Hip Replacement by Adam E. M. Eltorai

Author:Adam E. M. Eltorai
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
Published: 2019-03-21T16:00:00+00:00

Physical Therapy

Physical therapy typically starts on the same day as surgery. Expect to get out of bed following surgery and make it to a bedside chair or the toilet. Each day after surgery you should walk a little farther. In the hospital, the main goals are safe movement, gait training (learning to walk again with an assistive device such as a walker or crutches), and regaining balance. Call for help whenever you need to get out of your hospital bed after surgery. To reduce the risk of falling, do not attempt to get out of bed on your own.

The physical therapists will help get you ready for discharge. Discuss any obstacles that you may face getting back into your home. Think about how many stairs you need to climb and whether a railing is available. If possible, attempt to start your recovery on a single floor within your home.

After a total hip replacement, some people will benefit from physical therapy to work on gait, balance training, and strengthening and retraining the muscles used when walking. It is a good idea to figure out where you will go for outpatient physical therapy before your operation if necessary. Surgeons usually have recommendations or “rehab protocols” to help coordinate recovery care with physical therapy providers. You can meet with a physical therapist before your surgery. Picking somewhere close to home that is easy to get to is important. In some cases, with the use of advanced surgical techniques, total hip replacement patients may recover so quickly that prolonged outpatient physical therapy is not prescribed by their surgeon.

Falls after surgery can occur for a variety of reasons, including muscle weakness, long-lasting effects of anesthesia, too much pain medication, or delirium (altered mental status), just to name a few. A fall in the hospital can be very serious, which is why you need to ask for help if you are getting out of bed or moving from the chair.

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