Hip replacement surgery can help lessen hip pain and improve your quality of but until you significantly improve your hip strength life gets harder before it gets easier. When I had hip replacement surgery I lost a significant amount of mobility that I once had and my life changed in ways that I never thought it would, Mobility loss is frustrating because everything in life becomes harder and often you require more assistance than you have ever needed before. I have had less mobility for a few years now and most people would see that as a negative and it is frustrating but not everything about my mobility loss is bad. There are a lot of things that I have learned from my mobility loss that I don’t think I ever would have learned if I never lost mobility because when you have less mobility it forces you to look at things in a completely different way. What lessons have I learned from my mobility loss? In this post, I am going to talk about a few lessons I have learned because of my mobility loss.
It taught me a new way to exercise- Exercise is important after hip replacement but it is not the same because a lot of the exercise you did prior to surgery is no longer possible. My exercise routine has not changed and I am still using YouTube videos to stay in shape but the types of exercise I do and how I do them have changed because a lot of the things I use to be able to do are no longer possible. My mobility loss has taught me a different way to exercise because fitness is not accessible and the way I use to do exercises no longer works. I have been forced to modify exercises in ways I never had to in order to make exercises accessible for me and accommodate my mobility loss. I did a lot of Pilates before having hip replacement surgery which I rarely do anymore because I can’t move my leg well and strength training is more accessible. Mobility has taught me to appreciate exercise even more because even though it is harder to exercise I am grateful it’s still possible.
It showed me how inaccessible the world is- As a disabled person, I have always been aware of the fact that we do not live in an inaccessible world, and hip replacement did not teach me that. When I lost mobility and was more dependent on my wheelchair, I became more aware of how inaccessible the world is for wheelchair users. I have been walking with crutches my whole life and usually am able to get out of my chair when something is not accessible but when I lost mobility and couldn’t do that as effectively it made me more aware of how inaccessible the world is which has made me want to be an advocate for accessibility even more. I have not been able to do as much because my mobility loss makes it more difficult to navigate barriers. When I was able to move better I took my abilities for granted and never truly realized how many unnecessary barriers there are because I never paid attention to them.
It taught me the importance of rest– I have always gotten fatigued more quickly than a non-disabled person because I have a physical disability and walk with crutches but since losing mobility I can do even less. I can’t stand for as long without pain and if there is one thing my mobility loss has taught me it’s the importance of resting and listening to your body. I have been forced to learn to pace my energy and rest because I don’t have as much stamina as I use to. I have never been very good at resting but because of my mobility loss, I have been able to better recognize when I need to rest because sometimes, I have no choice. Non-disabled people often are not very good at resting and want to be doing something all the time but when you are disabled you learn that rest is not laziness.
It taught me the importance of nutrition- When I lost mobility, one of the first things that I became painfully aware of was that I couldn’t exercise as much as I used to or at the same intensity without getting extremely fatigued. I think more about my nutrition choices, knowing that I can’t do an extreme workout and burn off all the calories, which was something I had never really thought about to the extent I do now. I was raised to eat healthy, but since I am not as active, I have to think more about my nutrition choices because I am not as active and get constipated more easily. You never truly realize how much more important nutrition is when you lose mobility. I did not eat as healthy when I was able to exercise more, and because of my mobility loss, I learned how to eat healthier, which has improved all areas of my health.
Mobility loss is hard, and I do hope that I get my mobility back because there are things that I miss doing but I am grateful for all the things my mobility loss has taught me. I have been forced to do tasks in a different way to accommodate my mobility loss and sometimes I wish I could do things the way I use to but a lot of the time I do figure out a different way to do a task that is actually easier, and I wouldn’t go back. Mobility loss has a lot of negatives but it also has a lot of positives because if you can look past the challenges, it will open your eyes to all the things you have learned from it. I am not grateful for my mobility loss, but I am grateful for less pain which I would have never gotten without having hip replacement surgery. If you had hip replacement surgery and lost mobility, what lesson have you learned? If you liked this post, please leave a comment below and share it with your friends.
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