People who receive a hip replacement suffer from a broken hip or severe degeneration of the hip joint. Recovery after your hip replacement requires a commitment to regular exercise. While you may want to get back to the gym as soon as possible, only certain forms of exercise are suitable following a hip replacement. Consult your doctor prior to starting a workout program and stop exercising if you feel excessive pain or discomfort.
Benefits
Workouts after your hip replacement aid in your recover process when performed correctly. The exercises in your post-hip replacement workout focus on increasing your hip's range of motion, increases the strength of the muscles around your hip, decreases your risk of injuring your new hip, increases your blood circulation and improves your overall fitness level. Only exercise as hard as your doctor or physical therapists allows or you risk causing damage to your new hip joint.
Resistance Workouts
Resistance workouts typically start as range of motion exercises and progress as you gain strength and stability around your hip joint. Resistance bands work well when you first start adding resistance to your range of motion workouts. As your strength improves, advance to using light weights or weight machines. Use a level of resistance that causes your muscle to feel extremely tired after 10 to 12 repetitions. Perform all exercises with the resistance band around the leg you're exercising. Execute hip flexion by facing your source of resistance in a standing position and extending your leg backward away from the resistance, keeping your knee straight. For hip abduction, stand with your side toward the point of resistance and you injured hip on the outside. Raise your injured leg out to the side, against the resistance. You feel the most resistance when your feet are the farthest apart. Complete two to three sets of 10 to 12 repetitions of each exercise on each leg, advises Health Brown, a physical therapist for Rehabilitation Today in Bradford, Penn.
Aerobic Workouts
Aerobic exercise not only builds strength in the muscles around your hip joint, it improves your muscle endurance. Recommended forms of aerobic workouts following a hip replacement include walking, riding a stationary bike, swimming, cross-country skiing or using an elliptical trainer. If you choose to walk outside, take your walker or a cane with you until you have completely regained your balance and the strength in your hip muscles. When riding an exercise bike, adjust the seat so your foot barely touches the pedal when it is in its lowest position and only pedal forward until you no longer feel any discomfort in your hip. Try to exercise aerobically for 30 minutes, three to five days a week.
Workouts To Avoid
Avoid any workout that causes high amounts of stress on your hip replacement. Workouts such as contact sports, jumping, jogging, tennis or basketball cause too much impact stress and can damage your new joint. Until your hip heels completely, you need to avoid any exercises that require you to cross your legs, bend your hip joint farther than 90 degrees, kneel or lean forward. All activities may cause you pain as your hip heals, but stop any activity that causes extreme pain. Ask your doctor for a complete list of restricted activities.
References
- Heath Brown; Rehabilitation Today; Bradford, Pennsylvania
- American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons; Total Hip Replacement; July 2007
- American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons; Activities After Hip Replacement; April 2009
- National Institute of Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases; Questions and Answers About Hip Replacement; June 2010
