“On the Other Side”- A PT’s Review of Being a Patient

Five years ago, I tried to increase my running from 10 to 13 miles. I couldn’t do it. Not because of the cardiovascular aspect…I began to have R hip pain. Over the course of the next 5 years, the pain and stiffness became more intense and my 10 miles got reduced to 5, then to 3 and then to none. I modified my activities as the symptoms progressed and began biking and swimming which did not bring on any pain. Last year, as I had trouble playing tennis and putting on my socks, I decided to get it evaluated in New York City. The surgeon looked at the x-ray and confirmed that I had significant bone spurs present, which were limiting my movement. I had also had a lumbar fusion for scoliosis in 1990, 24 years ago, from T1-T12. This resulted in compensations and overuse issues that contributed to my needing this procedure. The doctor said I was an ideal candidate for hip resurfacing. It took me a year to make the decision based on work, family, and some apprehension, but I scheduled my surgery for April 29th, 2014 at Hospital for Special Surgery. I would have Dr. Edwin Su perform the surgery.  He had performed the greatest number of these procedures and had good outcomes and satisfaction scores.

The surgery went well. Other than a delay in getting me to my room and some reduced staffing with the nurses, I was pleased with the overall experience.  The recovery, however, was not as quick as I would have expected. I did well in the hospital and went home after two nights there. Upon returning home, I reduced pain medicine and then had chills and sweats for 4 additional nights. I went to Princeton ER to rule out infection and they could not find any evidence of one. However, the sweats and chills continued until I took the antibiotic prescribed by my primary care MD, Dr. Harvey Weingarten. The rest of the recovery was not as eventful. I had some pain with weight bearing and as a PT was concerned about a common complication of this surgery- femoral neck fracture. After another week, this pain subsided. This showed me the need to be patient while recovering. It may not be easy, especially when every day seems like forever. After two weeks at home, I returned to work and found myself still using crutches and having some difficulty doing the “physical” work required as a PT. Fortunately, our PTA, Jenna Berger, was more than willing to help out and treat more patients as I continued my recovery. Jenna, Geoff, Mike, Sean and my wife Melinda, all took turns treating me. Let me tell you…working in a physical therapy office is a great place to be when you are recovering from an injury. I have been getting treatment almost daily and this has significantly helped  in my recovery.

After 3 1/2 weeks, I was able to get rid of my crutches and wean to a cane. In another week I was able to wean to no assistive device. I was also surprised by my muscle shut down after the surgery. I had seen countless individuals after hip and knee surgery and knew that this would probably happen, but I could not predict how much it would happen. I had literally no strength in my gluteus medius. But as they say, “time heals” and after 4 weeks, the gluteal strength significantly improved. I return to the surgeon tomorrow for a re-evaluation. I am optimistic regarding my progress and outcome, but have some questions for him. I always advise my patients to write questions down before seeing the doctor, which I will do as well.
In summary, having this surgery has made me more empathetic to our patients. I have had similar concerns and apprehensions that many of my patients have had. It is true that as PT’s we not only heal the physical, but the psychological as well. Rehab is not easy and our patients are lucky to have physical therapists to help guide them through this process. I am thankful to my family, friends and staff who have helped me in my recovery. I also have my patients to thank who always gave me positive reinforcement that I was improving with my gait and movement every day I saw them. Having a positive attitude has been a major factor in my recovery.

Written by:  Dr. Marc Rubenstein, PT, DPT, OCS