Everyone recovers differently, but it's often possible to return to light activities or office-based work within around 6 weeks. It may take a few more weeks if your job involves heavy lifting. It's best to avoid extreme movements or sports where there's a risk of falling, such as skiing or riding.
Studies show that nearly 90 percent of hip replacement patients feel better and resume normal activity within a few months, and sometimes even weeks, following the operation.
Within 12 weeks following surgery, many patients will resume their recreational activities, such as talking long walk, cycling, or playing golf. It may take some patients up to 6 months to completely recover following a hip replacement.
Repetitive motions and high-impact activities can damage an implant over time. These types of activities include running, heavy weightlifting, jumping, and more. You may need to avoid sports, such as soccer, cross-country running, racquetball, or basketball, which involve these repetitive motions.
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.
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.
The average patient age for a hip or knee replacement surgery is between 66 and 68, which means that it is reasonable to expect a joint replacement to last for the remainder of life in 80 to 90 percent of patients.
Having an orthopedic surgery can leave you feeling tired for weeks or months after the procedure. Here's a list of 7 main causes of fatigue after surgery: surgical stress, blood loss, medications, pain after surgery, energy of healing, dietary changes, and sleep disturbance.
Advantages. Most people who have hip replacements notice an improvement in their overall quality of life and mobility. Freedom from pain is often the main benefit of surgery. You should expect to have some pain from the surgery to begin with, but you'll be given medication to help with this.
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.
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.
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.
Normally, driving should be avoided for the first 6 weeks and even travelling as a passenger is best avoided for the first three weeks (except for essential journeys), as getting in and out of a car can risk straining the hip and stretching the healing tissues.
Take it slow and steady, doing small exercises a few times a day. A trained physical or occupational therapist can also help if needed until you're strong enough to do it on your own. Staying positive is crucial to recover and beat fatigue after surgery. So, try to stay away from any kind of stress.
3-4 weeks post-op
Continue with the above exercises and continue to increase the distance that you walk outside, some patients by this time may be comfortable walking as much as a mile a day. Hopefully you may feel confident enough to go to the local shop or supermarket.
It can take upto 6-8 weeks for the tissues to heal and hence the prolonged hip precautions before being able to tie shoe laces, bend down and pick up things, crossing the legs, sleeping on the side or even driving.
At first, your doctor may recommend other treatments such as medicine for pain or inflammation, walking aids, joint injections and physical therapy. If these measures do not relieve pain and stiffness, hip replacement surgery may be necessary to restore function and improve quality of life.
Joint replacement surgery relieves the pain and stiffness of arthritis for most people. Some people may still have some symptoms of arthritis.
Among the study findings:
Approximately 0.8 percent of Americans are living with a hip replacement, and 1.5 percent with a knee replacement. More women are living with prosthetic hips and knees than men.
To minimize the risk of dislocating your hip replacement, keep in mind the 90-Degree Rule: Do not bend your leg at the hip past 90 degrees (a “right angle”). Also avoid crossing your legs and squatting.
There is no official cut-off age for getting a hip replacement. In fact, trends indicate that hip replacements have a higher success rate in older patients than younger ones! This means, as long as patients are healthy, hip replacements are possible well past the 75 – 79 age bracket.
Total hip replacement eliminates osteoarthritis in the hip entirely. It may dramatically improve your quality of life by alleviating pain and restoring stability and range of motion to the hip.
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.
Driving. The Roads & Traffic Authority recommends you should generally not drive for six weeks following a hip replacement.