After recovery from THR

RogerBill

Once recovered from a THR (say after 12 weeks) is it then OK to bend more than 90°, twist and cross your legs without too much risk of dislocation?

Lilymary

Yes and no, listen to your body, and don’t push your luck!

ps, crossing your legs is an over-rated pastime. You won’t miss it

RogerBill

Thanks once again Lilymary. I think I've tended to cross my legs less as the years go by so that isn't much of a concern. Whereas never being able to bend more than 90° would definitely be a significant lifestyle limitation.

RogerBill

helpline_team

Hi @RogerBill

Bending more than 90 degrees, avoiding low seating, crossing legs are things to be very careful about. At the very least discuss them with a physiotherapist, and your surgical team at your follow ups. Some people gain more flexibility than others after their surgery.

Dislocating a hip can be very painful so you may want to be careful.

Hip replacement surgery | Treatment options | Versus Arthritis

Very best wishes

Guy Helpline Team

Lilymary

The woman whose hip dislocated in pilates was simply on her hands and knees at the time. You can imagine how careful I am to avoid that position, but nearly 4 months on I am now trying it very carefully, with things to grab onto to pull myself back up again. Sometimes you simply need to be on the floor (mainly for my physio exercises). I find if I keep my knees together as I roll onto, or off, my back, it avoids flexing my hip, and for getting back up (facing floor down) I keep the duff leg straight out behind me while pulling my good knee towards my body and pushing up off it to lever myself up. It seems to work for me.

certainly in the early days it’s important to keep to the things Guy has mentioned, along with twisting from the hip. Your hip will probably feel fairly unstable to start with, so you’ll instinctively avoid those movements anyway, and those are good habits to keep in mind in the future.