Rehabilitation after hip arthroplasty

You rarely meet a person who, with age, does not complain about sore joints. Many of us cope with the problem with drugs and ointments. And there are people who do complex operations on the lower limbs. But a person with hip arthroplasty, and especially after it, needs rehabilitation. Only she will help him restore his former motor activity. We will tell you below about what rehabilitation after hip arthroplasty is, how it goes.

What is rehabilitation

This is a set of measures that helps a person to restore their physical activity, to tone muscles. But physical activity during rehabilitation after hip arthroplasty, as well as during exercise therapy, should be reduced.

Therefore, in order for rehabilitation at home after hip arthroplasty to give a positive result, the victim must follow the following simple rules:

• Go to rehabilitation after total hip arthroplasty earlier;
• perform only such complexes that the physician has selected. His choice depends on the state of health of the patient, the operation that was performed on him, the characteristics of the recovery period;
• perform all complexes sequentially, do not interrupt for a long time, perform exercises one after another, without interruptions.

Conventionally, rehabilitation after hip replacement is divided into 3 stages.

It is divided into:

• early;
• late;
• remote.

Remember: each period has its own exercises.

If the patient thinks about the time frame for rehabilitation after hip arthroplasty, then the victim is fully restored only after 12 months.

Moreover, motor activity in the limb is restored even in a medical institution where the patient underwent surgery. He will have to stay in it for 2-3 weeks.

Then the patient is sent home or placed in a special center. Often the last stage of rehabilitation after hip arthroplasty takes place in a dispensary, clinic, sanatorium.  

Regardless of where a person is undergoing recovery, they definitely need to do exercise therapy, walk in the fresh air, throughout the entire period of rehabilitation after hip arthroplasty. Then his motor activity will recover faster. And the classes also strengthen muscles, ligaments, hold the artificial joint in place.

In the center, recovery after hip arthroplasty is supervised by a doctor - a rehabilitation specialist, a specialist in exercise therapy. Only he will draw up a competent rehabilitation program for the victim after hip arthroplasty.

Remember: during rehabilitation after hip arthroplasty, the victim must follow all the instructions of the physician.

And now we will consider each period of rehabilitation after hip arthroplasty and the means used in more detail.

Early recovery period and activities allowed during it

During this period of rehabilitation after hip arthroplasty, the victim has the right to move. But physical activity should be gentle, tonic.

This period lasts from 2 to 7 weeks. In some patients, it is delayed for 1 month.

Right now the patient:

• improves blood circulation in the affected area;
• the risk of developing complications dangerous to his health is reduced;
• the postoperative suture is tightened faster;
• edema subsides, the general state of health is normalized.

And in the first 2-10 days after the surgical exposure, doctors tell the person how he should properly sit on the bed, turn around on it, get up on his feet, and walk on crutches.

In order for the early postoperative recovery period after hip arthroplasty to be faster, a person should consider the following rules.

He must:

1. On the first day after surgery, sleep exclusively lying on your back.
2. 1 day after surgery, lie only on a healthy side. But move only with the permission of medical personnel. After 5-8 days, turn on your stomach, but also with the help of a medical professional.
3. Do not turn sharply, do not rotate the hip joint.
4. Do not bend a severely affected limb. The angle of flexion should not exceed 90 degrees.
5. Do not approach, do not cross the lower limbs. Between them it is desirable to keep a wedge-shaped pillow.
6. Give preference only to those complexes that the physician recommended. They relieve stagnation of blood in the body.

And he must perform the following simple exercises. He can:

1. Move your toes. He bends, unbends his fingers, both on a healthy and on a diseased limb.
2. Make a foot pump. During the lesson, you need to bend and unbend the ankle several times. In this case, you need to do at least 6 approaches per leg in 1 hour. The patient should feel slightly tired.
3. Rotate the foot. At the same time, he must rotate it 5 times in the direction of the clockwise direction, and then 5 times against it.
4. Perform isometric exercises, tighten the quadriceps muscles. In this case, the patient strongly presses the popliteal fossa to the bed, feels tension in it. This position should be held for 5-10 seconds. Only the healthy limb works. 3-5 days after the surgical exposure, this exercise can be done with a diseased limb. In this case, the position must be held for 2-5 seconds. Later, the exercise is performed 10 times with each leg.
5. Perform an isometric contraction of the gluteal muscles. The patient only needs to alternately strain the left and right buttocks. After the complex, the patient should feel a slight fatigue.
6. Bend your knees. During this exercise, the patient should pull one leg towards him, sliding his foot along the bed. Exercise should be performed 10 times with each leg, at a slow pace.
7. Take the straight leg to the side. In this case, the patient is required to take one leg away from the other, and then bring it to its previous position. The exercise is performed 10 times with each limb.
8. Bend your legs at the knees. First, the patient puts a cushion under the knee. And then he slowly unbends his leg, holds it at the end point for 5-7 seconds. The complex is performed on each leg.
9. Raise the straightened leg. In this case, the patient raises one straight leg 10 times. She rises a few centimeters from the bed.

To achieve maximum effect, it is important to follow the following simple rules:

• Do several approaches per day. And it is better to do gymnastics every hour. It is recommended to do at least 15-20 minutes.
• A set of exercises after hip arthroplasty should be performed at a slow, smooth pace.
• During the execution of the complex, breathe correctly. Inhale to perform when the muscles are tense, and exit when they are relaxed. Breathing exercises reduce the risk of lung congestion.
• In the early period of rehabilitation after hip arthroplasty, all exercises should be performed only while lying on your back. In this case, the patient will have to stand up for 2-3 days. At the end of the rehabilitation, the complex should be performed while sitting on the bed.

