The Surgery
Post-surgery Week 1
Post-surgery Week 2
Post-surgery Week 3
Post-surgery Week 4
Post-surgery Week 5
Post-surgery Week 6
Week 7
Day 43 (Thur) – I intentionally walked around the office stiff legged today, to test the hip movement and to make sure I remember what it feels like to fully extend the leg. It seemed like a goofy thing to worry about but when you don’t use a limb for a month nothing really feels right when you start up again. I also noticed today that I have some hip discomfort when I walk backwards; I need to work on that. It’s because walking backwards stretches the hip flexors I’ve no doubt.
Day 44 (Fri) – Today was fun at PT: We changed the routine to include more machine/weight based exercises and less of the body weight ones. The Physical Therapist seemed pleased with my progress in strength and flexibility (though it’s not exactly by the book since I do more at home than in the office). When testing my range of motion we discovered that my left quad was very tight. He had to spend a few extra minutes working on it to improve the range of motion. I will definitely have to pay extra attention to stretching going forward.
I bought some exercise gear on the way home; a tube based resistance system for at house use, an inflated balance disk for balance training (already had one my sister loaned me), and a movie (to exercise my imagination. Heh). I weighed myself today: I’m down almost 3 pounds since the day of surgery. I am very sure that the weight loss is actually due to muscle loss along with a little fat gain as opposed to weight/fat loss; I feel soft and my waistline has expanded. I was rather pleased all evening that my leg/hip felt really good all day long, and I was moving better, after the morning’s physical therapy session.
Day 45 (Sat) – I didn’t tell anyone ahead of time but I had a little “personal” adventure planned for this morning: I woke up reasonably early, got dressed, watched and practiced my ChiRunning lesson 2, and then went to Wayne Bunker Park for a 2 mile walk. It would double last week’s long walk but I knew I could do it. I didn’t know how comfortable I would or wouldn’t be in the process but I knew I could accomplish the task.
The first mile felt very good; It easy to maintain focus on my ChiWalking form (keeping the crown of my head tall and my back straight but relaxed) and moving from my center/core (called the lower Dantain or energy center in the martial practice t’ai chi). The second mile wasn’t easy but I was able to refocus every time I felt myself drifting and adjust my form when I felt areas of discomfort.
The park setting and weather were so comfortable and peaceful that I really felt an emotional and mental release of stress. We don’t find nearly enough of those moments in life.
Day 46 (Sun) – I felt a little restless this morning while cleaning around the house so I hopped on the exercise bike for 20 minutes, stretched out, and then spent 3 minutes balancing on the stability disks. I think part of me wanted another day like yesterday but that moment was passed. The exercise was good enough to settle me down for the rest of the day.
I realized this afternoon that I’m still sometimes looking for my crutches when I get out of my recliner. It was rather amusing to catch myself doing that, 30 days of a repetitive action really does create a habit. hah
Day 47 (Mon) – I worried this morning that I’d hurt myself by carrying too much weight from the bus stop to my office with a full backpack and a heavy lunch bag, the outside of my left hip ached all day long. I think it’s more likely to be a result of the stormy weather though; my left arm does the same thing. It’s hard to fight off these worries and doubts, constantly worrying that some phantom pain is a signal that I’ve hurt myself again. I’ve gone through this before with my left arm, the humerus was crushed near the end of 2000 when I rolled my pickup truck in Idaho. I had several years of worry about damaging it again every time I lifted something heavy or landed heavily on it. It was a valid worry during the initial months of recovery, sure, that was why the doctor restricted how much I lifted. After he lifted all restrictions the bone was just as safe as all the other bones in my body. Now, with the labrum and bone repairs in my hip, I find myself developing the same types of worries. I’m pretty careful to follow the doctor’s orders and restrictions but when I push the envelope these things start creeping into my head. I’ll control these worries but I’m certainly not looking forward to them, especially when I try to live a normal life again.
It’s so tempting to defy instructions while doing my exercise walks: I just want to lean a tiny bit more, to move beyond my ChiWalking, and start to run. I know I have to be patient, it’s much too soon to subject my hip to that kind of pressure. In fact, my body is very quick to remind me that I can’t handle it just yet: While walking to the bus stop tonight I stumbled over something and had to take a hurried step forward to catch myself, my knee and hip both almost gave out.
Day 48 (Tue) – I have to wonder if my pronation habits have changed: One of the lingering issues I’ve had since being allowed to walk without crutches is that my left foot begins to ache quickly where the toes bend when stepping forward. Today I paid special attention to how I walked, how my foot moved, and landed. I felt as though I were pushing off more on the outside of the foot rather than the entirety of it. I will try to make sure the way I bend the foot and lift it off the ground is more evenly used by being sure I feel the big toe during the process. It’s really hard to tell if I’m right or wrong in this but I need to trust my instincts.
Day 49 (Wed) – Week 7 done and gone, how time flies; I even forget sometimes that it’s only been a little over 2 weeks that I’ve been allowed walk without the use of crutches.
I know I have a lot of healing yet to do, and a lot of strength to regain, but it’s hard to not be impatient. It’s also hard to face how much longer I have to go through the frustration and ever-changing aches and pains. I’m usually pretty good at taking the world as it comes at me, especially since so much is beyond my control, some days I’d just rather have the easy route before me rather than the long climb. Still, this is the way life is and it’s what I must live with.
I have to laugh at myself knowing that I’m going to do this to myself again.
ChiRunning School web page
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