again, way to much impact on my back since my shock
absorber there is gone, but with my hip all healed I know I could post a trot
easily! I think a gaited horse would be pretty smooth, but I will have to wait
and find out. Do you have any patients that have gone back to equestrian
activities? I know it is really the risk of falling. I had that pounded into my
head from Dr. Flemming, the orthopedic surgeon who fixed my back. He let me know
there were some activities I just could not participate in again. He did not
want me to mountain bike anymore, but I just could not give up everything...I
hate road riding, I tried it, after two close calls with cars I went back to the
dirt. Rocks and trees do not cut in front of you...LOL. Besides, I gave up BMX
riding, snowboarding and softball.... I have a great full suspension bike set up
perfectly for me :) I'll have to send in a picture of me riding next summer :)
Needless to say, I am doing awesome and am very, very happy.
Thank you again so very much for helping me to have my life back. Thank you does
not really express how I am feeling and does not seem adequate, but it comes
from the heart. I cannot say enough how wonderful a team you have, both at the
office, the hospital and at HipHab. I hope that if you have another gathering
next year I can come and tell everyone what a wonderful experience I had! :)
Sincerely, Michelle Gregory
5/5/2008 |
