HIP REPLACEMENT — THE HEALING JOURNEY BEGINS
X-Ray of Hip Replacement Courtesy: kauveryhospital.com/blog/orthopedics
After years of suffering from hip pain when walking or sitting or getting up and even after teaching Essentrics classes, I finally faced the inevitable decision—is this pain something I choose to deal with for the rest of my life? The answer inside me was a resounding NO to continued pain and YES to whatever would free me from the tyranny of my ongoing cranky hip. Having decided this and despite reading and speaking to friends and acquaintances who had hip replacements (they all told me how absolutely easy it was and that they wondered why they hadn't done it sooner) I can honestly say I was not mentally prepared for the discomfort and pain that surgery brought. I am an impatient patient and keeping me down never works out well with my genetic impulse to move.
ANTERIOR VS. POSTERIOR OR POSTERIOR LATERAL APPROACH?
Hip Replacement Prosthesis courtesy www.joint-surgeon.com
Hip replacement surgery varies in the surgical approach meaning where the surgeon makes the incision— for example — either anterior (front of body) or posterior lateral (side/back of hip.). Each approach has its pros and cons.After visiting and speaking with 3 different hip surgeons and speaking with friends, before meeting my HSS surgeon, I was under the false assumption that the anterior approach was newer, and excuse the pun, the hipper way to go. The reason in my mind is obvious -- anterior offers shorter healing time and a smaller scar. Both aspects appeal to my impatience and vanity. Mistakenly, by the time I got to HSS, (which we know has the good housekeeping seal of dancer approval) I assumed my surgery would be with an anterior approach as well. Well, we all know the breakdown of the word ass of u & me and what usually happens when you employ it. And sure enough, a week and a half before surgery, I received a pamphlet titled Posterior Lateral Hip Surgery at HSS. Shocked to see those words, I immediately called the doctor who replied that this was, for him a safer and better way to operate. I was shocked at my own assumption. The doc said he'd be happy to recommend others who operated with anterior approach, but at that point -- I was already counting on that date and honestly my impatience urged me to move forward anyway. The very idea of scheduling all over again gave me a large headache. As the date approached, I found myself worrying more.
Was this another doctor cop out move? Many (most) doctors refuse vaginal or natural births because among other reasons, it's easier to do a cesarean and put a slit in the woman's belly than risk a malpractice suit. When my doc said this was safer, I honestly wanted to ask—but didn’t—is it safer for you or for me? In another way too, the surgery reminded me of giving birth -- everyone remembers the great part (the birth of their child is a miraculous event) and forget how incredibly uncomfortable and painful the pain is.
I guess I'm different, cause I do remember the pain and discomfort of childbirth and I admit, I am not stoic about pain. I remember vividly the birth of my beautiful daughter and the enormous effort it was to walk around, let alone just exist for the 24 hours before her arrival. My sweet girl took a slow global cruise in my birth canal, meanwhile pushing emphatically and painfully on my tiny hips before deciding to emerge on the hospital bed. I remember I felt like my body was breaking open— and for a full day I kept walking around in circles, feeling both like I desperately had to go to the toilet and not being able to sit down because it hurt too much.
Acknowledging all this, it is understandable that my initial feeling upon waking up post hip surgery was that I had temporarily lost my physical body and all that was left of me just existed in my head. Everything felt numb, particularly my operated hip and my thigh. The idea of having to use a walker every time I had to pee was a complex choreography of forward, side step, turn around, back up, slow squat, and aim. How exhausting and non-user friendly! it occurred to me at that point that diapers perhaps would have made my life easier, but then walking is healing—so the bathroom dance continues for now (step up, turn around, sidestep squat and aim) but as my ability to walk improves and my hip and tight quads start to heal, I’m proud that I can do this as a solo dance without the walker or cane as my dancing partner. Of course, having to pee frequently (which I do) this dance repeats more often than I wish. They say progress comes in small increments and celebrating success grows the confidence so I’m happy to share that I’m feeling much better now and look forward to more challenging trips down my 2 flights of stairs and walking a few blocks of uneven sidewalk on the streets of Park Slope.
I share my story in support of all of you who may be facing an upcoming hip surgery or are experiencing hip pain or pain in other parts of the body. There is a positive journey to healing available to everyone! In upcoming blogs, I will discuss how movement , Essentrics, your brain and emotions have everything to do with making this a healthy, life positive and rewarding journey!. You can follow this journey here on my website or by following my Facebook page, Fitness Empowerment with Diane. I look forward to seeing you there!
