Every so often I get a notification that someone has read my blog, and, a little less frequently, I receive a personal message from someone who has also broken their hip. I usually vow to reply and update the blog but life just drags me away – usually chores and bedtime routines! I am sorry if you are reading this because you also broke your hip. I am sorry if I didn’t reply. I want to reassure future readers who happen upon the bog (usually pre and post DHS op) that it can be a positive story.  I am able to do all pre op sports and more. I’ve run fell races and I have a good for age place at the London marathon this April. I still have to ensure I don’t over do things, that I take rest days and that I keep up physio type exercises through Les Mills Core sessions (and I probably should do more yoga). I get some discomfort in the metal work with certain weather conditions but mostly it’s just part of me and it lets me live a full and active life.  

Ooops I forgot to keep up with the blog… I have thought about it but since I have been more mobile I have been more active and also I have returned to work. I was prompted to come online and give an update by someone contacting me about how I was feeling now. Well lots has happened since the last blog so I will try a brief recap.

I carried on with group physio sessions until May. Having the last session on 22-05-19. I was then given a gym referral for ‘fit for life’ and had my induction this week. I now have a tailored gym programme, access to classes like yoga and pilates and the swimming pool for a reduced members rate. At 12 weeks I got on the bike for the first time outside. We went on holiday to The Netherlands and it was perfect as it was flat and safe. I built up to 9 miles on the bike pain free. I have now bought a road bike completing my first sportive (38 miles on 02-06-19 at 17 weeks post op) again this was pain free but not fast. I went on my first ladies own Breeze ride last night and have entered another 40 mile sportive on 29-06-19. Cycling is now my preferred activity as I feel no pain whatsoever on the bike and its great to be outdoors. I cycle at least 3 times a week. Alongside the bike  I do strength and conditioning 3 times a week at home. I follow the Kayla Itsines BBG programme, I started with the pre-training workouts for 4 weeks and I am currently on week 3 of the main programme. I have to adapt some of the exercises e.g. jumping lunges are not possible so I do reverse lunges instead. I try and swim if i can but there is a lot of work to be done with this as my breathing is a work in progress. Its pretty tricky to fit all this in around the kids’ clubs, my husband’s triathlon training and work.

Running is very much still off the cards for now. I tried a treadmill walk/run session last weekend and although I was able to do 30 minutes of 5 min walking warm up, 30 sec running efforts with 90sec walk recoveries and then 5 min walk cool down it was not pain free. My leg hurt on the running efforts. Not enough for me to feel I needed to stop but enough to let me give it another month before I try again. So there is progress but  I need to be more patient.

I just accidentally deleted a whole paragraph to say that the test results have all come back clear. No clear reason for the fracture other than ‘stress fracture from distance running’ despite me being in a quieter period of training and reducing my distance and intensity rather than increasing it. I sought a second opinion on running in the future and I am now allowed to run as long as I don’t feel pain. I also need to have more rest days following a run to allow bone remodelling to occur.

Mobility and pain. It hurts if I drive a car for longer than 15 mins so it hurts by the time I get to work. It is stiff and I will sometimes limp until it loosens. Its worse if its raining and depending on where in my menstrual cycle I am. The hip screw itself rarely bothers me. It is the 4 pins that go across my femur that cause the most pain and stiffness.  If I sit down for my work it will get stiff and complain and I often need to stand up and move in meetings which confuses my colleagues who watch me in pain but also listen to me tell them I cycled 38 miles including up a big hill in the Malverns. It likes to be on the move and dislikes sitting. Mostly I walk without a limp but I had to build my core strength to improve this. In terms of range of movement I worked hard on being able to bend it to kneel fully and that is now fine. I still have problem with the abductor movement and have to work on stretching this daily. This is the one where you can sit cross legged. I am supposed to do clam exercises but I often forget. There is so much to fit in! I can now lie for short periods on my scar at bedtime. I had a couple of reactions to the metal which caused a rash and pain but these were calmed with antihistamines and hydrocortisone cream. I am hoping my body will get used to the metal as I fear a further operiation to remove metalwork will cause further scar tissue and that may impact on cycling or other sports in the future (which is not a problem currently).

