Since having both of my hips replaced, I have been slowly getting back into shape, while being careful not to overdo. Initially, I just did household tasks as physical therapy. While in the hospital, I was given a sheet of physical therapy exercises to do; I did them there and once I got home. I was careful not to do too many repetitions. I had heard stories of people over exercising after hip replacement surgery, and then having problems with bursitis and tendonitis.
My surgeon and his assistant recommended walking and riding the stationary bike, so I did those, too. At first the bike really aggravated my hip joints, so I waited. Little by little, I was able to add more activity. It took a long time, but eventually I was doing some yoga and pilates each night before bed. I felt like the class I gave myself was simple, but it felt healing and relaxing.
After about a year and a half, I decided to try doing the Bikram Yoga sequence. I had tried it twelve months after my operation, but again, my hip flexors burned, and it felt wrong... so I stopped. In the meantime, my thigh muscles had atrophied. Because I was a professional dancer for so many years, I had never seen my leg muscles just waste away like they did. I had to severely limit what I did the three years before having the surgery. One by one, I was giving up my favorite activities. I could no longer do yoga, pilates, ride my bike, or work in the garden. Forget about dancing. I stopped going for walks because people would stare at my gait. (which my neighbor described as "atrocious".) I was bent forward from the waist, and my father told me that I looked like a little old lady. My thighs had shrunk, and were the size of my boyfriend's arms. "We've got to get some weight on you," he would tell me. I would get very defensive, because people kept making comments about how skinny my legs were. The seniors at the pool all assumed I was anorexic, and would shake their heads at me. It was the osteoarthritis. I really was wasting away. I felt a sense of dismay and deep worry. I had always taken my health for granted. I almost never got sick, and I had never had a weight problem. Unlike a lot of women, I had always been happy with my body, because of the way dance and yoga had shaped it. Now I looked like I had a disease.
After the surgery, I noticed a huge difference. My bones were in the right place, and I had a liner to replace the cartilage, I could use my muscles. I couldn't believe the difference a few short years had made in my legs. The skin looked like a baggy sack. My thighs had become lumpy, like cottage cheese. I had always had very toned, strong, dancer's legs. It was a blow to my ego. I told myself just to be grateful that I was no longer in pain. I didn't want to get injured, and THR requires a very long recovery. I walked, rode my bike, did my easy yoga, and watched the rest of my body become more toned and cut. My thighs still looked sluggish and soft.
I began taking a few ballet classes a week, working in a barely turned out first position. I focused on the upper body, and did very little from the waist to the feet. I decided not to put any strain on my hip or knee joints. I found I was able to do a half set of Bikram Yoga at home on the days that I didn't dance. I remembered that Juliet Prowse had both of her hips replaced, and she still had gorgeous legs. When I worked with her, I noticed that she did Bikram Yoga every day, and she also took Pilates classes. She was very dedicated. I figured if she was able to get her legs back in shape, maybe I could, too.
I noticed an immediate difference after adding back the Vaganova ballet and Bikram Yoga sequence. These were familiar exercises to my body, and they work in very sophisticated ways. Finally, my legs started to take shape again. I had never understood how women could get soggy legs, and the surgery taught me first hand how much harder it is to gain muscle when it isn't already there. Since I had been a young gymnast and dancer, I had never really had that experience. Part of me was going to give up, because I thought it was just age and nerve damage from the surgery. Now I am seeing that it isn't. It's going to take time and work, but my dancer's legs will return, I can see the beginning.
