Activities Afterwards
This question is second only to "How long will it last?". Different surgeons give different advice on what a patient may do following surgery. Most would agree that a patient should take care for the first three months or so following the operation. For example, crossing legs, bending down low, picking items up off the floor, are all forbidden activities for the hip replacement patient in the immediate postoperative period. However, as surgery grows further away, so an individual can be more liberal with what he or she does. The author generally imposes no restrictions on his patients, though all should realise that the more punishment a hip replacement is given, the less long it is likely to last.
Recently the author wrote to every patient on whom he had ever operated and asked them to send either a photograph, or details, of what they did in day-to-day life, including any unusual activities. The response was astonishing. The majority replied (more than 1000 patients!). There thus follows a list of activities that patients have undertaken following hip replacement. Please do not regard this list as permission to go out and do these things, but I trust it gives some idea as to what is possible after such a major operation.
'Routine' Activities
Cooking
Washing (bath and shower)
Household cleaning
DIY
Climbing ladders
Shopping
Hanging curtains
Lovemaking
Gardening
Car driving
Motorcycling
Bicycling
Sporting Activities
Cricket
Tennis
Golf
Horse riding
Skiing (snow and water)
Sailing (dinghies and larger)
Swimming (all strokes, including breaststroke)
Canoeing
Mountain biking
Hill walking
Gymnasium workouts
Football coaching
Scuba diving
Camel riding
Tandem parachute jump
Glacier walking