A bit more activity and a little less pain

Yesterday I walked the kids and the dog down to the shops which is probably a 2km or so round trip. I found I couldn't really stride out but took it easy nonetheless. I did 15 minutes on the exercise bike and the isometric quadratus muscle exercises and felt quite good.

Today I led an excursion with my colleagues around the region looking at the local geology. It involved some walking and climbing the steps of the fire tower on Mt Buninyong. I am feeling ok now but can tell I've done a bit as the hips have that old familiar burning feeling.

In saying that, I had a crack at air drums using my kids' limbs as drum sticks to Iron Maiden's 2 Minutes to Midnight. It's lots of fun and the kids think it's hilarious. Hips survived! Ha!

I reckon sitting on a hard wooden chair, such as the one I am on now, is when I start to feel at my worst. Note to self: I recommend looking after your hips with a pillow when sitting on hard chairs.

Be careful not to sit around after physio

Had an appointment with my physio today who worked on my back and upper gluteals while we chewed the fat about footy and the Adam Goodes racism issue. I enjoy my chats with Matt.

I was sitting and driving in the car for about an hour after the appointment and started to feel very sore with that old familiar burning pain in my right hip and groin. I did mention to Matt that I was feeling soreness in the hip/groin while he was working on my back but I didn't expect it to flare up so much.

Posture is everything but it can be difficult when you need to keep your hip angle greater than 90 degrees. I might get the ice onto it.

On an entirely different topic, I'm not a religious man and probably refer to myself as an agnostic atheist with a Catholic death bed Golden ticket. But as a father and a husband this got to me. Thanks for the heads up, Matt. I'm not sure if I look forward to continuing to read this or not.

http://howthelightgetsin.net/2011/11/06/in-defense-of-daddy/

Pain down the outside of my left leg

This evening I have pain running down the outside of my left leg which is worrying me. It is a little bit disconcerting as I have been trying to take it very easy today but I have been sitting a lot so that may have been something to do with it. 

Physio visit tomorrow should be interesting. I can take solace in the fact that the Melbourne physio told me that it will take a long time to feel good and when it does it will happen all of a sudden.

Fingers crossed!

Ouch!!

I was just out the front of the house playing with my kids with the football. I wasn't kicking but was handballing back to them when I handballed with my left hand and felt a crunch in my left hip. I must have twisted through the hips as I did so and didn't it hurt! I'm icing up now. There really isn't much you can do until it settles down other than walking carefully in a straight line and riding a bike with a high seat and minimal resistance. A very frustrating lesson.

Very sore today

I’ve pulled up very sore in the left leg today after yesterday’s driving. I also sat around at the computer for a fair while when I got home which was not ideal. The pain concerns me as it is identical to that which I had pre-op.

The lesson from all this is you must ice, ice, ice. Even if you think it is past the time you’d tradionally ice a soft tissue injury you should keep icing your hips. If anything it offers lovely relief.

Surgeon and specialist physio visit - 24 days post-op

Drove down to Melbourne with my son Tom for my post-op appointment with my surgeon, John O'Donnell. An hour each way in the car leaves me sore, especially in the left hip and groin. 

Fortunately, we were driving past the Collingwood footy club's training facility in Swan Street, Melbourne and got to stop in for 10 minutes to see them training.

Both the surgeon and physio were very happy with my hips. John believes I will make an excellent recovery while the physio, Amir Takla, is happy where I am at this stage. He checked my mobility and showed me some simple quadratus muscle isometric exercises.

Seems the surgery was well timed and got to me before arthritis took hold. I look like I'll be sore for 6-8 weeks post-op and John is optimistic of recovery in 3 months. However the physio is not so confident.

He said he didn't know how I played cricket with it for so long. The major concern is the micro fracture work done in the right hip where loose cartilage was removed and tiny fractures were made in the underlying bone. This causes new cartilage to develop from a so-called super-clot.

The physio urged me to not squat, pivot or lift from ground for 6 more weeks. He wants me to slow up as he thinks I am doing too much. He believes I am very sore in my left hip as I am unconsciously compensating for my right leg.

He asked me to continue my anti-inflammatories (Meloxicam) until the course is completed and to not miss any days. He also said to take Panadol Osteo (a larger dose paracetamol) every day and ice the hip. I had discontinued the pain relief and icing but will get back onto it now.

I’ll be doing 4 of the simple quadratus muscle exercises for a minute each day for the next 4 weeks, stationary bike riding 3 times a week for 15 minutes with a high seat and minimal resistance, and I’ll continue to get my back loosened up by my local physio.

I feel like I am in great hands. John O’Donnell is an internationally renowned guru and Amir Takla is very experienced with the management of arthroscopic hip surgery patients.

I am to see Amir in 4 weeks for a final check from him where he will give me a long-term program.

Here are the physio's notes.

Here are the surgery photos from my left hip.

And the surgery photos from my right hip.

On the way home I discovered that Tom likes Mudhoney and Metallica. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree!

Physio appointment - 22 days post-op

I had treatment on my groins today. I discussed my concerns about my hip feeling like it “popped out” when I put my foot down last week. Clarky assured me that hips don't just dislocate. People do that sort of thing in car crashes. There was talk of “muscle flicking” to explain it.

Dig this!! $25,000 paid by my private insurance to Mercy Hospital for two one night stays.

Dig this!! $25,000 paid by my private insurance to Mercy Hospital for two one night stays. How can they justify that fee!!

Hip scare - 16 days post-op

Had a fright last night. I took socks off to climb into bed and when I put my left foot down my left hip felt like it gave way. There was no stability at all. A horrible feeling.


I had my first hands-on appointment with the physio that day where he worked on my upper buttocks and pelvis and I am certain that this was no coincidence.

I have had a few moments where I have forgotten to look after myself and have caused myself some pain and discomfort.

Actions like lifting my leg over the tow bar of my trailer, getting off my son's bed to kneel next to it and read to him, getting my legs over the rim of the bath to have a shower and putting on socks and tying shoes all can cause some discomfort if I'm not careful.

Physio appointment - 15 days post-op

My physio, Matt, treated my lower back and pelvis today. I always wonder if it does much, in terms of doing me some good and aiding in my rehabilitation. I hope it does.