The last X-Ray showed good bone healing but I have another review in September to check for necrosis of the hip ball.l  

That’s it for now I think. I am really pleased with how things have progressed especially with the cycling. I’m not sure about the future for running but I actually appreciate the doors this injury has opened for other activities and sports. Always look for the silver lining!

I missed my physio session (lower limb class) on 22-03-19 so I have remained doing the same exercises as last week and haven’t any new ones to report on. I can feel that my body has adapted to these now and I wonder what the new noes will be. I still do all the exercises everyday. I have gradually increased the time on the turbo bike to 8 mins and my average HR is at 70%. I am extremely pleased with this. I have been going for a short walk each day, outside, with one crutch. Today I increased this to 0.9 miles. My hip is usually stiff initially but likes the movement. It does not like sitting for long periods. it is at its best when ‘pottering’ around the house.

So in the last few days I have experienced a new stabbing/searing pain in the hip (top screw). I also have a cold and a mouth ulcer plus my left armpit gland is swollen. This has coincided with menstruation. I wonder whether my immune system has identified something to attack and accidentally focused on the DHS? The pain didn’t calm after co-codomol but did with mefanamic acid (anti-inflammatory). It was worse if sitting – but then it generally is.

My DEXA scan has been arranged for 2 weeks time. I will finally have answer about my bone density and whether this has been a contributory factor to the fracture.

I’m finding it hard to get to grips with not running again. I would love to be able to run the junior park run with my kids again. I’m still in pain and have a limp when walking so this will be a few months yet. Hard to not let my imagination run away with this one… if I can do junior park run, then maybe I could build to a 5k and then if I can do 5k maybe I can build to do 10k… LOL I think the pain and injury anxiety will be self limiting though.

I finally got to the magical 6 weeks mark. So now I can drive a car again – hooray. Other than that, and some new exercises from the physio, not much has changed. Driving a car is fine but I haven’t gone further than a 15 minute drive at the moment (school run).

My days now consist of being more involved in the kid’s morning routine (which is really nice as I have missed this) so I help get them ready, drive them to school, drive back home and then do my physio. This is currently, 5-6 mins on the turbo bike which is set up in the lounge, weighted leg lifts (1kg ankle weights 3×10 both sides lying down – which I can only just managed on the operated side), lying down hip raises (3 sets of 10), weighted squats (2x 3kg dumbbells – 3 sets of ten), lateral leg exercises with a Flexi band which is tied to a table leg – 3 lots of 10 to the side and 3 lots of 10 to the rear), step up and hold for 5 secs on the stairs (again, 3 sets of 10) and finally the wobble/balance board. I try to make sure I do 5 mins on the board daily but as it is also placed in front of the kitchen sink looking out at the back garden I hop on whenever I am near. I am also trying to walk the dog down to the bottom of our road and back. This is tricky as there is a hill and he can sometimes pull and I’m worried about him catching my crutch and me falling. He’s happy though.

In terms of pain, there are good days and bad days. today is bad day. I have had to have co-codomol occasionally but otherwise paracetamol is enough. Some days I don’t need pain relief. that’s not to say I don’t feel the metal work, just that its more uncomfortable and stiff rather than painful. I managed the walk from my daughter’s trampoline session to her swimming session fine last week and it was great to see so much progress in 2 weeks (from he last time I tried).

Still waiting for the DEXA scan….

