Question
I read a question and reply posted 5/10/06 regarding pain after hip replacement.  I had a THP with titanium parts on 4/27/05.  I continued to have pain.  My orthopedic doctor continued to xray my hip for 8 months and said everything looked fine.  Thinking it was a back problem, he finally referred me to a neurosurgeon.  Seeing a small disk problem, he did backsurgery to absolutely no help with my pain.  After numerous tests, he then referred me to a pain management clinic.  I could tell the problem was with my hip and not my back - severe muscle pain and numerous other feelings in my hip area. When I am in one position for a while, either sitting or sleeping, my leg muscles freeze up and it takes a while to get them stretched out and with extreme pain.  It is very difficult to get up and to start walking.  So I went back to my orthopedic doctor who then agreed something was wrong with my hip.  He ordered a bone scan to see if the replacement was loose.  It did show something in the cup area. A blood test showed no infection.  Then he had my hip asperated and a full syringe of fluid was drawn out.  Cultures on that showed no infection.  He is now referring me to another orthopedic doctor specializing in hips.  Someone, holistic, suggested that I may be allergic to the titanium.  Based on the brief summery of this, the muscles can freeze up from the toxins.  Do you have any suggestions or do you know what the symptons of titanium allergy cana be?  

Answer
Hi Danny

You've had quite a time of it haven't you?  I am so sorry for all you went through but hopefully you will see the light at the end of the tunnel soon.

I, personally, have never heard of anyone allergic to the titanium, but that is not to say it's not possible.  My other suggestion is that when a holistic person says something, take it with a grain of salt.  I work in a holistic environment, and many times people who claim to know a lot about holistic remedies, know very little.  I'm not saying it's all bad, but I had a very bad experience with my health after listening to a holistic practitioner.
I've never heard of muscles freezing up, but you might feel pain if you are allergic to something.  

Now, first of all, you should see an allergist, to find out if you are indeed allergic to titanium.  Then have your doctor check your leg length to see if you have a difference in length of over 1/2 inch.  I had horrible pain after my hip replacement, and we thought it was spinal, then we thought it was hip related, and I got numerous tests and they all came back negative.  I went to a pain management doctor, who put me on morphine, and I had all kinds of bad reactions and got off the drugs because the side effects were worse than the pain.  

I asked for Physical Therapy and the first thing they did was measure my leg length and found that one leg was 3/4 of an inch shorter than the other.  Because of that discrepancy, my gait was off, and I was not walking correctly.  They put 1/4 inch lift in my shoe and I had my other shoes built up 1/2 inch on the outside so my legs were even and I have not had pain ever since.  If I go without the lift, I feel pain again in my back and hip.  So have your doctor check the length of your legs.

Also, when I had my third revision done, it was a very hard surgery, and I lost nerves in my knee.  That sometimes give me pain as well.  When you sleep, are you sleeping with a pillow between your legs?  Try that.  If you sleep without a pillow between your legs, you may have one leg crossing over the other and that can cause pain as well and a possible dislocation.  Buy a body pillow at Bed Bath and Beyond and use that to sleep with, or put a regular pillow between your legs.

I hope I have given you some food for thought.  If none of these suggestions work, take your doctor up on the referral to a doctor that specializes in hips.

Best of luck to you in the coming year.

Sharon Davis