If you have undergone cemented or hybrid hip replacement, you can put some weight on the leg immediately using a can or walker, and you should continue to use some support for 4 to 6 weeks to help the muscles recover.
Start with a maximum of 25% of your body weight and progress slowly to a maximum of your full body weight. Only progress weight once comfortable with 3 sets of 15 reps.
Most hip replacement patients are able to walk within the same day or next day of surgery; most can resume normal routine activities within the first 3 to 6 weeks of their total hip replacement recovery. Once light activity becomes possible, it's important to incorporate healthy exercise into your recovery program.
The second complication we try to avoid is loosening of the implants. This can happen when patients do too much walking and stress the implants prior to the ingrowth process. Generally, I advise patients to walk only a few hundred yards a day total until they get to around six weeks.
I recommend that you walk as much as your feel comfortable (at least 2-3 times a day), trying to walk a little further each time. You may walk inside or outside as you feel comfortable. As stated above, you will need a walker or cane for stability for the first 3-6 weeks.
You should not bend your hip beyond 60 to 90 degrees for the first six to 12 weeks after surgery. Do not cross your legs or ankles, either. It's best to avoid bending to pick things up during this period.
It's best to avoid sleeping on your affected side for at least six weeks. After your doctor gives you the go-ahead, listen to your body, and only lie on your operative side when you feel comfortable.
Try to sit in a straight back chair (avoid low sofas, recliners, or zero-gravity chairs) for the first 6 weeks.
Gentle exercise is beneficial, such as short, gentle walks around your home and outside. Supervised physiotherapy, like rehabilitation programmes and hydrotherapy, can also help improve recovery in the weeks following surgery.
However, even the most successful hip replacement is not immune to postoperative aches and pains, the most common of which are pains in or around the buttocks.
Proper walking is the best way to help your hip recover. At first, you will walk with a walker or crutches. Your surgeon or therapist will tell you how much weight to put on your leg. Early on, walking will help you regain movement in your hip.
If you do not get physical therapy after you have surgery, your joint or muscle group may not heal properly or operate at the level it did before your injury or surgery. Also, you will miss out on all of the benefits we just talked about. You're likely to experience a loss in your range of motion.
Your artificial hip will never be as stable as a normal healthy hip so you must learn to avoid certain movements. Another difference is that the synovial fluid produced in the natural hip joint, acts as a lubricant. In the artificial joint, smooth gliding action depends on evenly honed surfaces.
After a hip replacement, many patients can kneel down after completing the precautionary period of three months. The safe way to do this is to perform a single-legged kneel whereby the patient kneels on the knee of the operated side only. This means that the other hip has to bend whilst the operated hip stays extended.
Seniors should avoid hip flexion past 90 degrees — bending your hip too far or lifting your knee too high. This movement occurs when you lift your leg or your knee up towards your body. For example, when you put on socks or shoes. Generally, keep the knee below hip level.
Once the arthritic joint is replaced, the muscles and tissues surrounding the joint must regain the elements necessary to allow optimal movement. The hip joint is complex, in that it moves in several directions and requires profound strength in order to propel us out of chairs, up stairs and forward while walking.
Physical therapy may begin as soon as one or two days after surgery, with your doctor's approval. It typically starts slow, with seated exercises such as ankle rotations, slowly progressing up to walking with assistance.
The swelling and pain from your hip pain and surgery can lead to weakened muscles around the hip and knee. The quadriceps muscle usually is affected. Exercises can be chosen to help regain the strength in the muscles around the hip.
For physical therapists, job number one for their patients recovering from hip replacement is strengthening the gluteus maximus muscles in the buttocks. “We need the glutes to be very strong,” Lamothe says. “They protect the hip and keep it stable, which helps the joint last as long as possible.”
During my hip rehabilitation, I talked to several physical therapists at Twin Cities Orthopedics. They all recommended using a stationary bicycle for two to three weeks to help reduce the swelling. For a knee replacement, you may need to wait an additional week or two before starting to ride outdoors.
As you continue physical therapy, your pain levels should slowly decrease to about 1 or 2 in 12 weeks after the hip replacement.
Most people, though, experience surgical pain for approximately two to four weeks following hip replacement surgery. Your activity level, medical history, and any pain you're dealing with before surgery have an effect on how long it will take you to make a full recovery.