Hip labral tear surgery update: one month post-op

One month after hip labral tear surgery

It has been four weeks to the day since my hip labral tear surgery, and I am happy to say I’ve been doing great!

The first two weeks were probably the most difficult. Not necessarily because I was in a lot of pain, but because it was a little hard to find comfortable sleeping positions and move the leg, in general.

Read about my diagnosis here and how I prepared my home for post surgical comfort here. You can find my post about the day of hip labral tear surgery here.

I never knew that you use your hip flexors for literally every sort of movement your body does. While I can’t be sure what exactly happened during surgery since I was, you know, under anesthesia, I can only assume the surgeon had to move some of the muscles out of the way in order to access the hip joint.

So the flexors were tight and sensitive the first few weeks. I ended up using my arms a lot to help get out of bed, and found different ways of using the crutches to get in and out of the shower, put on shoes, and get in and out of cars. Luckily Ken, my mom, and my sister Julia have been a great support throughout my recovery, which has really allowed me to take it easy and not worry about cleaning or lifting anything too heavy. Thankfully, Julia booked us a solid week of Rover dogs walks, which was so helpful in keeping our pup active, and I didn’t have to worry about him getting enough breaks throughout the day.

At about week 2.5 I did twist weird and felt a pain/pull in the front of my hip. I was freaked out. I thought I might have really hurt myself or tore part of the labrum that was just reattached. But my physical therapist thought it was probably just a twinge, so I took it even more easy for a few days and the pain went away, thank goodness.

One thing that has really surprised me is how tiring any sort of errand can be. Just to go to the grocery store, even if I can use a wheelchair, is super exhausting. Crutching takes a lot of energy!!

But I am trying to stay active every day, and even crutching around the house or going for one short walk (10 minutes) per day has been keeping my steps between 2500-3500, which is feeling pretty good.

In two more weeks I will be able to wean off the crutches and begin biking (woot!). But I have been considering getting a foldable cane like this one in case walks become too tiring at first. The good news is I will be off crutches for our wedding, though! Overall, I have been feeling so much better and more confident about the surgery since my last post. I am still being very careful about movements, and really take extra precaution with stairs, getting in and out of cars, or going out in public.

Finally, some cute pics of Recovery Cat™ and Recovery Dog™. Highly suggested to add to your recovery product list!