I’m very self-conscious that I still limp after a total hip replacement I had five months ago. Will this ever go away?
Muscle weakness is the usual cause of a limp while walking. Three to six months after a total hip replacement, the muscles around the hip are still only at 50 percent of normal. Limping is not unusual up until six months after the replacement.
Limping may even go on up to one year later. This is because joint strength and function are still only at 80 percent of normal. It’s important to keep doing your rehab exercises. By five months you should be able to move past the basic program and continue to improve your strength.
Try to get back to your favorite physical activities. Any nonimpact sports you enjoy will help keep you on track for full recovery. If you aren’t seeing some gradual improvement over time, ask your doctor if there are any special or unusual reasons why you are still limping. Perhaps you’re a good candidate for an updated rehab program.
For more information on this subject, call The Zehr Center for Orthopaedics at 239-596-0100 or visit www.zehrcenter.com.The information contained herein is compiled from a variety of sources. It may not be complete or timely. It does not cover all diseases, physical conditions, ailments or treatments. The information should NOT be used in place of visit with your healthcare provider, nor should you disregard the advice of your health care provider because of any information you read in this topic.
I just wanted to stress the importance of keeping up your exercises. I had my op in Oct 2009 and felt that once I’d started doing other types of exercise (static bike, swimming etc) I could drop the ones the physio gave me. I did and I started to get pains again. I know realise that the other exercises might be great but they aren’t specific enough. Keep going!
There is a possibility that your leg length may have changed. This often happens but by such a minute amount you’d never notice. It can also be that following surgery your legs are now the same length (which they weren’t before but by so little you weren’t aware of the discrepency) but now your pelvis needs to realign to accommodate the change