Hip Replacement Recovery: What to Expect, Week by Week

You will be given pain relief, and you may have a drain in the hip for fluids. Nurses and physiotherapists help you start walking as soon as possible after surgery, initially with crutches or a frame.

You can usually go home when the wound is healing well and you can safely get around — for a generally fit patient whose surgery went well, that is normally 1 to 3 days. Before discharge, a physiotherapist or occupational therapist runs through daily activities and your home exercise programme.

These are the NHS "don'ts" after a hip replacement:

• don't sit with your legs crossed
• don't bend your hip more than 90 degrees (a right angle)
• don't bend down to touch your feet or ankles
• don't sit in a low chair, a chair without arms, or on a low toilet seat — raised toilet seats are available
• don't do exercises involving jumping, sudden turns, or a high risk of falling
• don't lift or move heavy objects until you are told it's safe

Do walk every day as far as is comfortable, follow your physiotherapist's exercises, and sit in a reclining position rather than staying still for long periods.

• Driving: wait at least six weeks, and check with your doctor that you are fit to drive.
• Work: usually about six weeks, depending on the type of work.
• Sex: the NHS advises avoiding it for 6 to 8 weeks after the operation.
• Follow-up: an appointment around 6 to 12 weeks after surgery checks how you are recovering.

Preparing your home before you go in makes the first weeks much easier: a chair with arms at the right height, no trailing rugs, things you use often kept at waist level.

The recovery itself doesn't change, but the plan around it does:

• The stay. Our partner hospital's package includes three nights on the ward and up to seven outpatient physiotherapy sessions after discharge, so plan to stay nearby before travelling home.
• The journey. Hip precautions matter in a car and on a plane: you need a seat that isn't too low and room to avoid bending the hip past a right angle. Request airport assistance when you book.
• Flying. Your surgeon decides when you're fit to fly — see flying after a hip or knee replacement.
• At home. You return with records in English and a written rehabilitation plan; ask your GP in advance about local physiotherapy.

For the figures on the UK side, see how much a private hip replacement costs.

Contact NHS 111 or your GP urgently if you notice:

• throbbing or cramping pain, swelling, or warm, red or darkened skin in one leg
• increasing redness, heat or discharge from the wound, or a high temperature
• sudden severe hip pain, an inability to bear weight, or the leg looking shorter or turned out — possible dislocation

Call 999 or go to A&E if you become breathless or develop chest pain, especially on breathing in.