I need to have a THR but I had polio with residual weakness in the right leg. Is rehab afterward difficult?

-- Vangie Dones (jalynn11@hotmail.com), December 23, 2004

Answers

That depends on the degree of muscle weakness. You obviously won't get stronger than you were before you developed arthritis. However the pain from the arthritis inhibits normal muscle function and while patients don't necessarily develop more muscle strength, they can use what they have more comfortably and more effectively once they have recovered from the original surgery. Also, after the pain from arthritis is relieved they can participate in a vigorous exercise program designed to strengthen the muscles, something that they could only do on a limited basis because of the pain from the arthritic hip.

D.S. Hungerford, MD

-- David S. Hungerford, M.D. (dhunger@jhmi.edu), January 04, 2005.