You know I had a hip replacement last October. I just want to encourage you to put up with soreness and do the PT exercises at home if they've told you to try to. Not sharply painful, just sore? Then do them if they've said to try. You'll be dealing with soreness for awhile, because when you get good at something PT will increase the difficulty! But down the road it will be soooo much better for you. And you can actually lessen your specific pain by strengthening everything around it.
Case in point: After I recently explained to my general practitioner the progress I've made, she told me another hip replacement patient she has in her care is still walking with a cane, six months out of surgery. Otherwise able-bodied, but that person did not and does not do the exercises at home, just stays on the couch all day.
I am walking normally and even skiing pretty well now (with some soreness the next day), five months out. My strength is pretty good and improving (forward, backward, sideways), and my flexibility is almost all back. I can put a sock and slipper or shoe on my operative leg, lifting my leg to reach my foot, without pain (silly, but that's been a personal measure of progress for me!). I am keeping up with the exercises still, increasing the difficulty and challenge, my goal being getting to and maintaining the strength and agility I had before. I do them on both legs. And I will continue, because as I get older I have seen how if you don't use it, you lose it.
Take advantage of the expertise the PT people have, and the coaching they can offer you. They know what they are doing. It really makes a difference!
PT tax:
This gorgeous rooster, I've posted about him before. He traveled over a mile, up and down two hills, through the forest, fields and two dirt roads. We heard distant crowing every now and then over a few days coming from the woods. It got louder, until one morning he was outside out house. We named him Hermanos and I gave him water and cornmeal (I didn't know about cat food or tuna or anything else then). But we got him back to his tribe and ladies safely that same day. I wish I could have a rooster!
