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After my hip surgery and a fall where the head was broken, I got a new hip. Since then I have had numbness in my knee on the operated side. My orthopedist did an x-ray, but there’s nothing to see.
Could it be that my thigh muscle or a nerve has been hit? And can you improve this with physiotherapy? Or do I have to learn to live with this? It hinders walking: it is as if there is a tight elastic around it. And if I lie down and bend the leg, my entire thigh sours.
Yvonne
Mark Chen, physical therapist:
What an annoying complaint. It is indeed possible that a nerve was hit during the operation. If that had serious consequences, it seems to me that the surgeon would have informed you. Feel free to ask the hospital where you were treated so that this can be looked at further. Usually, however, it is not a problem, even if the nerve has had a ‘tap’. Nerve tissue recovers slowly, but will most likely recover completely. So annoying, but no cause for concern.
It can also be worth ruling out that the complaints you feel have no other cause. Swelling, or a lack of blood circulation in the region can also cause radiation complaints. Sometimes these complaints have a similar character to an actual problem of the nerve.
A physical therapist can help you test the nerves in the skin area, and can also test the hip to see if there might be another cause.
I think that’s definitely worth a try!
Mark Chen
Do you also have a question? Then ask one of our experts. Always go to your doctor with urgent questions, the experts are not the right person for that. They don’t diagnose either. You can find the other conditions here.
Mark Chen is a physiotherapist and NASM trained personal trainer. Since August 2014 he has been working in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. His expertise lies in analyzing and optimizing movement patterns. Dry needling and medical taping are an important part of his vision and training predominates.