Pain below and at my Anterior hip replacement scar

@ginger62 Does the thigh feel like nerve pain or feel muscular? I am having a terrible problem with pain in my R thigh which definitely feels like nerve pain and I believe must be sciatica. Sitting for prolonged periods of time exacerbates it and we were in the car yesterday for six hours driving to Maine and back. The pain was so intense this morning that I actually passed out for a moment and collapsed on the kitchen floor! My husband called the EMTs and they came and checked me out. By that time I was fine. This is not usual for me, I only passed out once in my life before, from a severe sunburn in HS.

I have an appointment scheduled with my orthopedist but not until July 30 so I am going to call tomorrow and see if he can get me in sooner.
JK

I think muscular it happens at night I wake up and it last a little bit and goes away after I rub it

@ginger62 have you called your surgeon and asked him if this is typical and what the best way to deal with it is? I think a call is in order it you have not.
JK

No I haven't but I will check in with him thank you for your reply

I had anterior hip replacement surgery almost 6 weeks ago and I started having pain in my surgical side groin and tingling down my buttocks. I don't know if it was because PT was too strenuous or not. I told my doctor about the PT regimen I was on and they said to lay off the physical therapy and just walk. I am very discouraged right now and regretting the surgery. I had surgery in August 2022 and I don't go back to see the doctor until November which seems like a long time to me. I just wanted to vent my frustration with not knowing if what is happening "normal" or not.

Hello, after 5 hip surgeries I can tell you that six weeks is really not a very long time past surgery, and pain as things heal is quite common. If you have already had one or two post-surgical visits and everything "looks good" on the implant and incision, follow up at 3 months is pretty typical. Feeling frustrated and discouraged at this point is pretty normal, patience and persistence are the keys!

When you have surgery, even the anterior approach, all kids of nerves and muscles are disturbed, to say noting of the fact that they sawed and hammered on your bones, and put "foreign material" (the implant) into your body. Tingling can be a sign of nerves healing, and groin pain occurs when you are encouraging your body to work and it has to accommodate the changes.

Even though we know in our brain that this is major surgery, we believe in our heart that we will not be the average patient, and magically we will heal without complications. But there is a big difference between being able to walk almost right away and being completely healed. Every person is different, heals at a different rate, and experiences pain in different places.

I am not too surprised by the doctor's reaction, many of them seem to think PT is not necessary after hip surgery. I don't happen to agree, and neither does my surgeon.

Did you explain what you are feeling to the therapist? Perhaps they can adjust their therapy to help with the troublesome areas.
Sue

I have not seen my PT yet, I see them later this week. I was going to bring all this up at that time. I am worried she had me doing too much too soon and had messed up the joint replacement.

I think I can reassure you that your PT did not mess up the joint - the pain would be quite different to what you describe.

Please don't abandon your PT - it is one of the most important components of a successful outcome. Just try to accurately describe the sensations and work with the therapist to modify the exercises so they are challenging (even uncomfortable) but not causing sharp pain.

Please let me know how you are doing in a few days - and remember, ice is still your friend, especially when you are uncomfortable or have finished your exercises!
Sue

Hi again,

I have been to PT and have had bouts of thigh pain. It has been seven weeks after surgery and I guess I just didn't expect this much pain after 7 weeks . I guess I was thought recovery would be smoother. I told the PT about the problems I was having and we worked out a less strenuous program. Thanks.

I am 8 weeks post anterior Right hip replacement. For the first several weeks, I had thigh pain that seemed to be nerve pain. That has gone away however I am now (past 2 weeks) waking up at night with a dull aching pain. I am going to PT twice a week. Every thing is going well with therapy and I have no problems walking. I also have good ROM. I have started taking a Tylenol PM and a regular Tylenol before bed. I talked to a number of people in addition to my doctor before the surgery. They all indicated it would be a relatively quick(4 week) recovery. My recovery was hindered by post surgery anemia. I was active prior to the surgery walking 3-5 miles several times a week and working out at the gym. I think I underestimated the toll surgery would take on my body.