Sometimes when you’ve gone home after a hip replacement (THR), its difficult to know how much you should do, who you should listen to and what you should avoid. Although you’ve been given excellent information in the hospital, now you’re ‘on your own’.
So here are a few tips:
- Get plenty of rest, take a rest lying down after lunch for an hour at least.
- Don’t tire yourself out. Don’t try to walk too far, take it gradually.
- Use your crutches or sticks as you have been advised. If you have been given two crutches or sticks, use them until the surgeon tells you to stop.They are there to take the weight off the THR as it heals.
- Do your exercises as prescribed by the Physiotherapist in the hospital. They are aimed at making the muscles work again around the THR and keeping the hip area loosened out.
- Get help to wash and dress if you need it, especially to put on the ‘white stockings’ (if you have been prescribed them).
- There are some excellent aids for THR’s for sale in medial devices shops or online which help you become more independent, e.g.
- the ‘stocking aid’, which helps you put on your socks.
- the ‘raised toilet seat’ which helps you get on and off the toilet. They also come with arms, which helps if your balance isn’t great.
- the ‘picker’ which helps you pick up things you might have dropped from the floor.
- the ‘long handled shoe horn’, which is a great help getting your shoes on especially if your foot is a little swollen after the THR.
If in doubt,you’ve always got your surgeon or GP to ask, but you can always contact us by phone or email and we can try to help you out. Gay has lots of experience with THR’s.
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