On the weekend I was able to go to see George Ezra at Manchester Arena. It was a birthday present for my husband and I had bought the tickets in August. Although I am mostly down to one crutch outside now, I took both as there was a bit of walking involved and we had standing tickets so I was concerned about having something to lean on. Unfortunately I didn’t think to check the website beforehand so having carefully walked down the many steps to the standing area with my crutches and holding up a long line of people behind me I was informed that crutches weren’t allowed in the standing area. So back up the steps on the crutches dodging all the people to find the information desk… I seem to have developed a fear of falling and breaking another bone since this the fracture which is really bizarre as I never actually fell when I fractured it. Oh well. The lady at the information desk had a whole queue of people on crutches to deal with and wasn’t very nice to me when it was my turn, demanding to know if I had rung beforehand and then telling me that she didn’t have any disabled seats left. I tried to explain that I didn’t actually view myself as disabled so hadn’t thought to ring. I was given the choice of handing over my crutches and going to the standing area or having a ‘camera point’ seat up in the tiers. I took the camera point. The man in front of me surrendered his crutches and hopped off – I hope he was ok – it was a long night :-O. Anyway, it turns out we had our own little box of sorts at the top of a set of stairs. We couldn’t really see George (we could see the stage and the screens though) and I felt guilty that my husband missed out not the atmosphere of the moshers pit, but as my hip had trouble staying seated for the whole of the gig and I needed to take painkillers I knew I had made the right decision. I wouldn’t have coped on my crutches standing for that long and definitely not without them. Also it was safer getting out at the end as we were already at the top of the stairs and there were a lot of people to navigate. I was a bit cross with myself for not ringing in advance as the disabled seats for the standing area were right by the stage – how awesome would that have been!?! Still a superb night – thank you Sigrid and George.

So the physical recovery seems to be going along at the expected rate. Emotionally, and mentally, I found last week the hardest. I had more energy but I couldn’t drive and was still quite limited in mobility. I was able to move around the house comfortably and confidently but outside was a different story. I started to get increasingly frustrated. This week I am driving and have some new challenging physio exercises so I feel a bit more focussed and upbeat. I had imagined I would be swimming or riding a bike by now. Spinning is fine on the turbo, but I find it tricky getting on an off and can’t go outside as I would be in too much pain stopping, and putting weight on the left leg to push off and stop sharply. Swimming… this brings anxiety around slipping and falling and then when I did go to do my physio in the pool (2 weeks ago) I got cold quickly and it didn’t feel worth it for the short time I was in the pool. I think I need to try again now I am two weeks further along in my recovery journey. The worst bit is the not running. I miss running. I have a significant limp when I am walking without my crutches so running is a long way off, if ever. I sometime torture myself by googling ‘can you run again following a dynamic hip screw implant?’ and then read story after story of how it hurts too much to run, even years down the recovery line. I need to stop doing googling this.

I woke up this morning with my left leg and hip stiff (as usual these days) and also aching. I asked my husband if it was raining. It wasn’t and the BBC weather said ‘sunny spells’. Within an hour it was raining. I am a walking barometer 😂. Paracetamol and moving around help was the pain and stiffness.

I’ve got a bit of an adventure this morning. I am walking my daughter from her trampoline session to her swimming lesson. It’s just over a mile. When I did this a couple of weeks ago I underestimated the distance and pain I would be in. I am armed with painkillers this time but hoping the two week break will show progress. It took me 50 minutes last time. I’ve not needed to use crutches at home for a week and am usually down to 1 crutch outside at the moment but have both with me in case of need to completely take the weight off my left leg.

In terms of the scar – this is completely closed and was by 2 weeks. I had dissolvable stitches. The scar is neat and I am hopeful it will fade well in time. It’s currently a red/purple colour and still has yellow, purple and blue bruising around it from the operation. I massage the scar twice a day for at least 5 minutes with bio oil (after my morning shower and before I go to bed). The physio recommended I do this as soon as the dressing was taken off at 2 weeks. It was very sore and tender then and I started using Sudo cream at first as bio oil seemed to many chemicals. I now use bio oil first and then finish with sudo cream. This is to stop scar tissue under the scar sticking to muscles and tendons and causing pain when moving later on.

Went to my first lower limb class. I was so excited to be picked up by hospital transport and get out of the house. I didn’t have physio last week so I was ready for new exercises. It was nice to be around other people – nice to be sociable and to hear other people’s stories. I did some squats, heel raises, pelvic lifts, steps ups (front and side), glute work (high knees, lateral raises), balance board work and some stationary bike. The latter was good news as it means I am now use the turbo (gently) at home, I’ve been having pain in the front of my shin on injured leg during rest in the evening and on waking and was concerned about DVT but physio is not concerned. Back for more next week. It’s a 6 week block of sessions.

This is a hopefully a ‘good news’ story account of my recovery following surgery to have a dynamic hip screw (DHS) fitted to correct an incomplete fracture of the femoral head (hip). If you have found this blog then no doubt you will have had a similar experience. When I was told I was having the screw fitted I couldn’t resist the temptation to google… and find some horror stories. Then during the week following the surgery, where I suddenly had time on my hands, I looked again to find the ‘good news’ stories. I didn’t find them. I found a blog from at least 10 years ago by a female student in America. She was is her early 20s. She was similar to me in that she had a stress fracture that was misdiagnosed and then needed surgery. She was younger then me though (I’m 42) and she had a complete fracture of the femoral head whereas mine was very nearly complete. I read through her blog posts with hope. She had recovered from the surgery to have the screw fitted but she was feeling discomfort 1-2 years following the surgery and was seeking to have the implant removed. I read her blog posts in the months, weeks and ultimately, days leading up to the surgery to have the metalwork removed. She was anxious. She had no clear information about how her recovery would progress and whether the removal would be a success and allow her to return to sports pain free. She posted a day before the surgery. And then NOTHING! Not even a ‘I’m fine now guys and am so busy doing all my pain free sports I haven’t got time to update’. I continue to be haunted by this erupt cessation of posts. What happened to her? Did something awful happen on the operating theatre? I decided that maybe I should contact her by asking about her progress on her blog. But now I can’t even find that blog no matter how hard I search and am wondering if it was a morphine and diazepam induced hallucination? A few days after that blog I found one by Barry Gee. An active man who suffered a fractured hip following an accident. He had a DHS fitted too. He was in a lot of pain so he had it removed. He detailed the highs and lows of his recovery over 9 years. I read them all. He never returned to the sport he loved pain free but he eventually found a new passion. I admired his perseverance. These two bloggers (and the many other posts on forums about how people are not happy with their DHS and are still in pain or want it removed) made me feel anxious and negative about the metal in my leg and my own recovery. I wanted to reframe things in my mind, remain positive and be a good news story for those who may be looking for one. I have reasoned with myself that it is only the negative stories that get posted as the positive stories are too busy getting on with their lives. I am also saying a silent prayer that I am not jinxing my on recovery. I have made my husband promise to nag me and ensure that I write a final blog and don’t leave anyone hanging on if they happen to read it. So anyway, here goes… here is my story….

New Year Day to March 7th 2019

This is the day I felt pain in my left hip flexors on a speed session (running). I’d felt a slight twinge on a trail run a few days before but nothing of note. I walked/ran home and rested. 5 days later I stretched it with a foam roller and sat on a massage ball. It was painful and following this I couldn’t walk. I used an umbrella as a walking aid and saw the GP. I was given anti inflammatories and advised to see a private physio as it was an acute injury. The physio thought my hips were out of alignment and pushed the injured one back in. A week later I was still in agony and losing range of motion. My leg was going into spasm. I was given co-codomal and diazepam and told to go back to private physio in a week when things had settled. I was signed off work for 2 weeks. I hobbled around with a walking stick. I went to the physio who said it was nerve pain but he wasn’t sure about the bone as well. A coupe of days later the nerve pain subsided and I was left with a bone pain. I requested an X-Ray. I drove myself to the hospital, was x-rayed and then I drove him. I was told the GP would have my results in 2-3 weeks. I was frustrated as I wasn’t sure I should be weight bearing. Then 2 hours later the GP rang to tell me I had a grade 4 fracture of the femoral head and I needed to go to A&E ASAP. I’m not sure how or what was going on in my head but I honestly thought I was just going for a scan. When I got there I was put on immediate bedrest and told I would be operated on that night. I was shocked. They were confused. They thought that due to the extent of the fracture that it must have been caused my an accident that day. There was general disbelief among the medical team that it was a non-traumatic injury. I managed to get them to agree to an CT scan before surgery was undertaken as it had been 4 weeks since the initial pain during the run on NYD and I was hopeful some healing had occurred. I was prepped for op and admitted to the emergency orthopaedic ward. I wasn’t allowed to get off the bed for the next few days. I could write a book on the events on that ward so I won’t go into all that here. Looking back it was quite a traumatic time that often had me questioning ‘What the duck is going on?’

