Almost Hippiversary

Hello Hip Readers!

As my 4th hippiversary approaches, I am happy to report that I am doing extremely well.  My right PAO will be 4 years old soon, and my left is just 4 months behind that.  Most days I don't even notice my hips.  I've been skating at the International level again and while I sometimes get sore the next day, I'm pretty amazed at what I still can do, even with a fruit basket on my head.

Holiday Ice Show, 2012

 

I've moved from Portland to San Diego.  Long walks on the beach have helped build my walking ability although I'm still not going to be running any marathons.  Flexibility is still an issue, but that's old news.  I'm loving my new location and job hunting.  Ho hum.  Not much to report after 4 years, hippies - that's the way we want it!  Just for some excitement, here's a pic of my recent farmer's market haul.  Those of you in Portland will be jealous.

 

And now, back to my regularly-scheduled life.  

Terri

Happy 2013

Things my bilateral PAOs can do now (encouragement for those at the beginning of their hip journey):

1.  Skate in 3 holiday ice shows  - not to mention all of the practices - with my friends who have normal hips
2.  Hydroblades (see photo above)
3.  Walk through the mall with heavy bags
4.  Hike in the Japanese garden
5.  Run after my cat
6.  Clean the entire house
7.  Stand while cooking an entire meal
8.  Yoga
9.  Pilates
10.  Elliptical trainer

Product Review: Trekking Poles

 

After whining about my inability to hike without next-day hip soreness, I decided to invest in a pair of trekking poles.   I purchased a pair of REI Traverse Shocklight Women's Trekking Poles for $79.95; a week later they went on sale and the very nice lady at REI was happy to credit $20 to my account, which was a nice bonus.

I've been walking around in my "urban nature park" neighborhood for the past week or so using the poles and have found that I am not sore and can walk farther than without them.  I was skeptical because I really didn't think that poles would take enough weight off my hips and transfer it to my upper body, but they seem to do so enough to make walking more pleasant, whereas before it was something I tried to avoid.  They also help with balance -- I slipped on some gravel while going down a hill -- without the poles I would have landed on my butt but with them it was a non-event.

I recommend these for anyone post PAO or with knee problems or compromised balance.  They are very lightweight and collapse for traveling.  I will definitely take them with me on my upcoming trip to Spain.

Link to REI's Website

Squats! Lunges! Jumps! ... and other restrictions

I recently replied to a PAO candidate about "restrictions," saying I don't have any.  Of course I was told not to do lunges ... but I do them in my yoga class and on the ice, as well as lunge-like moves like hydroblades.  I do squats daily to keep my quads strong (this is fairly new, but I needed to do it and it hasn't hurt my hips -- it has helped my knees).  I do an occasional jump on the ice, and I run now and then to get from point A to point B. 

I do all of these things within reasonable tolerances and with an eye toward any hip pain that might ensue.  So far it doesn't, and I'm careful because I do want to protect my PAO investment.  I don't feel like I have any restrictions because in daily life I don't think about movements I can't do, and I don't specifically limit myself.  My flexibility isn't what it was but that's a limitation, not a restriction.

Stay tuned for my adventures with trekking poles in a future post.

Three Years and a Day

Yesterday was the actual three-year 'versary and I have to say that not much has changed since I wrote about my Two Year Hippiversary. 

I could end with that, but that would be so unlike me.  Not to disappoint, I'll elaborate.  When I was considering PAO I wanted to know everything I could expect including what it might be like in 3 years, 5 years, 10 years, whatever.  For those who are similarly inclined, here's what it's like for me at 3.  Every person follows their own path and each recovery is different so this is just one data point.

First, to answer Amanda's question about jumping.  I was told by my OS "no running, no jumping, no squats, no lunges, no stairmaster" for the rest of my life.  I occasionally run here or there, not as exercise but to chase something, and I have done the occasional on-ice single jump, but I don't make a point of doing any of those things.  I like to jump off rocks and such for photo opportunities because it's fun but that's just now and then.   I am old enough and had enough hip damage that preserving my PAOs comes with more restrictions than a younger person would have.  If I chose to do those things regularly I'd just need hip replacements faster and I'm not in any hurry!

