Post Op

Hi Synergy in what respect are you concerned with the restrictions, give us a bit more info and we can respond appropriately. Good luck with the op,

Hello! I,too ,was very worried about post op restrictions.The big one for me has been not bending past 90 degrees.My reaching stick, grabbers, and long handled shoe horn are my good friends,Doctors are different in what they tell you. Have you talked to anyone in the office yet? If not, you probably will be told at the hospital. There have been some good posts on here about managing at home.Good Luck!

You'll have a few days in hospital at first. During that time the PTs and OTs will come and visit you and help get you ready to go home and teach you the exercises you need to do.

Initially walking will be much more difficult and bending down will be much more difficult. Most people use aids for walking and picking things up.

Overall recovery takes about 6 months until you're back to normal.

This forum is full of good advice but the main point is listen to your surgeon. You do not say what type of procedure you are having and recovery/quality of new hip can be dependent on how the surgeon carries out the operation.

As a guide, for the first week you will be pretty much out of it due to the drugs in your body, lack of sleep and your leg which is probably very swollen. . Your leg will be like a lump of dead meat. You will be sleeping on your back and not very happy with life. You will be wearing TED stockings for around 4 to 6 weeks (until you are up and mobile). These help prevent deep vein thrombosis but are uncomfortable. They need to be changed every few days and you will need someone to put them on you. You will be taking pain killers as well as anti coagulant drugs so expect some constipation. You will be able to get around the house on your crutches and maybe even just one of them. Don't rush it. At all time adhere to the 90 degree rule on the bending of the hip.

Second week you will be able to move your leg better and be more mobile. You may even be able to sleep on your side with a pillow between the legs. Expect pain from the operation area as both your muscles and skin have been stitched. At 2 weeks, you can have your dressing removed and if the incision has healed nicely, you can have a shower. You will probably be able to stop taking pain killers at this point.

Third week on is all good. More mobility on your leg, much less pain and you will probably be able to walk for short distances without the crutches. Sleeping is better and there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Fourth week will see the end of the anti coagulant drugs and hopefully the pain killers so if you had constipation, it will be gone soon. You will probably be able to get in and out of the bath using a step but still be careful not to bend the hip past 90 degrees. If you are mobile, you can get rid of those TED stockings...great relief. They are only for when you are inactive and help prevent DVT. Now you have to restrain yourself and not push too hard.

Sixth week and it's the surgeons review. At this point he will push and pull your leg around, put it in positions you could not achieve before and give you the advanced set of exercises. If you drive and are doing well, he will give the OK to drive. Walking is the best exercise but if you can, swimming and cycling are also good. (No golf under any circumstances) Welcome back to the real world  and you can enjoy life again.

This is only a guide based on mine and others on this forum but it does give you an idea of what will happen. Hope it helps

 

Dear Synergy

It is easy to be influenced by the experience of others so please bear in mind that when someone posts what to expect it is usually based only on THEIR own experience and that can differ hugely from  person to person!   I had a hip replacement twenty years ago and made a very rapid recovery, walked out of hospital needing only one stick for support, was walking a mile or so within a couple of days of being home on rough county tracks and back to office work in about a week and driving a low manual car in three weeks.   I did no exercises apart from walking and do not recall having to take any precautions but obviously I should have!

Please be aware that this is not the norm and perhaps this is as good as it gets. I've very recently had a revision because over twenty years I wore out the poly cup and my recovery although pretty quick was not as quick as when I was 55 but has been no less good......so far!    

Listen to your body, do the exercises as strong muscles will safeguard the hip and help to avoid a dislocation and observe the twisting and bending advice.  Use BOTH crutches until your muscles are strong enough for you to walk well with a good gait and no limping.  

I had the posterior approach both times and favour this as it gives the surgeon as much space as is needed to do their work with the minimum of fuss and struggling and able to see exactly what they are doing.   In both cases the scar disappeared quickly.  Very important to use a surgeon with a good track record of doing hip replacements.

Good luck, Richard

 

As the others say check with the professionals re restrictions. I went for my signing off with the Physiotherapy team after four weeks and asked about the 90 degree rule being lifted. They looked at my notes and said I did not have any restrictions anyway and could have been touching my toes if I wanted. I had assumed the 90 degree rule from what I read on this forum but it obviously does not apply to everyone. I had had a lateral posterior incision and assumed that meant restrictions, I was wrong! 

I was worried silly about coming home and managing. I think the best gadget I had which was given by the hospital was a length of material knotted together for lifting my leg into bed. It was brilliant. I also found that I was able to walk much better than before my op when I could only totter about the place with a lot of pain. I must admit I did not even bother with a stick let alone crutches in the house as it is a small Victorian cottage. I just furniture surfed. 

I was was allowed to shower in hospital except there was only one bathroom with a shower and I always seemed to arrive when someone else was there apart from my last day! I had a separate shower at home rather than one over the bath which helped. 

I had to take anti coagulants for five weeks and was given a load of pain killers to come home with including Tramadol. I only took paracetamol which seemed to work fine and had virtually no pain.