Life After Hip Replacment Surgery

Hip replacement surgery can change your life dramatically. It will take away much of the pain you had lived with earlier and allow you to do a lot more.

However all this takes time and to be successful patience is a virtue worth cultivating! Ultimately you will find that you are able to do most of what you could do earlier, though you may have to change the way you do them.

Rehabilitation starts from the hospital itself under the guidance of your doctor and a physical therapist. Before you are discharged you will learn new ways to tackle every day activities, be it walking, bending or even sitting.

Some of the areas that will need special attention are:

Weight Bearing: Immediately after surgery your chief concern will be how soon you can get back on your feet. Different types of implants require different treatment, so this is best done under the guidance of your doctor and physical therapist. With a cemented or hybrid hip replacement you can put weight on your leg soon after the surgery using a cane or walker. The support will be needed until the muscles recover. In the case of an uncemented replacement it will take more time as the bone needs time to grow into the implant.

Sitting: Sitting down and getting up may be difficult to start with. However once you learn new ways to do this without putting pressure on your hips, it gets easier. It is recommended that you use chairs with arm support for the initial 3 months after surgery. You also need to avoid low chairs and stools as well as reclining chairs. Sitting for long periods may make you stiff so you will need to get up and move around every hour or so to keep yourself flexible. The physical therapist will help you learn how to sit and get up while keeping your affected leg straight.

Tackling Stairs: Stairs are best avoided until the healing process is well under way. If this is not possible be careful about always putting your unaffected leg first when climbing up and later when climbing down.

Sleeping: You do not need to adjust your sleeping position if you sleep on your stomach or back. However you will need to use the support of a pillow or a knee immobilizer if you sleep on your side.

Lifting: A cart or trolley can be used to lift large heavy objects.

Driving: Driving can be resumed about two months after the surgery. However you will have to learn new ways of getting in and out of the car and of using a stick shift, if you have one.

Leisure Activities Swimming and walking are activities that can help in your recovery process and can start 6 to 8 weeks after surgery. In time you will also be able to dance, cycle and golf, if it suits you. High impact sports like tennis and badminton or contact sports like football and rugby may remain out of your purview altogether.

Perseverance with the exercise routine and precautions will soon see you leading a normal active life again.