Oh how I love waking up every morning.
As I continue to recover from arthroscopic hip surgery in mid-July, I’m finding that each new day brings a new movement, or a movement performed better than the previous day. Like climbing or descending stairs. Picking things up from the floor. Getting in and out of the car. And riding the stationary bike. All done with near grace, and few groans!
Last week also marked a small milestone: I’ve progressed to Phase 2 of my physical therapy. This phase encompasses weeks 6 to 12.
The goals of Phase 2, according to the rehabilitation guidelines from the Hospital for Special Surgery, where the surgery was performed, are these: “normalize gait without assistive device (crutches have long been ditched!); 0/10 pain during ADLs (that’s shorthand for activities of daily living, and, yes, pain is minimal); core control during low-demand exercises; and adequate pelvic stability to meet demand of ADLs.”
So, finally, I actually feel as though I’m exercising! My physical therapist has introduced new exercises, like leg presses with weights and one-leg “step” balancing.
He’s even included some of the exercises that I did when I was in physical therapy last year (before I knew I had a torn hip labrum that needed surgical repair) like hip flexor stretches and the “bird dog,” which strengthens your abs and lower back and butt muscles while improving balance. It looks like this:
Hi Armando! I’m glad that you’ve turned the corner — it gives me hope. The marathon analogy is a good one, and one I should follow. My biggest problem is remembering to slow down: some days I feel nearly normal and try to do too much (like dancing at a concert!), but then at the end of the day I’m limping. Thanks again for reading. Stay in touch.
Hey….glad to hear you are on your way. This month will be my 8th post-op. I had ups and downs throughout. I think I really turned the corner this month. I just feel like my hips are square, by back is straight, my left knee dosent even hurt as much anymore (probably was over-compensating to this side during my year-long issue). I still feel a bit of soreness in the incision area, and I kind of feel it when the weather changes, but I think it’s less and less. Again, glad you are doing well….remember, it’s a marathon, not a sprint. As my PT guy said, you can always do the strength work any time, 1 or 2 or 3 years later (unrealistic, but I get his point)
Thanks for reading, Kathleen. It looks like a traditional leg press machine, though the weights are kept relatively low for now (no higher than 80 pounds).
Wow, leg presses? I’ve always found that leg presses aggravate my right hip. Is this the traditional leg press machine you’d find at the gym, Vivian?
And so nice you’re progressing well. Yay!
Thank you for your post, ACF, and for being a loyal reader. There are four phases to the physical therapy protocol, lasting a total of 16 weeks. The object of each phase is to continue to build strength in my legs and core area. It is my hope that I can start running again — or at least easing back into it — by the time I reach the final phase. I’ll keep you posted.
I know from this post and your July 31, 2011 post that there are at least 2 phases to your physical therapy. So I was wondering how many phases are there to your physical therapy and how many weeks before you have completed them? If there are additional phases, do you know yet what they entail? When will you be allowed to start running? Continued good progress with your recovery! ACF