By Pete and Lee Whitridge
| Hello from North of the Border. Lee and I are traveling in our RV in the Atlantic Maritime Provinces this year. These are lovely provinces and the Canadian people have been incredibly kind and welcoming. And the lobster rolls – yum! We will return in early October for a round of teaching in Sarasota, Vero Beach, and Gainesville. I’m looking forward to presenting my new class Enhancing Joint Replacement Rehabilitation at FSM in mid-October. |
| Lee and I were talking recently about the actual realities of her hip replacement experience. I “interviewed” Lee about her experiences over the last 15 months, asking about things that had surprised her, and what had helped and hindered her process and recovery. Some of her “takeaways” may be helpful for other joint replacement candidates as well as massage therapists supporting these clients. Here are three of Lee’s reminders:It takes longer to heal than you expect. Don’t compare your progress with others. Don’t wait. It takes longer: While the surgeon will probably dismiss you at 3 months, every nurse and family practitioner will tell you to expect your recovery to take at least one year. Or possibly longer for full recovery. While Lee had incredibly improved mobility in several months, there was still pain and certain movement restrictions. Yes, there will be friends and family members who felt “fully” recovered in just a few months who will be vocally wondering why it’s taking you so long. Just ignore them! This leads to the second takeaway: Don’t compare: Memories are generally quite rosy post-recovery once the pain has receded. I think this is amplified by the contrast with the extreme and limiting pain most people experience before they actually surrender to having the surgery they need. The “Oh, I was out dancing, hiking, snowboarding in 5 weeks post-surgery” is not the norm. Yes, you (or your client) will be greatly improved and able to resume activities that had become difficult or impossible, probably within a few months. But don’t be discouraged if it takeslonger to feel fully recovered. For us, while flying in June exactly one year after surgery, Lee realized she didn’t need a wheelchair and could maneuver her own luggage through the large Denver airport as well as Ft. Lauderdale at midnight, after sitting for hours during the flight. This was a noticeable milestone! Despite that, it still took another month and a half until she no longer had pain in her femur when rising from sitting. Encourage your clients to stay open to their healing process even if it feels lengthy, to notice even incremental improvements. Help them feel optimistic that they will continue to heal over time. Don’t wait: Have the surgery if it’s inevitable. If your X-Rays indicate no chance for improvement, why be in pain for longer than necessary? The longer you wait, the more your body will compensate in response to your pain. These patterns will be harder to correct later. Also, you are not getting any younger. Healing capacities and response to anesthesia are both impacted by age. The longer you wait, the longer your recovery can take. As Catie Miller says, “You are as young as you’ll ever be, and you are as old as you’ve ever been.” One caveat to this is if you are in the process of improving your health prior to surgery. A friend of ours needed to lose weight before knee surgery as prescribed by her surgeon, in order to support her recovery and rehabilitation. We’ll discuss many ways to support your clients (or yourself) in the upcoming class. We have agreat group formed and various class participants have had joints replaced. This means we will have the opportunity to touch and feel various joint appliances (ankle, hip, wrist, and knee so far). I’m excited to hear from our class members about their most important “takeaways” for helping clients as well as how they like to be touched, moved, and treated since their joint surgeries. I hope you’ll join us on October 17-18. [Register here for Enhancing Joint Replacement Rehab] [Visit Whitridge Wellness to see other upcoming classes] |
