My first physio session since being signed off from OHIP (August 11/17 – 3 months post-op).

Side Note: for those that aren’t from Ontario (or Canada) OHIP is the Ontario health insurance plan that covers medical stuff.  They cover physiotherapist following hip replacement surgery up until a certain point.  I’d say probably about 80% functionality (my opinion) at which point you would be fine on your own.  I like to do more then just the minimum and working privately with another therapists after my government covered therapist is done.

I was a little nervous.  While I have stayed active and mobile I have not kept up with scar management and specifics in relation to previous physio exercises I have been given.

My goal with Chris, my Athletic Therapist, was to focus on work that needed to be done to my scar.  To help break down the scar tissue and get things moving again.

Initial Assessment

After doing a general review and analysis he found that I had a down slip (something in my pelvis).  Apparently, a lot of people don’t even believe it’s possible, but it happened to me.  We fixed it, once he recalled how too.  He was amazed.  I told him I should be studied since all these unique and unlikely things seem to happen to my body.

Scar Management

Next was the scar manipulation and man did that hurt!  I hadn’t done much with it yet except a little cupping.  I was told not to touch it for 6 weeks and then I had been travelling ever since (I’d been an idiot and now paying for it).  Chris started with manipulation using his fingers to feel the scar out and assess it, work on a few of the larger lumps.  He then moved onto Graston. I’ve spoken about this before, the use of a bambo or steel blade that can look a bit like a martial arts weapon for your hand.

It can be a little painful… but worth it!

IT Band

Following the scar work I asked Chris to work on my IT band as I had noticed a couple days earlier that it was crazy tight.  I learned this because my bf went to lay his head down on my leg, while we were watching TV, and I almost killed him haha.

My IT band caused me a lot of problems before hip replacements and at this point it still was. On going management of the tightness in my IT band was a daily thing, with only a handful of days of my not noticing it.

Things are slowly improving but a lot of work was still needed at the 3 month mark following my left hip replacement.