Don't bring your knee up higher than your hip. Don't lean forward while sitting or as you sit down. Don't try to pick up something on the floor while you are sitting. Don't turn your feet excessively inward or outward when you bend down.
Within the first week after surgery, stay alert for any signs of infection such as fever, redness, and discharge from the wound. Proper wound care is also essential. Sponge baths are recommended until two weeks after hip surgery or before the staples that close the wound are removed.
Most people will fully recover from hip replacement surgery within a few months to a year, but recovery times vary for each patient. Expect about one to four days of bed rest immediately after surgery, but physical rehabilitation usually starts the same day as your procedure.
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.
After hip replacement surgery, you will need a raised toilet seat on your toilet at home. This is to make sure that your knees are not higher than your hips when sitting.
Do not shower until 3 to 4 days after your surgery, or when your provider told you to shower. When you can shower, let water run over your incision but do not scrub it or let the water beat down on it. Do not soak in a bathtub, hot tub, or swimming pool.
Most patients, even if they live alone, can safely go directly home from the hospital after hip or knee replacement surgery, according to a recent study.
A cane, crutches, or a walker. A reacher to help you pick up things from the floor, put on your pants, and take off your socks. A sock aid to help you put on your socks. Handle bars in the bathroom to allow you to steady yourself.
After the operation and throughout the early stages of recovery, you will need some form of support when ascending or descending stairs, such as using the handrails and a cane. At home, your stairs should have some handrails or banisters already installed.
The best sleeping position for your hip is to lie on your back with a pillow between your legs. This will ensure you won't twist your body during sleep, which could put you at risk of your new hip popping out of its socket.
The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons recommends a waiting period of 4–8 weeks post-surgery before recommencing driving in an automatic car.
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.
Being unable to pass urine after surgery (post-operative urinary retention or 'PO-UR') affects four out of every 10 patients who have had an operation. It is particularly common in older people having hip or knee replacement surgery. PO-UR is managed by inserting a tube to drain the bladder, or 'catheterisation'.
Implants that are sized too large can cause your tendons to become overstretched and irritated. Conversely, implants that are sized too small can cause your tendons to be under-tensioned and lead to dislocation. Impingement can cause pain of the groin, front of your hip, and even into your thigh or buttock.
Some swelling and initial pain at the joint are normal after hip replacement. To help reduce pain: Take time to rest between therapy sessions. Ice the leg and the incision site.
Most people experience some pain after a hip replacement. Pain usually ranges from mild to moderate and may radiate to the thigh. Doctors call post-hip replacement surgery pain in the thigh femoral stem pain. A hip replacement is a common procedure that replaces a hip joint that is no longer functional.