Here are my updates:

~Scars are so light that I can't even see them without putting on my glasses.
~I never take pain medication for my hips.
~I almost never limp.  Last time I did was after walking 3 miles on pavement.
~Extended walking and hiking are not still not my friends.  I've bitched about this before but it is what it is, and other hippies have said the same.  That's not to say that I won't hike but I do think twice about it since I know I'll pay for it with stiffness and soreness -- sometimes for days.  I think trekking poles would help as well as working up to long hikes (instead of just going out and hiking after sitting on my butt for a month).
~Flexibility has not improved but I haven't really focused on it -- yes, I need to.
~I am getting pretty flabby and need to get into the gym but that has nothing to do with PAOs and everything to do with laziness
~I can wear heels - not every day, but when I need to - no problems.
~Extended standing, sitting for long periods, walking on hard surfaces, carrying heavy loads - depending on duration and other factors I may pay for these with soreness the next day, but I just take care to avoid when I can and mitigate when I can't.
~I go about my business without thinking about my hips at all most days.
~I never have problems getting through airport security even though I still have 13 screws in my pelvis. 
~My screws were countersunk so they don't bother me and don't need to be removed.
~I still have a large chunk of heterotrophic bone at the front of my left hip joint.  It creates some interesting ROM challenges but not enough for me to think about having it removed.

That's all folks!

Almost Three

I get nostalgic around this time of year and then realize that it's almost time for my hippiversary. These milestones are positive for me because I see how far I've come and can share that with other hip chicks out there in hip land.

I'll give a full three-year update on my actual 'versary; bottom line is that I'm doing very well. Not much will be new from my two-year report in the hip department. Any progress after two years is very incremental, as expected.

Good news for me, there continues to be progress in my skating if not my hip, so for my skating peeps I can say that during my two years back on the ice post-hip surgery I have been able to make up about two-thirds of my prior skill level. This doesn't count freestyle since I'm not allowed to jump, but I'm talking dance and moves.

I've had some epiphanies that made it easier. Two key points that I've learned about skating -- things I used to do naturally as a kid the first time I learned to skate and then just incorporated before my surgery, which I had to re-learn in my adult brain and body after coming back -- have allowed me to describe to myself what it is I am supposed to be doing to stay upright.

These key points are (1) using my blade on the ice to initiate and check rotation, and (2) using my upper body correctly so I don't have to overuse my lower body. I have had to come up with ways to describe these to myself to make them happen since I didn't have the muscle memory to do them automatically. I focused on key point #1 first and then added key point #2 as my edgework became more automatic. Many thanks to my coaches John (who I only get to work with occasionally but who gave me the first "aha moment" that made #1 possible) and Ruth (who has worked with me tirelessly on both #1 and #2 and provided so many aha moments over the past two years). Lots of repetition helped me refine them and put them back into my body's vocabulary.

In some ways I am now a better skater than I was, technically, because I am now aware of what I'm doing -- I am trained vs. being on auto-pilot. I can intentionally make these things happen vs. relying on muscle memory to kick in when it should. However, I no longer have the muscle strength, stamina and coordination to execute consistently. I no longer have the flexibility and posture to make it look beautiful and effortless. My posture will always be terrible because of where my hips sit in their sockets. I am armed with the knowledge of "how" even if I can't always "do" and that can be frustrating.

Goal for the coming year is to stretch more and see if I can impact that flexibility that has become a barrier to progress. It will be a long, slow painful process and I may not see results but I know it can't hurt.

I know all of the hippies have stopped reading at this point ... not sure if the skaters are still with me either. My next post will avoid skating and focus on describing what three years post PAO for an "older" PAO patient is like.

On the edge

I don't really like this photo of me from last night, but I am happy with the depth of edge and body lean going in to the Blues Choctaw:



I still don't have good enough muscle control to make the actual weight transfer happen seamlessly. My left thigh muscles still fatigue too quickly as I go into the turn. I feel I am still building control and strength from after the surgeries.

And this was fun - presenting the awards to the Championship Adult Ice Dancers at the Pacific Coast Adult Sectional Championships where I was chief referee: