Pain after exercise

Jojo

hello, I have spinal osteoarthritis and scoliosis. I have recently started playing table tennis with our U3A and I absolutely love it. However, I have to take painkillers to do it and the next day I really hurt and can’t do a lot. It’s almost worth it for the joy I get from playing but I am just concerned that I might be doing more harm. Is it possible that you can exacerbate a condition by exercising?

helpline_team

Hello @Jojo, great to hear that the table tennis is giving you a lot of joy, and keeping moving is one of the best ways to help ease stiffness and pain. Physiotherapists advise people to start slowly, build up gradually, and to include a balance of strengthening, stretching and aerobic exercises in their routine. It may just be that you’ve done too much too soon, or don’t have the right mix of exercises. With severe pain after exercising, we’d recommend that you stop and talk to a healthcare professional about it. The links below may help you determine if you’ve overdone it and provide tips to help you continue safely. Hope it helps.

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/exercising-with-arthritis/how-much-exercise-should-i-do/#how-much-exercise-should-i-do?_how-will-i-know-if-i-have-overdone-it?

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/exercising-with-arthritis/exercises-for-healthy-joints/exercises-for-the-back/

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/conditions/back-pain/#back-pain_managing-your-symptoms

Thanks, Natalie, Helpline Advisor.

shena

hi- I’m new to this group. Had a hip replacement on 6th July and although the pain was pretty bad on day 1 and day 2, by day 3 I decided to ditch the codeine as pain had got so much less. I’ve been doing all excercises as documented so much so that I can walk just using one crutch now and movement is so much improved. However. I have sciatica type pain starting high in my bottom down thigh and then down side of my shin down to ankle. Is this as I think, and is it doing too much too soon. I am using Ibruprofen 10% gel on all areas but wonder if there is any excercise to do to ease or cure this. It is there during day but at night seems to be even more evident.

helpline_team

Hi @shena

Welcome to the group.

You're still very early days following your surgery and although it is encouraged to move the joint and exercise the surrounding muscles and soft tissues, you must listen to your body. You will experience pain from the surgery wounds as it begins to heal but if nerve pain, numbness or tingling continues, it may need investigating by a doctor as there may be some nerve damage or impingement. You might find the glute exercises helpful but remembering that little and often is key.

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/treatments/surgery/hip-replacement-surgery/

Best wishes,

Tracey - Helpline Advisor

frogmorton

Oh bless you @shena you ditched your pain relief pretty quickly there maybe you need it (or at least something) at night at the moment? I mean I have to agree with the helplines it is still very early in your recovery it's easy to overdo it.

Would you be interested in reading some of the recent recovery threads by our members?

There's @Nurina , @JPT @Janlyn and @alwayssewing to name a few? They have all had recent hip surgeries and will definitely share their own experiences with you. They have all been amazing!

Take care

Toni xx

alwayssewing

@shena please slow down and listen to your body. I am 9 weeks into my second hip replacement and I do understand the impatience to recover but it takes 12 weeks to heal from the operation. It heals from the outside in and you must take care of yourself even when you feel you can do more. You body will quickly tell you if you overdo things and you really don't want to cause any damage.

A friend ignored the advice to take things slowly and ended up slipping outside and chipping a piece of bone off only three or four weeks after a hip replacement. They are still suffering over a year later.

Trish9556

Hi @shena

Please slow down! Trying to do things too quickly will make things worse for you. I'm 9 weeks post op on Monday and only now beginning to feel normal.

You also mention using Ibroprofen gel on all areas? I hope you are not using this on your wound? You should only apply creams to your wound once the stitches/clips have been taken out and the wound has fully healed. Even if you are applying around your wound, the cream is absorbed by your body.

Once your wound has healed (and not before), you can start using E45 (the thick gloopy stuff in a jar, not the bottled stuff) and rubbing it gently into your wound and the area around it.

With regard to coming off your painkillers, you will need these and should take them for another few weeks. The mantra is post surgery, take your painkillers on a regular basis to keep your body topped up. It also makes doing your daily physio easier and less painful afterwards. I only startred reducing mine after about 4 weeks and then it was a slow process until I saw the surgeon at 6 weeks and had come off of them. Even now, I do take the odd paracetamol when I've done too much.

It is a bit early to have reduced to one crutch too. You shouldn't do this until you have spoken to your physio and they have approved you doing this.

Please listen to your body, your surgeon, your physio and all of us on here who have had new hips. Rushing recovery will set you back.

Trish xx