Total Hip Replacement
What is a total hip replacement?
The fancy name healthcare professionals use is total hip arthroplasty or THA, for short. A total hip replacement does not mean both sides of your hips are getting replaced, just one. Well, I suppose it is possible you could get both replaced but it’s pretty rare to need it on both sides at the same time. And it doesn’t replace as much bone as most people think it does. The hip itself is a ball-and-socket joint, so a THA removes the ball (upper end of the large leg bone, also called the head of the femur) and replaces it with an artificial one while also putting in an artificial socket, which is kind of shaped like half a tennis ball or a cap. There are a lot of things that can lead to the need for a new hip, including various types of arthritis, fractures, tumors, ankylosing spondylitis, and avascular necrosis.
I had a family member get a total hip replacement and it seemed like a big deal. Is it a serious thing?
When you look at the grand scheme of the body, any one joint is not a large portion of the body, even a large one like the hip. However, THAs are kind of a big deal because of the function of the joint. Hips bear a LOT of weight. Even when you’re sitting, there’s still quite a bit of pressure on it. This can make it hard to truly rest the hip, which can make it particularly difficult for the hip to heal.
PSA: It is incredibly important for you to follow the advice of your healthcare team when it comes to taking care of your new hip! They are trained on how injuries happen and how to prevent them. Even if one of your restrictions seems very tedious and small and insignificant, there’s a reason it’s there.
What do physical therapists do for total hip replacements?
PTs are not just there for you after surgery, they’re there for you before it as well! Your physical therapist can help you develop an exercise plan leading up to surgery that will condition your body to heal faster after your THA. At this point, your PT will likely go over flexibility exercises (helps prevent injuries), strengthening exercises (helps stabilize everything in there), how to use your aids (like crutches, walkers, or special pillows), and your post-surgery precautions.
In the first few days after surgery, your PT should help you move around your hospital bed safely, sit and stand, walk, transfer to a chair or wheelchair, use your aids more, and continue flexibility and strengthening exercises.
As you progress on your path of rehabilitation, your PT should start helping you with things like navigating stairs and tubs, balancing, getting full movement and strength in your leg, and getting you back to doing the things you love.
If you’ve had personal experience with physical therapy and total hip replacement, I’d love to hear what you liked and didn’t like! Comments are open below if you’re open to sharing!
If you’d like to know more on this topic, I recommend checking out these sources first:
https://www.uwhealth.org/files/uwhealth/docs/sportsmed/RE-38788-14_THA_OP.pdf
https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/treatment/total-hip-replacement/