In addition, the patient can perform the following exercises after hip arthroplasty surgery. He:

• He stands facing the wall of the bed, puts his hands on it. Then he raises his left, right leg, bends it at the knee. The patient, as it were, walks in place, raising his legs high.
• It rests on one leg, and takes the other to the side, slightly lifting it up. Next, he needs to do a complex on the other leg.
• He also leans on one leg, slowly takes the other back, smoothly unbends it at the hip joint.

Remember: the sooner the patient begins to perform the exercises, the faster the previous motor activity will return to him, he will not have stiffness in his movements.

How is recovery in the late period of rehabilitation

This period begins 3-4 weeks after the operation. It lasts 3 months.

During this period, the patient:

• train, strengthen muscles, increase their tone;
• motor activity in the joints is restored.

During this period, the patient already easily gets out of bed, sits on a high chair, walks on crutches for 15 minutes, 3-4 times a day. Additionally, the patient can exercise on an exercise bike for 10 minutes a day, 1-2 times a day. In addition, the patient learns to walk up the stairs.

Remember: first put a healthy leg on a new step, and only then a sick one.

So the patient rises. It goes down a little differently. First, the patient puts crutches on the lower step, then a healthy leg, and then a diseased limb.

How is recovery going in the long term?

This period starts 3 months after the operation. Its duration is 6 months. But in some patients, this period may be extended.

During this period, the patient:

• motor activity in the replaced joint is normalized;
• the process of bone growth is accelerated;
• improves the condition of ligaments, muscles, tendons.

During this period, the patient prepares his body for serious physical exertion, and also adapts to ordinary life. He continues to do gymnastics. In addition, he can use physiotherapeutic methods of treatment.

This:

• mud, paraffin applications;
• ball therapy;
• laser therapy.

Do not forget about gymnastics. The patient can already perform it at home on their own. While the patient:

• lies on his back, bends his legs alternately, presses them to his stomach. It turns out that the patient rides a bicycle;
• lies on his back, bends his leg at the knee, pulls one leg after the other to the stomach. At the same time, he can help himself with his hand;
• lies on a healthy side, and puts a flat roller between the legs. At the same time, he raises one straight leg. Remember: the more the victim keeps it on weight, the better for him ;
• lies on the stomach, bends, unbends the legs at the knees;  
• lies on the stomach, raises one straight leg, takes it back, lowers it. The complex is performed on both limbs;  
• stands straight, performs semi-squats. Performing this exercise, the patient should hold onto something with his hands;
• stands straight, puts a bar 10 cm high in front of him. Then he stands on the platform, descends from it, takes a step forward with a healthy limb, lowers the diseased limb. You need to return to the platform in the same order. The complex is performed 10 times. And the patient can also stand in front of the platform, step on it with a healthy foot, and move the body weight to a sore foot. At the end, the working leg is also placed on the platform;  
• stands up straight, puts his hands on the back of the chair, puts a loop on the ankle of the diseased leg, and tightly fixes the healthy leg. Next, the patient extends the operated limb forward. And then he turns, lifts the injured lower limb back;  
• stands sideways to the object on which the tourniquet is attached, tape. The patient must hold onto this object with his hands. Then he begins to take the direct diseased limb to the side, and then returns it to its previous position. For 1 time, the complex is performed at least 10 times.

Remember: these complexes are used specifically for patients who underwent arthroplasty surgery.

How to exercise in the gym

Remember: simulators are used during a long-term rehabilitation period after hip replacement.

Right now, the patient's muscles and ligaments are large enough, and it is easy to withstand any physical load.

The following exercises will help the patient during this period. He must:

1. Work out on an exercise bike. On it, he pedals forward. If this movement is easy for him, then he can begin to pedal forward. The complex is performed for 15 minutes 2 times a day. Later, he can do the complex for 25-30 minutes a day. Exercises are performed 3-4 times for 7 days. But remember: you can’t raise your knees above the hip joints.
2. Extend the hip joint. In this case, the patient first puts the diseased limb on the roller. Remember: the roller should not have a rigid fixation. The roller should be placed under the thigh closer to the knee, and with your hands you need to grab the handle of the simulator. The emphasis is on the healthy limb. Next, the patient presses the roller with the affected leg. At the same time, the endoprosthesis is bent and unbent with force. The movement of the roller is hindered by the weight attached to the back of the simulator.
3. Sit on an exercise bike with low pedals. On it, the patient simulates cycling. Moreover, when lowering the pedals, the limb should be fully unbent.
4. Climb onto the treadmill, walk along it in the opposite direction. In this case, the patient stands on the simulator, with his back to the control panel, and holds on to the handrails with his hands. At first, he should walk at a speed of 1-2 km per hour. Moreover, when the foot touches the track, the limb should fully straighten.

To summarize: people who have undergone arthroplasty need to do therapeutic exercises. But it is important that the set of exercises was developed by the attending physician. The patient should not do gymnastics after hip arthroplasty on their own. This can lead to dangerous consequences. And during gymnastics, he should not feel pain. If this happens, the patient is advised to consult a specialist.