Another report from the front line

For those who may have not the slightest interest in hip replacement operations, this is probably the moment to move on to another item. Today I am simply posting one of my irregular blogs on the subject because today marks the completion of nine weeks since I had mine.

In terms of formal contacts with the medical profession since I last reported I have had just one – a visit to my physio. After requesting me to demonstrate my balance and flexibility in a series of poses or movements, he pronounced himself pretty pleased with my progress generally to date.

In response I said that I was less than content – I wasn’t making progress as swiftly as I had hoped and would have liked. Despite all efforts, I was still obliged to walk with a limp. Furthermore, I had found one of the exercises he had given me to do at least once – and possibly twice – per day totally impossible. It involved lying on the floor on my left side with my right (replaced) hip facing the ceiling, the leg straightened out, and then ‘lifting’ said limb upwards to 45 degrees (ten repetitions x 3).

I could not lift my right leg upwards at all, no matter how hard or often I tried. What was the cause of my inability and/or failure, I asked, in a state of some alarm.

He had two responses. The first was that it was undoubtedly a difficult exercise, but not being able to do it at this juncture was nothing to worry about.

He went on to explain that there were two aspects to recovery from a hip operation.

The first was straightforward recovery from the trauma of the body being operated upon in the first place.

The second – quite different – was the process of ‘unlearning’ the inefficient way in which I had learned to walk with a limp (in order to accommodate the pain of the osteoarthritis in my hip) before my operation … and then ‘’relearning’ how I used to walk without a limp before I had the osteoarthritis issue. The first of these required restraining the new muscles that I had used when walking with a limp – whilst also ‘re-awakening’ again those muscles which had atrophied through non-use, so that I might walk properly without a limp again.

It seemed to sound logical.

He then gave me three tougher exercises to work on and sent me on my way.

I’ve since bought myself a Fitbit ‘stepping and calorie counter’ device and set myself the targets of firstly, walking twice round a set 0.8 mile circuit every day and secondly, going to the gym up to three times per week. By this means I am now taking between 6,500 and 16,000 steps per day – save, of course, on those days when other engagements or obligations prevent me from completing these tasks. And there are plenty of them. As a result, at one point last week I had managed to lose 6 pounds in weight since the beginning of this new regime – and yet last night I had put back on four of them largely because of specific quests and/or journeys to various points of the country for social engagements that had necessarily prevented me completing my activity routine.

Overall, therefore, still not as much progress as I would have wished.

Last night I discovered I had knocked off 14,867 steps during the day, following an afternoon two-hour trip to the gym, and yet I reached home last night virtually hobbling because my offending limb was protesting in a serious fashion by aching through (I suspected) tiredness.

I had been operating on the theory – now possibly discredited – that by steeping up my physical jerks I would be pushing on towards total fitness devoid of any limp. It now seems it’s going to take a little longer than I had thought.