Recovery from Hip Replacement Surgery

Hip replacement surgery is an option for patients who are experiencing chronic, severe pain in their hips, and conservative treatments like pain injections do not work to alleviate their pain. A hip replacement may also be the only option for a person who has a broken hip.

In this type of surgery, an orthopedic surgeon replaces the damaged portions of your hip joint with metallic, ceramic, and/or plastic prosthetic parts that are made of medical-grade materials. This prosthesis minimizes hip pain and improves your mobility and function.

What to Expect After Hip Replacement Surgery

Patients who have undergone hip replacement surgery must be careful to avoid doing anything that could undo the work that was done. Recovery is a process that takes several weeks of physical therapy and a number of months of independent home-based exercise therapy after hip surgery.

In other words, you should continue performing the daily exercises your physical therapist showed you in the weeks immediately after the operation. This will help keep your new hip – and your natural tissues that are holding it in place – healthy and strong.

The following are some activities you will accomplish after your surgery:

• Early Mobilization – As soon as possible after hip surgery, your doctor will encourage you to sit up and walk with crutches or a walker. The medical field has learned that patients who are as active and mobile as possible soon after a procedure – during virtually any kind of recovery – actually heal better than those who remain in bed or are inactive.
• Application of Pressure – You may be told by your doctor to wear compression clothing to help prevent blood from clotting in the leg veins.
• Physical Therapy – You will be assigned a physical therapist to show you how to move in healthy ways and what movements to avoid while you recover. The therapist will guide you in some simple exercises and stretches for your legs and hips, and they will encourage you to keep your new hip strong by doing the exercises every day.

Tips for Recovering from Hip Surgery

The following do’s and don’ts can help quicken your speed of recovery after a hip operation: 

• Always keep your leg facing forward (the leg that is adjacent to the affected hip).
• Use ice therapy to minimize swelling and pain if necessary.
• If your therapist directs so, apply heat therapy on your legs for several minutes before your strengthening and mobility exercises to help increase your range of motion.
• Minimize your exercises if your muscles or bones start to ache, but do not stop doing them.
• Never cross your legs at the knees when sitting.
• Do not rotate your leg too far.
• Do not bend down at the waist or reach down.
• Do not bring your knees up higher than your hip.

Hip Surgeons in Wayne County, Ohio

Having chronic pain in your hip may interfere with your daily activities. When conventional treatment methods such as pain medication and physical therapy are no longer useful in reducing the pain and stiffness, hip replacement surgery may be the best option. It can reduce or eliminate your hip pain while also improving your flexibility and mobility.

Come visit our experienced medical specialists and hip surgeons at Wooster Community Hospital to discuss your options in treating hip pain. You may call us at (330) 263-8100 or contact us today to request an appointment. We look forward to helping you get back to an active, more pain-free lifestyle.