How long does it take to walk after hip replacement surgery ?
The answer totally depends on many factors like the patient’s age, health conditions, etc. Typically some patients can walk in a couple of hours by taking support after hip replacement surgery. The expected answer for how long it takes to walk after a hip replacement is within hours.
If you weigh a bit extra and if you are not active for a long time, it takes more time initially to get up.
But, to walk normally again after hip replacement, it depends on the quality of recovery. Before knowing the recovery timeline, you should know some points about hip replacement. The surgery is of two types, partial hip replacement, and total hip replacement.
In a partial hip replacement surgery, only the damaged parts are replaced, and in the case of total hip replacement, the entire hip is removed and replaced with prosthetics. The recovery timeline also varies in both surgeries.
How much time does it take to recover after a hip replacement surgery?
Total hip replacement surgery, also called arthroplasty, is a procedure that involves removing the ball-and-socket of the hip joint and replacing them with artificial parts made up of metal or synthetic materials.
The aim of hip replacement surgery is to provide relief from pain caused due to arthritic conditions of the hip, which include osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, or to restore range of motion due to hip trauma and conditions.
Hip replacement surgery is usually when conservative treatment options aren’t able to reduce your pain or improve your mobility.
Broadly speaking, the patient is discharged on the same day or the next day from the hospital. The doctor suggests a set of regular exercises which need to be done at home, which helps in your recovery. After a few weeks, your physiotherapy sessions will be started. The session involves doing various exercises to improve your progress further.
Most patients are expected to walk with crutches for 3 to 6 weeks. By the time of a follow-up consultation after six weeks, you may probably be walking around without crutches or a walker. After hip surgery, they may continue normal activities in 10 to 12 weeks. In case of a partial hip replacement, it takes around six months to resume daily activities. Coming to total hip replacement, the recovery might take around 6 to 12 months, but replaced prosthetics last nearly 15 – 20 years.
Younger patients who had hip replacement can recover even faster. Researchers say that gaining complete strength and muscle fitness of the hip takes around 1- 2 years after surgery.
What can impact recovery times?
Patient’s age, social factors, and any other health conditions can hinder the recovery time of the hip replacement surgery.
Hip replacement is mostly done for the elderly because they are vulnerable to various arthritic conditions. The average age considered for having a hip replacement is 67 years. However, age still plays a major role. Younger patients might recover quickly, but they are less likely to have a hip replacement.
Support from family and friends is very important, particularly for the first few weeks at home. This is because they can’t manage their own needs for the first few days.
After a few months, some people recover and are able to do their regular activities. They think they are completely fine and stop their physiotherapy and other exercises that strengthen your muscles. It might impact your overall recovery.
The patient needs to be more careful in the initial days while bathing, getting in and out of bed, going to the washroom, certain movements like bending, sitting, standing, turning around, etc.
After hip replacement surgery, the patient might experience pain and stiffness, which are common; keep in mind staying as active as possible, which helps manage pain and stiffness. And another important thing is don’t miss out on your post-surgical consultation with your hip replacement surgeon. Consultation is very important to know the progress of your recovery.
Every individual time for recovery after hip replacement surgery is 100% different. However, carefully following the post-surgical instructions of your orthopaedic surgeon and eating a healthy diet, practicing suggested exercises of physical and occupational therapy, watching for any complications can improve your chances to recover fully within a few months to a year.
To know more information about hip replacement or having any hip problems like hip pain, consult Dr. Ajay Kumar Tiwari, one of the best Hip Replacement Surgeons in Hyderabad. He has more than twelve years of experience as a joint replacement surgeon and performed many joint replacement surgeries like partial knee replacement, total knee replacement, Unilateral hip replacement, bilateral hip replacements, and much more.
