Tackling stairs

Hi Gerard ,

Are you doing PT?  I was suppose to be able to go up and down a stairs by the 3rd day after my surgery.  I would check with your dr or your PT person!

Good Luck!!

Lori

Hi

Stairs are usually something you have to do before they let you out of hospital. I know. They wouldn't have let me out of I didn't do it. The main things to remember are lead with your god leg going up stairs and bad leg going down. It can be nervy at first but you'll soon be flying up and sown them. I had my LTHR on May 10th and think nothing of the stairs now. Just something you get used to.

I had to go up and down stairs in hospital before I was discharged. Day after surgery.

I had a complete hip replacement Oct 30 2017 and was climbing one flight of stairs on November 21 (about 3 weeks later). I started off with one flight up and returned one flight down.  Every week, I added a flight and it really helped with my limping along with hip flexor exercises (lay on side and raise your operated side up for set of 30)

good luck

Dear Gerard

A lot will depend on the recovery of your muscles and everyone is different in so many ways so you will be the best judge. I take it that you are talking about doing stairs without crutches. You would have had to demonstrate the ability to manage stairs before leaving hospital if you had your surgery in the UK.

All the best, Richard

Hi all thanks for the responses so far, just wanted to clarify a bit more when I talk about going up/down stairs I mean with out aids and using my operated leg to lead if that makes sense

Hi Gerard,

Are you wondering about alternating feet or leading with the good leg (“good leg up, bad leg down”) ? You can definitely do the “good leg up...” approach now. Are you in the US or UK? Reason I ask is protocol in the US typically includes instruction on stairs before we are discharged from the hospital. In terms of alternating feet on the stairs, my guess is that you’re a little early. If you are able to walk quite a lot (with a walker, crutches, etc) and are feeling pretty strong, one day you will find yourself alternating feet on the stairs. Going downstairs is easier; going upstairs requires quite a lot more strength. Be sure to hold on to the railing and don’t try to carry things in both hands, or you may be sorry (voice of experience here).

Same here. The hospitals won’t discharge you unless you can safely navigate stairs. As andy80359 wrote, “ up with the good and down with the bad” until PT says otherwise. Actually I found the stairs to be the least challenging thing to do after surgery. If you mean when can you do this in a normal way, that will depend on the speed of your recovery and your PT’s opinion. Stairs are pretty easy to do compared to a lot of other things. Always check with your doc or PT and you’ll be fine ! 

Gerard,

Apparently, after about 6/8 weeks depending on your circumstance you can start to attempt lifting the operated leg. At the 6 week check up last week, he asked me to balance on the operated leg but mine is still not ready or to walk upstairs normally yet. When you feel the strength from week 6 start testing it slowly.

Hi Gerard. I was using the stairs straight away. When I had my first hip replacement surgery ( I had bi-lateral hip replacement surgery ), I have also had hip revision surgery on my right hip and I am, at the moment , halfway through another hip revision surgery on my left hip.Following all surgeries, I was not discharged from the hospital until I could use the stairs. When I do get home I have two flights of stairs to negotiate as we have a split-level home.The physiotherapists advised me to use the stairs as long as I had someone behind me(in the event I fell-I never have),they advised me to use the stairs if I had to.

In the early days following surgery it was rather difficult to lift my legs so my husband made a portable step (he made it from a solid piece of wood so it was very sturdy ).My husband would move this step for me as I proceeded up the stairs so that I did not have to lift my leg too high. Of course,after the first week or so I dispensed with this step but I shall need it again when I have the second part of my left hip revision done.

Good luck with those stairs.

I had both hips done at once and was climbing stairs almost right away.  I was only in the hospital overnight.  When I got home the next day, I had to get upstairs to my bedroom, so my husband helped me up the stairs. I was doing a few stairs at the hospital following surgery.  I had the anterior procedure done if that makes a difference.  My surgeon and PT said to do as much as I felt I could and then take a rest.  I started with walking and stairs twice a day.  As i progressed, I did more and more stairs.  It is two flights down from my bedroom to our family room and laundry so I had no choice but to take stairs.!  Good luck, you will improve pretty quickly if you do them everyday.

As soon as you are able to put your full weight on it... My knee was the only problem. Try to use your weight, place your operated leg on the step and see if you can push up on one leg. If you can't then the muscles are just not strong enough to lift your weight, you may need to do some strengthening exercises. If you can lift yourself then happy days start doing it and well done x