“Hobbling into John Gripper’s consulting room at Harris & Ross in Manchester I wanted to know if I had reached the end of my hip replacement recovery. Was I to expect no more in the way of mobility? Had I expected too much all along? Was pain, instability & uneven gait forever part of my future?
For all the effects associated with osteoarthritis of the right hip I had been offered a replacement joint three years ago. At the time I specifically said to the consultant that I expected the outcome to give me a mobile & pain free life. He agreed wholeheartedly. I assured him I was happy to undertake the post op work required to reach our jointly held goals.
Surgery was eventful. An inter-operative femoral fracture occurred during the use of a Remer drill. The fracture was ‘caught’ wired & repaired. The hip was replaced. Post op recovery went well & I returned home. I was seen once by the outpatient physiotherapist.
Ten days later, having achieved a good level of mobilisation with crutches there was a sudden change. I could no longer put my foot flat on the floor, a new burning pain in my thigh kicked in after 10 steps and mobility was much reduced.
I returned to my consultant who later showed me the CT scan picture of a re-fractured femur. The repair had been ineffective & revision surgery was necessary. The fracture was again repaired, and a second new hip installed.
The reserved bed in the High Dependency unit was not required post operatively and comments were made about my level of fitness & general health that propelled me through a three & a half hour surgery and forward towards recovery.
I refer to my right hip as a ‘junk yard’. I’ve seen the X-rays of wires, screws & general upholstery designed to repair & stabilise.
The continuation of COVID restrictions reduced my access to physio so I pushed on myself getting a good recovery from my surgery.
As happens, my left hip then began to fail. Pain and immobility could only lead in one direction and another new hip was installed within two years of my first & subsequent surgery. An overnight procedure found me with my third hip replacement and happily on my way home.
A comment made by the surgeon set the tone for my recovery. She told me that she found the musculature around my hip to be thin & compromised by much compensation for my right hip. It needed a lot of re development & strengthening. ‘How?’ I asked, ‘physio’ she replied oh yes and walking! Tough when it’s so painful to do exactly that, however, I attended my (private) physio at four weekly intervals working in between appointments to increase mobility and wondered every day if this was the day that would see improvement. Not the case.
I pushed on.
I needed a stick to get anywhere. I avoided stairs. I looked for lifts. I had a ‘bobbling’ side to side gait that I always associated with ageing. Ok, I was ageing but I was supposed to be getting better!!!
Walking the dog or an extended shopping trip was out of the question. Pain meds featured largely, some heavy artillery, Naproxen, codeine phosphate for example, were kept in reserve but a daily cocktail of such as co-codamol, ibuprofen and paracetamol PRN was the norm. Was this the future?
Physio was getting nowhere towards recovery. I was told ‘there’s lots of time, you’re not a year post surgery yet’. I wondered when I would be strong again & healed. I missed being fit & feeling well. With continuous pain & meds and no improvement on the horizon I felt generally unwell and low and in mourning for a previous active and physical life.
Please do not underestimate the psychological effect of pain, immobility and the 180-degree change in lifestyle this brings. It’s demoralising and depressing. Confidence drops, everything is an enormous effort, sometimes not worth making and it becomes impossible to think there will be a breakthrough.
So I needed to take action.
I decided I needed ‘a fresh pair of eyes’ on my situation. I didn’t know who, but another physio who could give me a complete appraisal & some answers. I Googled, ‘Best physios in Manchester’ and Harris & Ross came up. I made an appointment online & met with John Gripper.
‘Is this it’ I asked at my first appointment. ‘If it is ‘ I continued, ‘I will make the adjustments I need’. If it wasn’t I was prepared to work like stink for improvement.
John told me that this wasn’t ‘it’, and that there was huge room for massive improvement. I absolutely felt that recovery had started, and I was in safe hands. My appointment ran over hugely but John, taking a full history & starting treatment was happy to push on & give me the first session of treatment.
It’s difficult not to lapse into hyperbole & adjectives of the fantastical when talking about the most amazing effects of Neuro Muscular Activation which John demonstrated to me at that first session. As one who will take any amount of peer or scientific review of a treatment or drug I soon learnt to ‘trust the process’ which was a total revelation. I can honestly say that even at the first session the improvement in my mobility was astounding. Understanding the physiological needs of breathing & movement explained much about the struggling muscles attempting to keep my body upright & mobile and hurting in the process! Stimulating the neural pathways to persuade the correct muscles to work again eased pain, increased strength and actually (hyperbole again) changed my life!
It’s no easy treatment, it’s hard work! It requires engagement & determination although, as results quickly appear its efficacy becomes clear.
There is a robust massage approach to the technique that can be painful at times, although this is closely monitored, and nothing is allowed to become unbearable. Areas of inflammation are addressed with deep and soothing massage techniques.
John regularly tested for improvement & changes of balance & strength and happily, regular improvement could be demonstrated. One reason for this was that I continued the activation process at home between session with John. He could see this as my improvement was far greater than his weekly sessions would have led to had I not kept things going at home.
A second reason was that nothing succeeds like success as they say and my daily improvement, commented on by many and appreciated hugely by me, was the motivation I needed to continue the activation process.
I can’t tell you how it works, I just know that it does. It’s an area of physiotherapy I had never heard of and indeed its background is not prolific in its documentation. I have searched!!
Daily improvements led to the very happy abandonment of my stick and with it the growth of confidence that I didn’t need to carry it ‘just in case’. Pain meds reduced considerably as strength and stability increased and distance & duration improved massively. Small movements became much easier and pain free such as getting in & out of the car, turning away from the wash basin after cleaning my teeth (who knew?!) dressing and tying shoelaces.
Along the way I noticed that whilst my joint pain was settling another & familiar pain had crept in. This was recognised as sacroiliac joint pain that I had had treated previously. Following the third injection of the facet I was told that a sacroiliac ablation would have longer lasting effects the next time treatment was required. I underwent the ablation procedure and was extremely happy with the result. An absence of back pain now led to greatly increased periods of walking & general activity on my activated, strengthened & stable hips.
This is a continuing & non-linear process.
Some days I have little or no reminders that things were so difficult before my treatment. Others, I may need 2 Paracetamol before I set out on a full day’s activity but nothing else. What a change!
I’m prepared to accept that the generalised creaking of aged joints in situations such as rising from a chair and getting going after some time sitting, comes with the passing years and the best thing is to keep going, the difference being that since Neuro Muscular Activation treatment from John I CAN keep going!
The fantastical adjectives again come to mind and I can only relate my experience of this treatment as it has helped me. I have no hesitation in recognising the reality that it did change my life indeed it gave me back a life I thought was lost to age, pain & immobility.
Thank you.”
Ann has been seeing John Gripper in our Manchester clinic.
Book in for an assessment online, or call us on 0161 832 9000.