Written by Mike Price, OT
Tired of the painful hips and decreased mobility that are the result of severe joint damage, osteoarthritis, and various other forms of arthritis? Is your doctor suggesting hip replacement surgery? Before you join over 300,000 other Americans who have hip replacement surgery this year, it’s important to understand what this surgery entails, and especially what you will need to successfully recover to reap the most benefits from your new hip.
When painfully aching and stiff hip joints don’t respond favorably to other treatments, such as OTC and prescription anti-inflammatory pain medications, injections, chiropractic approaches, and physical therapy, doctors will often refer their patients for hip replacement surgery.
In a total hip replacement surgery, the existing hip joint is removed and replaced with a plastic and metal hip joint prosthesis. The hip socket is supplanted by a plastic cup, the femoral head is reconstituted by a metal ball, and a metal stem is positioned within the femur’s shaft.
Initial recovery in the hospital usually takes two to four days, after which time the patient is either sent to a rehabilitation facility or to their home. Factors that determine the patient’s readiness and safety in returning home include:
While some people fully recover from hip replacement surgery within three months, it can take others up to 6 months to resume normal recreational activities, such as cycling, hiking, and golfing.
This is why it’s so important to plan ahead, and organize the caregiving assistance you will need, along with gathering any equipment and devices that will help support you through your recovery process, before you actually have your hip replacement surgery.
In addition, there are a number of simple ways to modify your home’s interior to ensure the utmost in safety, which we outline more comprehensively in our previous article on how to make post-hip replacement recovery an easier process.
As a hip replacement patient, you’ll be given a list of precautions to follow to prevent the dislocation of the new hip prosthesis and to enhance your recovery. Along with certain movements to avoid, such as crossed legs and forward bending, there are certain assistive devices that are recommended by most healthcare and therapy professionals to facilitate a safer, quicker, and easier recovery at home.
As one of the most commonly utilized safety devices, grab bars provide stability and support for a wide range of users, including those recovering from hip replacement surgery. They help people to maintain their balance while standing, or when they’re transferring from a seated position to a standing one, or to/from a bathtub or shower.
Often used in long-term care facilities, hospitals, public restrooms, and hotels, grab bars provide exceptional safety at home, as well. They can be installed wherever the user requires assistance, and come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and mounting choices to fit the space, and perfectly fulfill each unique user requirement.
Grab bars specifically designed for the bathtub and shower or those with textured handles are the best choices for bathroom safety. Place them inside and outside the shower/tub wall enclosure at various angles and heights to help with bathing support, and close to the toilet commode for sitting and standing support.
Grab bars fashioned as support poles that attach vertically to the ceiling and floor are ideal to use next to a bed, in the kitchen, or beside a chair or sofa to provide exceptional support post-hip replacement surgery.
As one of the most uniquely designed grab bars, the Pivot Grip Telescoping Portable Bar is exceptionally versatile. Conveniently able to be temporarily installed in a variety of different places, this grab bar can be used in the bathroom, bedroom, kitchen, or while traveling. Its telescoping handle can extend as far as the user requires, and its pivoting ends allow for infinite installation options.
Once you’re at home recovering after your surgery, you will thank yourself a million times over for acquiring a reacher! Also known as grabbers, reaching tools function as an extension of your own arm, enabling you to pick things up without having to get up, bend, or stoop over. Reachers also prevent strains and accidents when grabbing items from high overhead places, as well.
Because it’s especially important for those recovering from hip replacement surgery to minimize certain movements, especially bending over, reachers help their users to prevent hip dislocations, strains and sprains, and other accidental injuries related to overreaching and overextending, including falls.
Reachers come in a wide variety of sizes, weight options, and configurations, with a comprehensive selection of grips to suit specific needs. Lightweight, all-purpose, heavy-duty, adjustable, folding, extendable, and ergonomic are just a few of the choices available to ensure you find the best grabbing tool to meet your specific needs.
One good choice for a range of usage is the Omnigrip Four Position Reacher. Available in two different lengths and a folding size, the Omnigrip can dependably grab a range of items, but its sensitive trigger is activated with very little hand strength, making this an easy reacher to use on a daily basis.
Because bending to enter a seated position quickly is not recommended for those recovering from hip replacement surgery, standard height toilet seats are considered too low for these users. Instead, raised or elevated toilet seats are recommended to enable safer and easier sitting and rising following surgery.
Configured with or without armrests, toilet seat risers are available in a variety of sizes and shapes, including hinged designs that allow other users to use the regular seat when required, elongated designs that fit this wider base toilet bowl shape, and basic designs that are easy to attach to and detach from the existing toilet.
Raised toilet seats are generally constructed of materials that are waterproof and skin-friendly, and are especially designed to provide user comfort and safety. There are options to fit all types of commodes, and most are easy to attach, with little or no assembly required. They’re also designed to be easy to clean and maintain, and often have specific locking mechanisms to ensure the safety of the user.
