Hip rehab - 6 month physio visit

This morning I visited my physio Amir, and now I don't have to go back until after Easter!

Apparently everything is doing exactly what it should be doing, the scars look good and I can now finally do almost anything I want, with the exception of: yoga, pilates, breaststroke swimming (because of the kick). I also still need to avoid things like weight-bearing full lunges or anything that puts any strain directly on the ligament. After 3 hip operations, I've got a pretty good feel for what I'm not meant to do.

He mentioned the "gym" word a couple of times, eek, and swimming. Just what I want as summer school holidays approach, an hour in the pool every week with kids everywhere. Hopefully I can go at night and it will be quieter. Time to get the trusty bike off the hooks on the garage wall! I also need to do some work to even up the muscle in my left leg, it's quite a bit weaker than the right side. I'm allowed to go back to a personal trainer now if I want, too. Amir was too polite to say, but it's fairly clear I need to lose this 10kg I've put on in the last 6 months.

At this point Amir says I'm at the same point as I would be a couple of months post-arthroscope - the ligament is strong and holding my hip structure in place perfectly. Which basically means any aches and pains are more about general old age and lack of fitness than the hip op! For the next 6 months the ligament will harden up and embed more fully into the bone, and the stitches will dissolve into the bone too, and at times it may be a bit stiff, but by 12 months it's expected to be fairly normal. I certainly feel more "even" already than I have in a long time.

Current issues - my feet are killing me. This is about my body re-aligning after several years of unconsciously protecting a wobbly hip joint. And the area around the knee scar is still quite numb in places. This is because a nerve gets cut during the tendon removal process, the same thing happens to all knee reconstruction patients too, but feeling gradually comes back and by 12 months, whatever feeling I have/don't have is what I'll end up with. It's a strange sensation, the best way I can describe it is that certain spots just below the knee feel like permanent pins & needles without the tingling.

Thankfully it seems the jogging thing is off the table until after Easter! Although apparently that's going to help my sore feet.

Next week I'm seeing Mr O'Donnell, just to confirm that he's happy with everything as well.

I'm getting a few emails from others who are reading this blog - Mr O'Donnell and Amir are referring people to it, which is very flattering! If anybody has any questions please feel free to ask. :)

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