Guidelines For Actions After a Hip Replacement

After a patient has a hip replacement, there are certain requirements and restrictions that are made by his/her surgeon and/or physical therapist. These steps should be taken seriously and followed by the patient systematically. By following these precautions and steps, a patient will dramatically reduce their chances of having their new hip fail and help provide a good healing process.

There are many steps to take in order to manage the healing process of a hip replacement properly. A major issue that a patient should never do is to cross their legs for up to 8 weeks. Crossing ones legs will result in excessive tension and pulling on the replaced hip implant. Too much stress on the hip implant will cause it to loosen, dislocate, not cure properly or break.

A patient should never bend at their waist beyond a right angle. This action will create excessive stress at the new joint. A patient may need help for the first couple months after a hip replacement in dealing with everyday activities as in tying their shoes, picking up items and even putting on socks. This timelines is critical for proper healing and shouldn't be tested.

Other actions that should be crossed off by a patients therapist include standing with feet pointing in (pigeon-toed), leaning forward while sitting down, excessive stretching, jerky movements, etc. All these movements may cause the patients implant to fail. Using pain as a guide to determine the extent of abilities is never recommended. Pain should never be used as a guide, because the new hip replacement is not connected to any nerves in the human body, therefore the body will never know exactly how much stress it is exerting on the hip implant.

The recipient of a hip replacement should understand what guidelines they can perform after surgery. A physical therapist will explain what a patient will need to do in order to have a healthy recovery. Each patient will be on a case by case basis, but the guidelines are somewhat standard.

A physical therapist will give the patient a list of exercises to conduct on a daily or weekly basis. These exercises may be scheduled anywhere from 2 days to 2 weeks following hip surgery depending on the surgeons and physical therapists decisions.

Always keep the toes pointed straight and sit on high seats or stools. This will eliminate and reduce any stress that is put on the hip replacement.

It should also be noted that if a patient has one hip replaced and the patient must kneel down, the patient should kneel down on the side that was operated on. This way, the joint at the hip will stay straight and not bent at an extreme angle.

Also, if there is excessive pain, use ice as a remedy. Do not apply ice directly on the skin or hip area. Use a cloth or ice wrap when applying ice against skin.

Use a heating pad or warm towel and apply to the hip that was replaced, before exercising. This heating will increase the range of motion while exercising. If the muscles begin to ache when exercising, a patient can cut back, but shouldn't all together stop the exercises.

Hip replacement surgery can be a tedious and grueling process to overcome. By a patient following the regimen given to them by the surgeon, hip replacement failures rate decline substantially. Patients never put stress on their hips and follow all guidelines provided. In doing so, the patient will drastically increase their success rate after a hip replacement.