Specially designed for people who have had bilateral or unilateral total hip replacement surgery, the Savannah Raised Toilet Seat is the perfect choice following hip replacement surgery, and beyond. Its unique configuration keeps legs optimally abducted, while the saddle seat prevents internal hip rotation. Its innovative bilateral contoured shape enables easy sitting and rising movements, and comfortable positioning.
Available in a multitude of styles, shower seats are an absolute must-have when you get the okay from your doctor to shower and bathe again after your hip replacement surgery. Designs range from elaborate, rolling, combination commode/shower chairs to simplistic shower transfer benches.
Whichever model you prefer, these assistive shower seats enable users to access the shower more safely and provide a place to sit comfortably while showering or bathing. People recovering from hip replacement surgery, especially those who are elderly or have other disabilities, should not attempt continuous standing, especially on the wet surface of a shower floor.
Some models fit both inside and outside of the tub and may include sliding transfer features to help the user slide their legs across into the tub for the shower, and back out again when they’re finished bathing. Others are designed as mobile chairs that can be rolled in and out of the shower and will require the assistance of a caregiver.
Because they have such a vast range of features, we can help narrow your search with our previous articles, including how to choose the best shower chair and the five best shower chairs.
Hip abduction wedges and knee separators help to keep the hips in proper alignment following hip replacement surgery. Preventing dislocation, they place your legs and hips in parallel alignment to promote optimal healing and recovery.
With designs that can be used on a bed or in a chair, hip abductors hold the legs comfortably apart for proper hip alignment. They generally utilize soft strapping and easy-closure tabs to keep the separator in place, and highlight breathable, but durable materials that hold their form, in configurations that enable air to circulate, decreasing strain and pressure on the hips.
Often employed immediately following surgery to keep the legs from moving, hip abduction pillows, wedges, and separators are usually recommended well into recovery, especially at night, to keep the legs from crossing while the wearer is asleep.
Recommended for patients recovering from hip replacement surgery, the Posey Abduction Wedge or Knee Separator can be used for lying in bed or sitting in a chair or wheelchair. It's comfortable, contoured sides separate the knees and thighs, while dual hook and loop straps maintain the legs’ positioning.
Often used as a precautionary measure to help prevent hip fractures, padded hip briefs are worn just like regular underwear, but include specially designed protection to cushion the wearer against damage to their hips.
Generally designed as a low-profile garment that can be worn discreetly underneath other clothing, hip protector briefs have pads to cover the critical hip area on each side, helping to absorb and deflect impact. If the user were to fall, or stumble against a counter or doorway and hit their hip, the pads help to prevent fractures.
Available in formulations for both men and women, the pads in the hip protector briefs can be removed when desired, or risk of falling or impact is lower. The briefs are configured to offer exceptionally comfortable wear, with some that offer other forms of therapy with their specific stretch materials and designs.
Designed with 40 percent thinner padding for a slimmer profile without compromising their effectiveness, the GeriHip PPI-RAP Hip Protector Brief Sets with Pads provide 60 percent more protection than standard padded hip briefs. The pads harden upon impact, cushioning the blow to the wearer, while they soften again afterward.
Combining several of the products above, hip replacement kits also contain dressing aids and personal hygiene tools to encourage independence but keep the user safe. Because of the lack of mobility, and the inherent dangers associated with bending, reaching, and falling, people who are recovering from hip replacement surgery can greatly benefit by using certain assistive daily living aids.
Some hip replacement kits even include a raised toilet seat, but most others provide reachers, various kinds of dressing helpers, and a helpful assortment of personal hygiene aids. Long-handled devices like sock donning aids and bath sponges stop the user from bending over or trying to extend their reach too far.
Combining several of the products above, hip replacement kits also contain dressing aids and personal hygiene tools to encourage independence but keep the user safe. Because of the lack of mobility, and the inherent dangers associated with bending, reaching, and falling, people who are recovering from hip replacement surgery can greatly benefit by using certain assistive daily living aids.
Some hip replacement kits even include a raised toilet seat, but most others provide reachers, various kinds of dressing helpers, and a helpful assortment of personal hygiene aids. Long-handled devices like sock donning aids and bath sponges stop the user from bending over or trying to extend their reach too far.
As a common surgery performed over 300,000 times in the US each year, hip replacement surgery can greatly improve the quality of life and mobility for a large number of people who suffer from painful, stiff hips. But a good outcome is often dependent on the lengthy recovery process, and ensuring the hip is not reinjured or dislocated during this important healing time.
Because most people end up back at home for at least some of their recovery, it is important to modify the home for safety and have specific equipment and devices in place ahead of time. The assistive products listed in this article are considered to be some of the most important to help recovering hip replacement surgery patients heal more quickly, safely, and effectively.
Stay safe during recovery and reap the benefits of your new hip by checking out all of the helpful products we have available in our hip fractures catalog. Learn more about hip replacement surgery and other medical and health topics at Caregiver University.
Co-Founder of Rehabmart and an Occupational Therapist since 1993. Mike has spent his professional career working in multiple areas of Occupational Therapy, including pediatrics, geriatrics, hand therapy, ergonomics and inpatient / outpatient rehabilitation. Mike enjoys writing articles that help people solve complex therapeutic problems and make better product choices.
