What to Expect After a Hip Replacement

Close-up of woman touching her painful shoulder joint

Hip replacement surgery is among the most common—and successful—orthopedic procedures performed today. However, each patient’s recovery is a bit different. Your experience can vary based on several factors, including your surgeon’s skill and technique, the type of joint implant you received and your rehabilitation and follow-up care.

Before your surgery, your surgeon will provide detailed post-operative instructions that are tailored to your unique situation. It will be important for you to carefully follow your surgeon’s instructions, which are intended to guide your return to your daily routine at an optimal pace.

Managing Your Pain

Much like any other surgical procedure, hip replacement surgery will cause you some discomfort, especially during the first few days afterward. Also, your mobility will be limited, so you will need to depend on others to assist you with many daily activities.

On the first day, you will still have a significant amount of surgical anesthesia in your system. Most likely, you will feel groggy but not uncomfortable. On the second day, you should be able to get out of bed with assistance. Even though you just had surgery on the largest weight-bearing joint in your body, your surgeon will encourage you to walk within a day or two, which is the best way to promote healing and recover hip movement.

You’ll want to prepare yourself for the third day when the effects of your surgical anesthesia have completely worn off. Additionally, your body’s immune system will be producing and delivering a significant amount of inflammatory cells to your surgical site, and the level should peak around day three. While beneficial for healing, inflammation causes swelling, and swelling leads to pain. To help you manage your discomfort, your surgeon will explain how to apply ice and may advise you to take an anti-inflammatory medication. After day three, your pain and swelling should gradually improve.

Resuming Your Daily Activities

Before you are discharged from the hospital, you will begin supervised physical therapy, which you will be instructed to continue either in an outpatient rehabilitation center or at home. You can anticipate doing approximately 20 to 30 minutes of exercise several times each day.

Initially, you will need some help with simple chores at home, such as preparing meals, cleaning up, and doing laundry. Within a week or two, you should be able to:

  • Move about your home more easily
  • Walk a short distance, such as to your mailbox or around the block
  • Stand at your kitchen counter to prepare basic meals
  • Stand in your shower to bathe

Before you resume driving, you will need to finish taking any medications that may cause drowsiness or errors in judgment. You will also need to recover sufficient stamina, strength, reflexes and coordination to operate your vehicle’s gas and brake pedals. Therefore, if your right hip was replaced, you may be advised to wait at least a month before driving.

The best way to ensure a smooth recovery from hip replacement surgery is to listen to both your body and your surgeon. If you have questions or would like to receive personalized advice from a board-certified, fellowship-trained orthopedic hip surgeon in Arlington, VA, contact Nirschl Orthopaedic Center at (703) 525-2200.