Pain/muscle Spasm after Total Hip Replacement

I had muscle spasms in the groin immediately following total hip replacement.   That pain was as bad or worse than the pain from OA.  (it was so sensitive that just a slight cough would cause pain in my groin).  My surgeon had no idea what the pain was; I ended up searching online and diagnosed myself.   I used heat and stretching several times a day - 3 months later the pain finally stopped.  Now almost a year and a half after surgery I am again having spasms...this time front, back and sides of my entire thigh.   At the same time, I had bursitis.   The pain was so bad I nearly passed out and was out of work for a couple days before I dragged myself back in.   Going from standing to sitting, rising from a chair, squatting (impossible), getting into/out of cars (regardless of whether it was low or high) caused pain to the point of crying.   Can not roll over in bed or bend over...all cause intense pain of varying types on my thigh.   Surgeon, neurologist.....(lots of co-pays later) do not know what it is.  It's now 6 weeks since this pain came on suddenly, without injury and it is finally subsiding.  (I don't know if it's quieting on it's own or if physical therapy is helping - 3x a week I go for stim, heat, massage)  On my own,  I use an infrared heating pad every night for an hour (more if I'm still awake when the timer runs out) and again the the AM.   I am trying to stretch but probably the stretches I need the most I cannot do because of risk of hip dislocation.    I'm not through this yet and do not know what brought this on.   All I know is anyone who had successful fast recovery from THR is very very lucky.   I am only 52, have been active my entire life, not fat (although I have gained some weight from forced inactivity).   Now, I will be glad if I can ever take a long walk again.   I went from cycling, gardening (landscaping), walking to making jewelry.   It has not been easy and extremely depressing at times.   I sometimes think I should have just dealt with the OA pain and limitations of a corroding hip, but....that pain was horrendous too.   I am sick of doctors, who seem to just guess.  (I'd like to be able to be wrong so often and make their salaries.)    Good luck with your spasms.   They're debilitating.   Use heat, stretching and massage as often throughout the day as you can and don't give up.   Good luck to you.  

I have the exact same thing. I had avascular necrosis of both of my hips and had the same pains before my THR of my left side on Oct, 15 08. I was so excited to have the surgery because I was going to get rid of the pains. I still had the pains after the surgery. When I was going to be released from the hospital my surgeon asked me, if I had any pains and I told him I was still having them in my groin area. He told me I wasn't suppose to be having them and that maybe it was just to soon. When I went to see him for my post op. I told him I was still having the pains and he told me it was all in my head since everything was all in the right place. I am getting very depressed over all of this because, I would have never went through the surgery to still have the pain. I am afraid to have the right side done. I still have pain getting in and out of cars and out of chairs , standing up and walking. I can't walk very far. I walk with a limp. It hurts to roll over in bed. I can't bend over still. Hard to put on pants and socks and shoes. I can't do any yard work or anything. I have to hire someone to clean my house. I am also using heat and a tens machine. The spasms are intense at times and wake me up. My leg has actually jumped the spasms have been so bad. I saw my rheumatologist today and he says it is a muscle that is extremely tight and something needs to be done about it. You know how it is to try and tell another doctor what another doctor says. I go see my surgeon next week so we will see what he has to say, all I know is I lived like this for 2 years before my surgery and I don't want to live the rest of my life like this. If you have found out anything since you wrote your post please respond.

Make sure this isn't a disc problem.  I had hip replacement 6yrs ago, all has been great until...I was in terrific pain for weeks.  My ortho said take aleve, and ice it, it's bursitis.  6 weeks this went on I've never been in pain like this before groin, front side my knee side of my leg horrible pain.  My leg wouldn't hold me.  Anyway the puzzled ortho sent me for at CT that's when they saw that L4 & L5 discs were bulging.  L4 the worst was pinching the femoral nerve causing all of the pain.  My back didn't ache anymore than it usually does during this time.

I had hip replacement a few years ago. I was fairly young for this procedure, only 45.  Right after the surgery and for the 12 hours post surgery, my entire operated leg started cramping up.  It was getting so bad that by evening, I was in utter pain.  Unfortunately, the nursing staff was assuming that it was surgical pain and remained confused as to why my morphine drip wasn;t handling it.  Then they added Valium, but that only sedated me.  Finally, I insisted that the physician on call be called at 2am.  I asked immediately for a muscle relaxant.  I told the doctor that I was in total contraction down my leg. . felt just like a long labor pain that never never ebbed.  It was extremely painful.  The hardest part was that, before I figured out what was happening to me, the nurses were insisting that I get up a little and start walking.  Just bumping my leg sent me into a painful fit. . they just weren't getting it. . .kept trying to move me.  They acted like I was some sort of wimp.  When I finally told them that I thought that I was in spasm, they eventually apologized.  Untreated spasm is like a rolling snowball.. it gets increasing worse and harder and harder to reverse if it continues.  Unbelievable experience. . .and I'v had 2 children.