The CT scan turned into an MRI scan that took place the next day and confirmed the fracture had not healed and was very nearly complete (fully snapped). I had the choice of 6 weeks in hospital in traction (I would still be there now) or an operation and go home in a few days. I have a husband and two small children (10 and 6) so I chose the operation although I wasn’t at all keen about having metal in my leg and I knew there would be a lot of pain to come.

The operation happened about 48 hours after the MRI and this was deemed a success and I was discharged 4 says after the op. I had a spinal injection and sedation (along with music on my phone via earphones) which meant I didn’t see or hear anything and recovered well immediately post op. I was texting my husband a couple of minutes after waking up and chatting to the nurse about bees and honey. I was eating within a couple of hours. I was pain free for a good few hours. 

The following day I had a lot of swelling and pain. I was unable to move my left leg at all. I tried to swing it off the bed to see if I could sit up but was met with shearing pain and had to resort to lying down again. The nurse showed me how to raise my knee inch by inch by placing a rolled up towel underneath it when I was lying in the bed. The next day was better and I managed to stand and hold on to a Zimmer frame. Recovery came quickly following this with big leaps from morning to evening in relation to strength and movement. I was still in a lot of pain and this was managed with morphine, codeine, paracetamol and diazepam. I was motivated to work at increasing my movement even though it hurt as I could see that my family missed me and I missed them too. I wanted to go home. I listened to the physio and did the exercises. I weaned myself off the strong painkillers and 4 days later I was uncomfortable in my own hard bed trying to stop my children from arguing and fighting each other. Be careful what you wish for. The next day we sorted the mattress with memory foam and folded up single duvet to lay on and the kids and husband were aware of my limitations and what they needed to do to help me recover. I had daily injections of a blood thinner (still taking 5 weeks later) and wore compressions stockings for the first 1-2 weeks. mrs sister came and cleaned and cooked for me. other family members and friends rallied around and fed me well. Proper recovery resumed. 

I had been told that as this was my second non traumatic bone breakage (snapped fibula 15 years ago when running) it was advisable for me not to run again so I decided I needed new goals – cycling and learning to swim properly. I bought a bike and I looked up local swimming classes. I did my physio. I continued to gain movement. I still limped. It still hurt. I wasn’t allowed to drive for 6 weeks post op so I was mostly at home on my own. I carried things from room to room in a cloth bag around my neck/shoulder or in the pockets of my clothes. I googled a lot. the latter was not always a good idea.

I had weekly 1:1 physio for the first 3 weeks and then nothing for the 4th week. 

I had a review with the orthopaedic team at the hospital 4 1/2 weeks following the op. I explained that I was in a lot of pain in the mornings in my hip and leg and I could feel the screws in my femur shaft – he didn’t believe me. I was now able to walk around the house without my crutches and was down to one crutch when doing short walks outside. I had started walking 10 minutes a day on the treadmill (very slowly) and was adding some strength exercises to the ones that the physio had given me. I went to the swimming pool to do some of the phyio exercises. 

4 weeks post op I had a lot of bloods and a lumbar X-Ray taken to check for possible causes to the non traumatic fractures. I’m still waiting for all the results to come back. I have been told I will have a DEXA scan to check bone density. 

07-03-19 – today – it is 4 weeks and 5 days since the op. I have made tremendous progress in my recovery since the early days post op but I still have a long way to go. I have pain in the mornings which eases with activity. I have pain if I sit for periods. I have pain if I do too much activity. Its a fine balance. I don’t have full range of motion of my knee and hip e.g. I still limp when walking, I have an odd unbalance gait negotiating stairs and I am unable to kneel properly (definitely cannot sit back on heels when kneeling as extremely painful). I am starting the first group physio session tomorrow where I am hoping to get the green light to go on a stationary bike. The waiting for the blood test results and not having any answers to why this has happened has taken its toll this week and I need a new focus. 

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Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton