Physio Follow-up after Hip Replacement

Dianes1

Hi everyone, had a THR about seven weeks ago and have not received a physio followup. Should I expect one? I am doing all the exercises that the hospital discharged me with, but not sure if I should be doing more strenuous ones as time goes on. Plenty on YouTube but don't know whether I should be doing these yet. I am increasing my outdoor walking every day. Thank you in advance.

Lisbeth

Hi @Dianes1 could you maybe ring your doctor and ask for a referral? Perhaps a gentle nudge will do the trick. I hope that you are well and life is on the up for you. The past seven weeks have flown by and that horrendous pain now seems like a distant memory. I hope you will get to see a physiotherapist soon but there’s a 15 minute video on this site that is really good to watch and participate in. Good luck and best wishes 🙂

frogmorton

Hi @Dianes1

Well done having your op I hope it's really helped you.

In some areas you can self refer to physio. I'd ring the GP as @Lisbeth suggested.

Alos don't forget there are some really good exercises on this site - oh and have you read this thread?

https://community.versusarthritis.org/discussion/55224/hip-replacement-tips

It's got so much information in it and lots of fellow 'hippies' have posted on it.

Best of luck

Toni x

Lilymary

I had my THR at a specialist orthopedic hospital, and ended up going privately and the waiting lists at that time would have meant me having to give up work as the pain was so bad. But even then all I got was "how to use crutches and get up and down stairs" and was sent home with an A4 sheet of exercises and told to get on with it. Luckily a good friend is a Chartered Physio so she was able to provide the support and advice needed, but to be honest doing the basic exercises and gradually increasing your activity day by day, once you're over the initial recovery period, is about all you should need unless you are experiencing particular complications. A few "hippie" friends got about the same minimal level of support and have done very well on it, or despite that, whichever way you look at it! Build it up slowly at your own pace, as we all recover at different rates, listen to your body, keep doing the exercises DAILY, you'll get there. You can eventually make the physio exercises a bit tougher by using resistance bands (huge elastic bands favoured in yoga classes etc) if you're finding them too easy.

I had a face to face review with the surgeon at 6 weeks, which I think is standard, and a few more since, as my body has been such a flippin' drama queen. It won't do any harm to ring the hospital just to check you're still in the system.

Dianes1

Thanks everyone for your replies. I eventually got an appointment today after calling around. The hospital admitted there had been a mistake and I should have had it four weeks ago. It went well and as you advised Lilymary , the physio gave me a resistant band and a couple of different exercises. I think my main problem is the different leg length now, but I am hoping the wedge she gave me will help with this. Best wishes everyone.