I noticed last few weeks my right hip hurts after my walks. So, I'm going to try these exercises. I know as I age it's always something else falling apart. These guys really helped with my really bad neck pain last year.
There's something to those exercises. Some years back I had bad sciatic pain that almost killed me to drive. The solution was lying on the hard floor on my back, bringing knee on hurting side up to chest and then pointing foot to as far left and right as possible. After several weeks of that, the pain went away and hasn't returned. Also, for years I had bad back pain that would put me down. Similar floor exercises repeatedly bringing both knees up and then lying flat and doing leg lifts cures that whenever it erupts (from an old high diving incident where they had to pull me out of the pool).
I agree, these exercises do help. I had back pain and did the exact same exercise as you. I first my back picking up a laundry basket, I was stuck in bent position, over the years this returned if I lifted or pulled too hard, after these exercises no more pain. It is hard to think that something so easy could work so well.
Back in mid 2003, we had bought me a new saddle, with plans on buying horse property here in Colorado. The saddle was sitting on a saddle stand and I decided to sit in it one day. Unfortunately I couldn't get my right leg up and over the saddle. Seen an ortho doctor and had an MRI done on the hip. The cartilage in the hip was almost completely gone. IOW, "bone on bone" and I was walking with a small limp. The only way to fix the problem was total hip replacement, which I had in Oct 2005. Three days in the hospital, plenty of rehab (that sometimes really hurt) and three months off of work. Today, the hip is doing fine, that is, unless I walk to much or stand for too long and then the thing starts talking to me, telling me "STOP WALKING!" or "SIT DOWN!". One thing for sure, exercise doesn't cure everything, sometimes a person simply has to turn to surgery.
I'm very glad for you that the surgery went fine. I agree that exercise doesn't work for us all but if it will work sometimes, I like to take it. If not than all I lost was some time. So far pain is not bad, so if it gets bad then I'll see what has to be done. Take care.