happy healthy hippy
A blog following my Triple Pelvic Osteotomy in January 2016
I've been a busy bee the past month so haven't had as much time to blog! Which is a good sign of course. I've finally ditched the crutch indoors and just using a stick lightly for longer distances outside. I've had the chance to really test out my hip recently and I'm happy to say it's done me proud! Here's what I've been up to the last couple of weeks:
1. Clocked up a lot of miles on a weekend city break with Andy. I managed 34,000 steps/15 miles with my crutch over 2 days. Never mind post op, that's probably the most I've walked in over 18 months! My whole body was aching afterwards but certainly no horrible deep groin pain! Yay! 2. Went to my friend's gig in a bar without any walking aid! I sat down for half the night but it was fun to be out and about with two free hands for the first time 🙌🏻 3. Had a little dance celebrating my friend's birthday on bank holiday Sunday! So much fun! 4. Walked our dog Max for half an hour without any walking aid. Pain wise, when I move about or walk, I'm still getting discomfort in my groin and back of thigh, tightness in my inner thigh, and stiffness in my lower back. I occasionally take paracetamol. When I'm outside, I feel I am walking for exercise/rehab, rather than pleasure. It doesn't feel smooth or natural yet. I know I need to just keep working at it though! I remind myself it can take 6-12 months to feel "normal" again. Functionally, I've noticed a big improvement recently, I'm not as restricted in my day to day activities or social stuff anymore which is amazing! 😄 I'm not going the gym as regularly as I've been focusing on building up my walking distance outside... especially as we've had some glorious spring weather! Some days I feel I could walk around all day, other days I have to scale back and laze about. Some days I can walk outside without any aid, other days I feel I need to grab my crutch for extra support. Some days I do hours of my physio exercises at home, other days my muscles fatigue quickly and give up! So I still take each day as it comes. It's not plain sailing yet but I'm heading in the right direction and I know I can do this... I just need to keep on trucking and slogging away!! 💪🏻 Andrea x
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I've been walking a month without an aid now. There has been a few days where I've used my crutch - for instance when I visited Conwy castle on a family weekend to Wales! Lots of steep steps and uneven surfaces plus rain made it a bit of a dodgy task.
Every day, I feel a bit more normal and stronger! I have been doing Pilates twice a week for 3 weeks (I started back my hot Pilates which I love!) and I can feel such a difference with my core - I can see my abs getting definition again! My leg feels more like my own, I can manoeuvre it without using my hands finally (except occasionally when I lift my hip past 90 degrees). My walking pace is increasing when I'm out and about, sometimes I try to challenge myself by walking as fast as I comfortably can or hill walking. I probably look very odd walking up and down the same hill three times, huffing and puffing. All in the name of rehab! What is reassuring is that I feel I still have a lot of potential to improve. What I mean is, I know I'm getting stronger, I can feel my buttock muscles actually increasing in size and they are aching the day after a good workout, yet I also know I'm still far from my full strength when I compare to my good/left leg. For example, when I'm walking at a fast pace I often lose my balance and trip myself up or go over on my ankle so I know my stability needs a lot more work. I see this as a positive thing though because my actual function is at a decent level now and I'm comfortable day to day despite not being at full strength. My long term goals are starting to seem more realistic- for instance, running. I know it's probably going to be another couple of months before I try a jog but it seems achievable. My goals are changing all the time. These are the things I currently have floating around my head: Short term goals: 1. Start my phased return at work in 2 weeks 2. Go to my friends wedding 3. Add weight to squats 4. Be able to stand on one leg whilst keep my pelvis and trunk straight and level 5. At Pilates be able to do scissors level 1 comfortably and knee rolls to the right Medium term goals: 1. Do my hot Pilates class without having to adapt any exercises 2. Go on a three day city break to Amsterdam in August and dance at a festival 3. Start jogging 4. Start body balance gym class Long term goals: 1. Snowboard 2. Run a half marathon 3. Go travelling I got a promotion before I went off for my operation so il be going back to a slightly different role with more responsibilities. New hip, new job! Fresh start and all that jazz. The last 12 months in work pre op was a struggle with my pain worsening all the time - I'm going back to work at the right time when I feel physically confident to do my role. It doesn't feel real the things I can do now. Sometimes it's like I'm cautiously waiting for the pain to kick in when I do something different. As much as it took time to adapt to not being able to do things when I was in pain, now I guess it will take time to get used to being able to do "normal" things again! Like dancing all night... which I did at the weekend for the first time comfortably! 🙌🏻 A big personal milestone for my recovery! I know I need to take it easy for a couple of days now, my body feels worn out and hip more sensitive but I think my joints/muscles/tendons etc are simply adapting to the new challenge! I had a lot to say there but fortunately it was all positive. For those reading this who are at the beginning of their recovery, trust me, it does get better. Even if it doesn't feel like it is going to, it will, keep the faith! Andrea X |
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