What Hip Replacement?!?

The BEST workout buddy ever. My Memorial Day MURPH went: 1/2 mile walk; 5 rounds of 10 rows, 10 push ups, 20 glute bridges; 5 rounds of 10 rows, 10 push ups, 20 crunches; 1/2 mile walk. It was all about the CAUSE this year, rather than the workout.

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The other day I was talking to a friend about some things that are going on in our lives and about 20 minutes into the conversation she said, “Oh, how is your hip?! I feel like that isn’t even a thing!” I laughed and replied, “Yeah, it’s not really a thing, to be honest.” Now don’t get me wrong, I still have a long way to go, but the progress has been both remarkable and pretty straightforward. Since I haven’t updated in just over two weeks, let me recap what has been going on in my hip world:

I totally eased my way off the cane at about the 2 ½ week mark. I started walking around the house without it, only taking it on walks with Comet or to go to the grocery store. Then I took a few short walks without it and journeyed into the public cane-free. It has been just fine, and I feel super secure in my strength and ability without it. I have also gradually been increasing my daily step count-- starting with around 4,000 steps and slowly working my way up to about 8,000. My goal starting tomorrow will be to get back to my 10,000 steps-- definitely feeling strong enough for that!

Besides that, I have been working to strengthen my glutes, quads, core, hip flexors, and all of the other muscles that were affected by the surgery. (You can see one of my workouts in fast time in one of my facebook posts.) Overall, I’ve really been feeling stronger and stronger every day.

While the specific workout varies, the movements have generally stayed the same and go something along the lines of:

• Slow marching steps and butt kicks
• Single leg stand (which was REALLY hard at first!)
• Lateral walks, (unbanded, then banded)
• Glute bridges
• Plank hold, starting with about :10 and building to around :30 now
• Supermans
• Bodyweight calf raises
• Walking on my toes
• Donkey kicks then bird dogs
• Push ups… lots of push ups...
• Inch worms
• Lateral leg lifts (unbanded, then banded)
• Crunches
• Hollow rocks (these took some time and I’m still not 100% comfortable with them)

I am also desperately working towards being able to do dead bugs! I can FINALLY hold my leg up in the air at a 90 degree angle, but I can’t extend it just yet.

In other news, I am able to lift my leg up normally when I go to bed, climb in the shower, and get in the car. I am still sleeping with a pillow between my legs, and I still can’t lay on my left side for a significant amount of time. My hip is definitely stiff in the morning, and I have also been massaging the scar because I feel quite a bit of scar tissue gathering there. I can also play a mean game of
tug-o-war with Comet!

I certainly understand how it is going to take 6-8 weeks to feel back to “normal.” While I am not walking with a limp, I definitely feel it, and regaining my strength is going to be critical. I am still trying to find a balance of not overdoing it, but still doing enough. I think I am. I also firmly believe that a large part of my recovery is going to be gaining trust in my prosthetic. What can it do? What works? What is uncomfortable? Where are my limits? It is going to be a process of learning how to trust and navigate my implant. With that being said, I was thinking about naming it, just to make it more a part of me, but I haven’t come up with any ideas just yet-- I am open for any and all suggestions! 

My original surgery date was May 28th, but obviously I was able to move it up to May 7th. It’s strange to think that I could be 3 days into my recovery, rather than 3 weeks! I am so thankful to have gotten this over with when I did and hopeful for my future athletic endeavors. I already seem to be doing an amazing job, and I don’t plan for that to change!

One day very soon I will look back on this and say, “What hip replacement?!?”

Not hip related, but ISN'T SHE THE CUTEST!?!