Question
Dear Sharon - My Mother had a total hip replacement about 5 weeks ago. Since the first day after the operation she has pain and numbness in her heal, sometimes it is very painful. Is this a common side effect? What causes this pain? Are there other resources I can reference about this topic. I thank you in advance for your time.

Answer
Hi LynnMarie

Your mom's pain could be coming from different things.  Sometimes when they do the surgery, they put the foot in a sling to keep it immobile.  It might be that she has had some slight nerve damage from that position (if they did that), and it will take some time to heal.

It might also be residual pain.  Five weeks is not very long.  Normally people are given 3-6 months to fully heal depending on the age of the person, so she has some time yet.  The first six weeks are the hardest because she is learning to walk again and it also might be that she is not walking correctly on her foot and that might be causing her pain too.

If I were you, I would ask the physical therapist first.  Then go to the doctor.  But my gut reaction is that it's just normal healing.  In fact, she might at times have some knee pain too, all this should go away. Regardless, I don't know if the doctor will do anything until the first three months or so have passed.  This way most of her healing will be complete and she will be on the road to recuperation.

Best of luck to you both.

Sharon Davis