Hip Rehabilitation in the Home

After hip surgery, it is important to follow instructions from your health care provider about rehabilitation (rehab). It is important to design a program that is safe and effective for you. Your health care provider and rehab therapist will work with you to meet your specific abilities and needs.

What are the benefits?

Hip rehab can help to:

• Strengthen your hip.
• Improve the flexibility and movement (range of motion) of your hip joint.
• Reduce swelling.
• Improve blood flow and prevent blood clots.

How to do exercises at home

• Continue exercises at home that your health care provider or rehab therapist instructed you to do in the hospital.
• Before you exercise:
  • Take pain medicines, if told by your health care provider. Do not take the medicine if it makes you feel dizzy or sleepy.
  • Do a warm-up activity, such as gentle walking, as told by your health care provider. This warms up your muscles and helps prevent injury.
• While doing exercises:
  • When standing, make sure you are near something sturdy that you can hold onto for balance, such as a heavy chair or a wall.
  • Do exercises exactly as told by your health care provider and adjust them as directed.
  • As you are recovering, choose an exercise pace that is comfortable for you, and gradually work up to your goal.
  • Follow activity restrictions as told by your health care provider. This may vary depending on the type of hip surgery you had. For example, your health care provider may instruct you to:
    • Not bring your knees higher than your hips.
    • Not cross your legs.
    • Not twist while lying down or standing.
    • Avoid rotating the toes of your affected leg inward. Keep your toes pointing straight ahead.
• Do not exercise in a pool (aquatic therapy) until your incision from surgery is healed and your health care provider says that you can.

Follow these instructions at home:

Activity

• Do not use your affected leg to support your body weight until your health care provider says that you can. Use crutches or a walker as told by your health care provider.
• Ask your health care provider what activities are safe for you during recovery, and ask what activities you need to avoid.
• Avoid sitting for a long time without moving. Get up to take short walks every 1–2 hours. Ask for help if you feel weak or unsteady.

Managing pain, stiffness, and swelling

• Put ice on affected areas after you exercise, or as needed. Icing can help to relieve joint pain and swelling.
  • Put ice in a plastic bag that you were given.
  • Place a towel between your skin and the bag.
  • Leave the ice on for 20 minutes, 2–3 times a day.
• If directed, apply heat to affected areas before you exercise, or as needed. Heat can reduce muscle and joint stiffness. Use the heat source that your health care provider recommends, such as a moist heat pack or a heating pad.
  • Place a towel between your skin and the heat source.
  • Leave the heat on for 20–30 minutes.
  • Remove the heat if your skin turns bright red. This is especially important if you are unable to feel pain, heat, or cold. You may have a greater risk of getting burned.
• Wear compression stockings as told by your health care provider. These stockings help to prevent blood clots and reduce swelling in your legs.
• Raise (elevate) your legs while sitting or lying down.

Preventing falls

• Keep your home well-lit and clutter-free, especially in walkways and stairways. Keep floors dry and use non-skid mats.
• Remove tripping hazards from floors, such as throw rugs and cords.
• Install grab bars in bathrooms, and put night-lights in your bedroom and bathroom.
• Wear closed-toe shoes that fit well and support your feet. Wear shoes that have rubber soles or low heels.
• Talk with your health care provider about the over-the-counter and prescription medicines that you are taking. Some medicines may increase your risk of falling.

General recommendations

• Teach your family about your condition and how they can participate in your recovery. Try bringing your family members with you to a physical therapy session.
• Take over-the-counter and prescription medicines only as told by your health care provider.
• Keep all follow-up visits as told by your health care provider and rehab therapist. This is important.

Questions to ask your health care provider

• What exercises are safe for me to do?
• How often should I do the exercises?
• How can I manage pain during exercise?
• What other activities are safe for me to do?

Contact a health care provider if:

• You have questions about how to do exercises correctly.
• You have hip or groin pain that does not go away after resting and taking pain medicine.
• Your artificial hip (prosthesis) feels loose.
• You are not able to do exercises.

Get help right away if:

• You fall.
• Your incision from surgery breaks open.
• Your affected leg is shorter than the other leg, and this is a new problem.

Summary

• Hip rehab can help to strengthen your hip and improve the flexibility and movement of your hip joint.
• Continue exercises at home that your health care provider or physical therapist instructed you to do in the hospital.
• Contact your health care provider if you have questions about how to do exercises correctly.