The only time I have ever worked with a physical therapist was in the first few days in the hospital after my bilateral hip replacements. I did a lot of research before having my hips replaced, and I was concerned that doing the physical therapy would cause pain. I had read stories of people who said that their pain skyrocketed a few hours after doing the exercises. I made a conscious decision to listen to my body, and not to push. I knew that a big part of the reason that I had to have my hips replaced was because I had literally worked them to the bone. After 47 years of dancing, I had worn away all of the cartilage. I was determined to learn the lessons from this experience and to not make the same mistakes again.
My surgery was the first one scheduled for the day. My neighbor picked me up at 4:00 a.m. and drove me to the hospital in Santa Monica. I was wheeled into the operating room at 7:00 a.m. and was finished shortly after 10:00 a.m. I don't remember how long I was in recovery. Later that afternoon, they asked me if I wanted to get up and to walk. I declined. "I just want to lay perfectly still," I answered. As long as I did that, I felt safe. I did a lot of prayer and healing visualization. My reaction was like that of an injured animal. I wanted to protect the parts of me that felt vulnerable. My hips didn't hurt, but my thigh bones felt very tender. They had done a lot of hammering and drilling into the femur. The pain medications that they gave me worked like a charm, but I was still aware of the trauma that my body had experienced. The last thing I felt like doing was exercising. The idea of walking laps around the hospital seemed kind of crazy to me.
They brought me dinner, which was kind of exciting. For some reason I didn't expect it. Maybe I had read somewhere that I wouldn't be eating any solid food until the following day. Dr. Matta had told me that vegetarians don't do well with this surgery, so I had been eating plenty of meat leading up to it. I wanted to do all that I could as far as diet and preparation.
The next day I met the physical therapist. I quickly realized that she was going to push me. I told her that I just wanted to do the minimal amount of the exercises, and to see how I felt afterward. I did ten repetitions comfortably and then stopped. They recommended doing between ten and thirty repetitions. She was surprised at how easily I did them. I had looked the movements up on line and worked on some of them before the surgery. She could tell. Some I couldn't do at the time because I was bone on bone, but now I could.
For the walking, she put sort of an adult leash on me, and had me use a walker. I didn't like the leash or how it felt to walk, but I kept my comments to myself and tried to stay positive. "Right, left, right, left," I whispered. I pretended I was walking to music. Once of the mantras that I gave myself in the hospital was, "Cooperate." The walking felt wrong. I would have rather waited, but I just did it. I felt a sense of them being in a rush at the hospital to get me to do the exercises and to discharge me. My own feeling was that there was plenty of time.
I kept that approach to the physical therapy throughout the first year of my recovery. I worked up to a total of thirty repetitions each day of the exercises I had learned in the hospital. I could have easily done more, but I decided not to push. Dr. Matta tells his patients that for the first few weeks, your household tasks are your physical therapy. I loved that attitude. It made so much sense to me. It was true, and it felt safe, logical, and sensible.
Although many people have a physical therapist come to their house, or they go to a special center for rehabilitation, I did my own routine. My recovery was excellent, and I didn't have any problems. I firmly believe that less is more after having a total hip replacement. Thankfully I didn't experience any tendinitis or bursitis, just a gradual and consistent healing. Patience was key.
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