A hip replacement can significantly improve pain and mobility, but recovery does not end when the operation is complete. Physiotherapy helps you safely regain movement, rebuild strength and progressively return to everyday activities.
Rehabilitation begins soon after surgery and develops as your physical abilities improve. While there are common elements to recovery, the pace and focus need to reflect the individual, including their mobility, strength and the activities they want to return to.
Starting Physiotherapy After Hip Replacement
Physiotherapy can begin very soon after surgery. NICE recommends that people who have undergone primary elective hip replacement should be offered rehabilitation on the day of surgery where possible, and no later than 24 hours afterwards. This includes mobilisation, advice on managing everyday activities and a home exercise programme.
At this early stage, the focus is on safe movement, managing everyday activities and becoming progressively more independent. A physiotherapist can assess how you are moving, introduce appropriate exercises and help you use walking aids safely while your mobility develops.
The NHS recommends walking regularly as far as is comfortable and following the exercises provided by your physiotherapist as part of your recovery, with activity gradually increased as you become more comfortable.
Restoring Strength And Mobility
The muscles around the hip can become weaker following surgery, while movement may initially feel restricted or unfamiliar. Physiotherapy therefore needs to address more than simply whether you can walk.
Exercises can help restore movement and progressively strengthen the muscles involved in supporting the hip and controlling the leg. As physical ability improves, the exercises can become more demanding and begin to reflect the movements needed in everyday life.
The Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital recommends a gradual progression of exercise following total hip replacement, with the difficulty and duration of exercise increased gradually. Its programme is designed to prepare people for walking, functional activities and low-impact exercise as their recovery develops.
The purpose of this progression is not simply to make the muscles stronger. Strength and mobility need to translate into the ability to stand, walk, manage stairs and carry out everyday activities with increasing independence.
From Exercise To Everyday Function
Rehabilitation becomes increasingly functional as recovery develops.
Getting out of a chair, walking further, managing stairs and carrying out everyday tasks all place different demands on the body. Physiotherapy can use these activities to help bridge the gap between improving physical capacity and being able to use it confidently in everyday life.
Rehabilitation can therefore move beyond isolated strengthening and mobility exercises towards activities that have a direct relationship with everyday function, such as standing from a chair, managing stairs, maintaining balance and walking.
Walking and prescribed exercises can then be gradually increased as your mobility and physical capacity improve.
This does not mean that everyone should progress at exactly the same rate. Someone may find that their walking improves quickly but needs more time to rebuild strength, while another person may manage everyday movement comfortably but need further rehabilitation before returning to a particular activity.
Adapting Rehabilitation To The Individual
There is no single rehabilitation programme that will be appropriate for everyone following hip replacement.
Your physical condition before surgery, your mobility immediately afterwards and the activities you want to return to can all influence what rehabilitation needs to achieve. Someone whose priority is independent everyday mobility will have different goals from someone hoping to return to a physically demanding occupation or particular form of exercise.
The focus and level of support can therefore vary according to how someone is progressing, the difficulties they are experiencing and what they need to achieve through rehabilitation.
Assessment provides the basis for this approach. A physiotherapist can consider how you are moving, what you can currently do and where limitations remain, then use that information to determine the appropriate exercises, level of challenge and progression.
Progressing Towards Your Longer-Term Goals
As recovery develops, physiotherapy can move beyond the fundamentals of walking and everyday independence towards the activities that matter most to you.
That might mean increasing walking distance, returning to work, becoming more comfortable with stairs or resuming suitable exercise. The physical demands will vary considerably, so rehabilitation may need to continue developing even after basic mobility has been restored.
As strength and mobility continue to improve, the focus can also shift towards longer-term exercise and the activities you want to return to. More demanding or higher-impact activities may require further discussion with your clinical team before they are resumed.
The aim is therefore not simply to reach a point where the hip feels better. Physiotherapy can help progressively restore the strength, mobility and physical capacity needed for the activities you want to return to.
A Progressive Approach To Recovery
Effective physiotherapy combines assessment, exercise and functional activity. It starts by establishing what you can safely do, then develops as your physical abilities change.
For some people, this may mean a relatively straightforward progression towards normal everyday mobility. For others, particularly those who have experienced significant pain or reduced activity before surgery, rebuilding strength and physical capacity may require more sustained rehabilitation.
What matters is that the programme reflects your progress and your goals. As movement becomes easier and physical capacity increases, physiotherapy can shift towards more demanding activities and the specific requirements of the life you want to return to.
That is the value of rehabilitation following hip replacement: not simply helping you recover from an operation, but helping you progressively regain the physical function you need for everyday life.
Continue Your Recovery With The 1150 Club
If you are recovering from a hip replacement and need support to regain movement, strength and confidence, specialist post-surgical rehabilitation can help you continue progressing beyond the early stages of recovery.
The 1150 Club provides tailored rehabilitation in London, helping you build physical capacity and work towards the activities you want to return to.
Find out how The 1150 Club can support your recovery after hip replacement by calling 033 0097 4476 and speaking to our team of rehabilitation experts.