Hip fracture surgery pins the pieces of the hip back together so that patients can quickly become mobile. This leaves metal screws or pins in the hips. Placing too much weight on the operated leg is unsafe at first because the hip is weak. Following a rehabilitation program allows you to regain the ability to perform low-impact activities, such as walking, cycling and swimming. You can continue to do many of the exercises you do in therapy to keep your hips strong and flexible.
Activities of Daily Living
Exercises such as walking on uneven terrain, squatting and going up and down stairs, strengthen your hips in ways that mimic daily activities. Your doctor or physical therapist teach you exercises during recovery that are similar to these movements, but with tools such as crutches and walkers that bear some of your weight.
After completing a rehabilitation program, these exercises are safe and beneficial because they cause you to bear weight on your hips, which in turn makes you stronger. Weight-bearing exercises are when your bones and muscles support your body weight. A study of 42 participants who suffered hip fractures found that weight-bearing exercises increased strength and mobility in the hips. The study was published in the "Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation" in 1997.
Water Exercises
Exercising in water is safe because the buoyancy of the water holds some of your weight, which takes pressure off your hips. The water also offers some resistance as you move through it. Swimming laps increases your endurance without putting weight on your hip. Water aerobics is also effective and safe. Exercising in warm water also increases blood flow, relaxes your muscles and relieves soreness.
Leg Strengthening
You can safely strengthen your legs with exercises such as quadricep contraction and ankle pumps. These exercises do not place a large amount of stress on your joints because you are sitting or lying down. They improve blood flow and strengthen the leg muscles that support the hips. It is especially important to do ankle pumps because the increased blood flow reduces your chances of developing a blood clot. Blood clots are one of the most common complications after hip pinning surgery. Ankle pumps are simply pointing your toes and then bending your toes back toward your shins, usually done lying on your back. Quadricep contractions are when you tighten your thigh muscles while your leg is straight, but without moving your hip or knee -- pressing the back of your leg into the mattress for 10 seconds as you are lying in bed is one way to do this exercise.
Hip Range of Motion Exercises
Exercises that stretch your hip and increase range of motion promote flexibility and mobility of the joints, meaning you are able to move your hip the greatest distance possible in all directions. Your doctor or physical therapist will have taught you these types of exercises to do during rehabilitation and it is important to continue them so your hips do not become stiff and inflexible. An example of a hip range of motion exercise is the hip and knee bends. As you lie on your back, bring your knee toward your chest and then lie it back down straight on the bed or floor. Lying down takes pressure off the hip. If any exercise causes pain stop immediately and consult your doctor.
References
- OrthoGate: Hip Pinning Surgery for a Fractured Hip
- "Archives of Physical..."; Home Exercise to...; Catherine Sherrington, M.P.H., et al.; February 1997
- Medical College of Virginia Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation; Rehabilitation Following Hip Fracture; David Cifu, M.D.
- MedlinePlus: Hip Fracture Surgery
- OrthoGate: Rehabilitation Following Hip Fracture Surgery
- University of Illinois Medical Center at Chicago; Hip Pinning; Gail Hendrickson, R.N., BS; May 2000
Member Comments