Posted , 8 users are following.
Good afternoon group is Jonesy 23. after 6 months I finally got the hip replacement everything seemed to be going fine I had to replacement on 12/ 11.I wanted to know how long does it take before I'll be able to walk without a walker and when does the swelling go down like I said it's been 11 days and I still have a lot of swelling around the surgical wound good thing I haven't been smoking
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catherine58214 Jonesy23
Posted
I had my hip replaced two days before you.
Swelling first few days home but went down. You could try ice and elevating your leg by sitting or lying with it up as this might help but needs to be for long enough. Mine went down over 24hrs this way. Some people have to wait longer as swelling can take awhile to go down if elevating and ice are not enough.
As for walking without walker...I can do that now round house for short distances but use crutches when out. Can manage with one but surgeon likes 2 for 3 months.
Walk daily and do exercises.
Wishing you well with recovery
Catherine
diannesk Jonesy23
Posted
Congrats on your surgery. I'm almost at my 1 year anniversary and it's the best choice I could have made.
Recovery is not the same for everyone. The swelling will decrease in time. Important to elevate and ice periodically. That does help. Also, do some short walks, but don't overdo it . Follow guidelines given to you by your doctor.
Using the walker is good idea because it helps you with balance and keeping your walking gait steady. Don't feel rushed about changing over to a cane.
Ask as many questions here as you have because people here always want to help others.
jen86183 Jonesy23
Posted
Hi Jonesy,
Glad you managed to stop smoking, well done. My swelling lasted for about 12 weeks, it was not too bad, evening was the worst after being on it all day. Are you not on crutches, unusual to use a walker in England. Take it easy, there is no need to rush your recovery just do the exercises and walk everyday. Good Luck.
Rocketman_SG6UK Jonesy23
Posted
Everything about recovery is variable, it depends on how active you were before the operation, the skill of the surgeon, how well you do your exercises, and luck. My first time it took me 12 weeks to recover following my revision (10 weeks after the THR which was put in wrong). This year after revision following the breaking of the badly inserted ceramic, the physio had me doing stairs 40 hours after the operation, and I was walking 3-4 miles in 2 weeks.
Some of us don't use a walker at all, some do, swelling normally goes down in 4-8 weeks.
One doctor even advised that the worst thing anyone can do after the operation is to smoke.
Jollykev08 Jonesy23
Posted
Hello Jonsey23. Like Rocketman_SG6UK said, the recovery is different for everyone. I had a LTHR on 12/13, almost exactly 2 years after my RTHR. I never used a walker, cane, or crutches in either case. 2 weeks after surgery, I still have some swelling around my hip all the way to my knee. I elevate my leg whenever I can and ice it a couple times a day. For me, though, it hurts a lot more if I don't get up and move around, so I try to do that regularly. If I remember right from last time, at about the 4 week point, my leg seemed like it was back to normal. Both times, though, I was in decent physical shape prior to surgery and hit physical therapy pretty hard. Best wishes to you in your recovery!