I'm sitting here crying as I read these accounts of people's pain, because finally I have found people who understand what it is I am experiencing. I had this latest hip put in in November 04, a revision as the other replacement had been an 'ABG' and had done a lot of damage although was asymptomatic and felt perfectly fine.Since having this hip I have not had a single day without pain of some sort, I am currently in a very bad spasm phase and am back to using a crutch just to get about. This current phase has lasted three weeks so far, the pain is unbearable, depression is taking over. I am 37 I have a daughter of 6 and a son of eighteen months I have not seen my consultant since jan 07 that's nearly two and a half years , my previous consultant who was fantastic never missed an appointment he would manipulate my leg during examinations and watch my reactions to see where or if there was pain of any kind , unfortunately he retired and I'm now stuck with this guy who asks you 'on a score of one to ten, how much pain are you in' and then taps it into his laptop but forgetting to actually do anything to relieve one's pain.I remember telling him the last time I actually saw him that bending was nigh on impossible and incredibly painful for instance when I picked my daughter's toys off the floor, his response 'well your daughter's nearly four now she can do it for herself', I have since gone on to have another child and am still experiencing the pain and agony of attempting to bend combined now though with the pain I am experiencing in the knee of the other leg due to the extra weight and pressure it has had to endure ever since having this revision.I don't know how much longer I will have to put up with this, but thank god I have finally found people who know what I'm talking about. This constant pain is debilitating it has an effect not just on me but my family as a whole and I just wish I could find someone who could help, I have spoken to my GP she is in the process of trying to change my consultant for me as it is impossible to get an appointment with him and besides I have now completely lost faith in him and his abilities.

Yea wow I have the same exact problem. I find it extremely annoying that my endurance is so hard to predict. Some days I can go for the whole day, then others, like today, I can barely do anything. After I had my replacement I was walking fairly soon with no problems up until about 2ish months when I started having these terrible spasms. Before my surgery my thigh of my bad hip was so much smaller than the good one, so I thought that the spasms were just the intense amount of muscle building I was doing. I would be have to lift myself onto the couch and try to let my hamstring and hip flexor relax. As you all know when both your extensor muscles and flexor muscles contract at the same time it hurts a ton. Eventually this got less frequent until it stopped. Next I was haveing problems getting up and being very stiff when I first got up. I decided that I should exercise more and that helped so much until winter came and I could no longer ride my bike. Since my surgery I have had so many ups and downs I don't know what to think. At the moment I am the worst I have been since the original spasms after surgery. Best thing I have found is a gradual increase in exercise that both stretches and strenthens, biking. It is quite amazing how much it works. I still feel that something is wrong since my leg is strong and I have become flexible but my hamstring will just tighten and out of nowhere I will start limping. If something bumps into me while it is cramped it spasms like crazy. I believe that a lot of this is due to the fact that prior to my surgery there was a problem and the body still tries to protect my hip by tightening the muscles. I am 18 and had to have a hip replacement because of a tumor that ate away the bone inside my hip. Being a former runner and avid mountain biker I find endurance issues extremely debilitating and rather depressing at times.

Amazing!!!!! I can't believe I am NOT the only one. I was going crazy. At 38 I had a double birmingham hip replacement. The day of the surgery and all the time I was on my back, I was in soo much pain. They had the morphine drip, but it didn't do a thing. I requested a spinal block and they said they would do it, but I put up with the pain. They all thought I was faking it, they acted like there was no way I was still in pain. I was out of the hospital in 3 days and was on high doses of Percocet to control the  pain, but it wasn't working. I am 40 now and still can't put my socks on. They took back x-rays and mri's and said the L3-L4 and L4-L5 had some minor dehydration, but not significant. I got back injections but it really doesn't help. My problems are in my hips, groin and lower back and are fine unless I stand for more than an hour or walk a couple blocks. I get relief by sitting in a lazy boy chair at an angle. This is where I have slept for the last two years. I take tramadol and that helps me get going in the morning, but does nothing for the lockup type pains I get after prolonged standing, walking. The only solution is resting or sitting. They say there is nothing really wrong and are unable to treat. The other day I went to the dentist to get my jaw checked out and fitted for a mouth guard (TMJ) and he prescribed me cyclobenzaprine (flexeril). All the sudden, I have been able to get through 3 - 4 times the activity (walking or standing) without the lockups. I am going in next week for my 2 year post op and was suppose to get injections at the same time. I will mention the flexeril and hopefully find a solution. It's looking more and more like a muscle problem than anything else. One more thing. The PA that treats me post op said that they may have hurt my back during the surgery because they have to dislocate the hip to do the replacement. It's amazing to read these accounts and know that they all seem to be related to the hip replacement. To re-itterate. I have toerable pain from my replacement if I take tramadol, the serious pain I have is after prolonged standing or walking.

Thank God I found some other people who are experiencing the same thing I am.  I just had a Total Hip Replacement done on my left hip.  I am only 27 years old and I have Avascular Necrosis in both hips.  The left hip collapsed so much resurfacing was out of the question.  I had the THR surgery 2 weeks ago and all seemed fine initially.  Only pain I was feeling seemed like it was just pain from the surgery itself.  However the last few days I have been having some very bad muscle spasms right at the incision area.  Does not matter which position I am in, my leg will start shaking so bad and its so painful that it just about brings me to tears or to my knees.  I saw some mentioned that it could possibly be a back problem.  Before I had the hip problems I hd a ruptured L4-L5 disc that I had 2 unsuccessful discectomy surgeries on.  Is it possible that the disc could be posing a problem now after the THR.