Questions to Ask After Hip Replacement Surgery
Questions for your surgeon, ward nurses and physiotherapist after a hip replacement, covering movement restrictions, warning signs, pain and clot prevention, therapy, walking aids, getting around at home, and returning to driving and work.
The questions
Open any question for the note
What implant do I have, and will I get a record or card for it?
Why ask it
You will be asked for this at future appointments, at airport security and by any clinician imaging that hip. Ask for it in writing before discharge, including the approach used, since that affects which movements you are told to avoid.
Which movements should I avoid, and for how many weeks?
Why ask it
Restrictions differ between surgeons and between surgical approaches, so general advice may not match yours. Ask for the specific movements and a number of weeks, rather than being told to be careful.
Are there positions I should not put my hip in at all, even briefly?
Why ask it
The riskiest positions tend to arise in ordinary moments: reaching for a sock, twisting to get out of a car, sitting on a low sofa. Ask them to walk you through those situations specifically rather than describe angles.
What signs of infection should I watch for, and who do I call?
Why ask it
Joint infection is treated urgently, so you need the list and the number together. Ask what to do at night and at weekends in the first few weeks, and whether that number reaches your surgical team.
Which symptoms mean I should go to an emergency department rather than wait for a call back?
Why ask it
You want the short list kept separate from the ordinary one, because they require different actions. Ask them to be explicit about sudden pain, an inability to bear weight, chest symptoms and breathlessness.
What am I taking for pain, and how do I step down off it?
Why ask it
Pain relief after a joint replacement is what makes the exercises possible, so the plan matters. Ask what to reduce first, over what period, and what to take instead once the stronger medication stops.
Am I on anything to prevent blood clots, and for how long?
Why ask it
The medication, the dose and the duration are all specific to you, and stopping early or late both carry consequences. Ask whether anything you already take has been paused or changed alongside it.
What are the signs of a clot in the leg or the lung?
Why ask it
These are the symptoms people most often talk themselves out of reporting. Ask which ones warrant an immediate call and which mean going straight to hospital, and get them written down.
How do I look after the wound, and when can I shower?
Why ask it
Dressings, showering and bathing usually have different timings, and clips or stitches may need removing on a set day. Ask who does that, whether it is booked, and what to do if the dressing lifts or the wound leaks.
How much swelling is expected, and what should I do about it?
Why ask it
Some swelling in the leg and ankle is usual for weeks and can be alarming without warning. Ask what is expected, what helps, and which change in swelling should be reported.
How much should I be walking each day at this stage?
Why ask it
A number you can measure against is more useful than being told to keep moving. Also ask what to do on a day when it feels worse than the day before, since progress is rarely linear.
Which exercises should I do at home, how often, and how will I know I am doing them correctly?
Why ask it
Home exercises do most of the work between appointments, and doing them incorrectly is common. Ask for a printed sheet or video, and ask what discomfort during them is acceptable.
When does physiotherapy start, how many sessions are arranged, and who books them?
Why ask it
This is the part most likely to fall between departments or be limited by cover. Ask what has been booked, what you need to arrange yourself, and what to do if there is a wait.
How long should I use the frame or crutches, and how will I know I am ready to stop?
Why ask it
Coming off aids too early risks a fall and too late slows recovery. Ask for the marker they want you to reach rather than a date, and who decides it.
How should I sleep, and do I need a pillow, wedge or anything else?
Why ask it
Sleep is one of the first practical problems people hit, particularly if you normally sleep on your side. Ask which positions are allowed at this stage and when that changes.
How do I manage stairs, getting in and out of a car, and getting up from low chairs?
Why ask it
These three movements cause most early setbacks. Ask to be shown each one before discharge, with whatever aid you will actually be using at home.
What should I change around the house before I am moving about on my own?
Why ask it
Raised seating, a rail, moving rugs and putting everyday things at waist height are usually simple and usually left too late. Ask whether an occupational therapist will visit or assess, and how to arrange equipment.
What follow-up appointments do I have, and who arranges the rest?
Why ask it
Wound checks, surgical review, physiotherapy and any imaging may be booked by different people. Ask what is confirmed, what is pending, and by what date you should chase a letter that has not arrived.
When can I drive again, and when could I go back to work?
Why ask it
Driving depends on the ability to perform an emergency stop and may involve your insurer as well as your surgeon, particularly if it was your right hip. For work, ask for a range and the adjustments to request, since most employers will want it in writing.
Which activities come back over time, and which are off the table for good?
Why ask it
This is the question people avoid asking and then guess at. Name the specific things you care about, whether that is running, gardening, cycling or a particular sport, and ask about each rather than in general.
Getting clear answers about recovery
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Before you leave hospital
Ask to be shown, not told
Stairs, cars and low chairs are worth practising once with a physiotherapist watching, using the aid you will have at home. A demonstration takes five minutes and prevents the most common early setbacks.
Take the paperwork and read it there
The discharge summary should cover restrictions, medication, clot prevention and what has been arranged. Reading it before you leave means anything missing can be fixed while the team is still available.
Bring the person who will be helping at home
Whoever will be fetching things, driving you and watching for problems benefits from hearing the instructions first-hand. It also means two people remember the restrictions instead of one tired one.
Get the out-of-hours route in writing
Ask exactly what to do at night or at a weekend in the first fortnight: which number to ring, who answers, and whether they can see your records.
The first weeks at home
Set the house up before you need it
Raise the seating you use most, clear the routes you walk at night, move the things you reach for to waist height, and put a light within reach of the bed. All of this is easier to arrange before discharge than after.
Do the exercises on the bad days too
Stiffness builds quickly and is harder to undo than to prevent. If the exercises are consistently more painful than you were told to expect, that is a reason to ring the physiotherapist rather than to stop.
Keep short notes with dates
A line a day on pain, swelling, temperature and how far you walked makes any phone call more useful. Clinicians act on changes over days, which is exactly what nobody remembers accurately.
Things to have written down before you go home
- The implant details and the surgical approach used.
- Movement restrictions, with the number of weeks each applies for.
- The signs of infection and of a clot, and which need a call rather than an emergency department.
- A daytime number and an out-of-hours number, with who answers each.
- Pain medication, the plan for reducing it, and how long clot prevention continues.
- The home exercise sheet, with how often to do each one.
- What physiotherapy is booked and what you need to arrange.
- Which follow-up appointments exist and who books the rest.
Common problems after discharge
Feeling well and testing the limits early
Pain relief and a new joint can make week two feel better than expected, which is when people lift something or twist reaching for a shoe. The restrictions are about healing tissue rather than about how much it hurts.
Stopping the exercises once movement returns
Range of movement gained early is easy to lose and slow to regain. The programme is usually written to continue past the point at which it stops feeling necessary.
Not reporting a change because it might be normal
Deciding what counts is the clinical team's job. Sudden pain, an inability to bear weight, a hot or leaking wound, fever, calf pain or breathlessness are worth a call rather than a wait.
Assuming physiotherapy will contact you
Referrals get lost between departments. Ask who is arranging it and by when you should have heard, then chase it yourself if that date passes.