Summer is not my preferred season. I enjoy spring and fall--the seasons of transition--much more. But as I approach the first anniversary of my hip joint replacement, summer attire and activities emphasize how my quality of life has changed for the better.
It began one random day in April when I shuttled my children and their friends to the beach for the day. Like me, my son loves to hunt for shells, but in recent years an oceanside walk--indeed, walking period--had become more of an effort than I cared to exert. But as I trailed R and his friend along the shoreline, I realized that dull ache that I'd accepted for too many years was truly gone and I could easily stroll to the pier and back--and enjoy doing it!
Since then, I've been pleased to see that only my bathing suit reveals the extent of the scar on my right hip--my shorts keep the mystery alive. I can navigate the steps to our pool--and down into it--with ease and look forward to taking the dogs for a walk.
Several years ago, I was told that the prognosis for my flatback syndrome would depend on how loose I kept my hip flexors. Consequently, as my recovery has progressed, the increased flexibility of my hips has helped me reduce the angle of my flatback and alleviated much of my lower back pain.
At this point, my biggest obstacle is muscle memory. After years of accommodating the effects of severe arthritis--a tilted pelvis, tight hip flexors, and radiating back pain--I often need to remind myself to 1) keep my right heel down (out of habit, I arch my right foot so my heel is off the floor; it was the way I compensated for said-tilted pelvis); 2) stand up straight (I tend to lean forward when I'm tired); and 3) walk heel-to-toe (I still have a tendency to swing my right leg outward). Similarly, I need to be mindful of giving my upper body a break since I no longer need to pull up on banisters and chair arms, my lower body having been sufficiently strengthened to do its own work. So my focus is to retrain my muscles to return to their normal function after years of living with a deteriorating hip joint.
On a related note, I find that I occasionally need to retrain friends and family too. For example, yesterday at the beach I was offered a chaise lounge instead of a low-to-the-sand beach chair because the lounge would be easier to get up from. "No thanks!" I said. "I've got a new hip!!"
4 years ago
