Artificial hip replacement, including total hip replacement and artificial femoral head replacement, is an effective treatment for aseptic necrosis of the femoral head, congenital hip dysplasia, severe osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and fracture of the neck of the femur in old age, which can effectively restore the joint function and relieve the pain of the joint. Every year, thousands of people in China benefit from this kind of surgery. However, patients know little about the health care and rehabilitation after hip replacement. After 1 to 2 weeks of hospitalization, the wound has healed, the stitches have been removed, and it’s time to go home. Your treatment has not yet been successful because you are still some time away from getting up and walking and living a normal life. After that, you will have to stay at home, with no medical supervision, no doctor’s guidance, and all the health care and rehabilitation will have to be done by you and your family. As a result, you will need to work harder and be more careful. Generally speaking, you still need to stay in bed for 1 to 2 weeks after you go home. This is in consideration of the damage caused by the surgery to the muscles and tendons around the hip joint, and the repair of these soft tissues takes 3 to 4 weeks. Thigh muscle strength and functional exercises for the ankle, knee and hip joints should still be continued during bed rest. Flex the knee to elevate the lower limb over the body plane under the condition of ensuring comfort; then in the case of keeping the lower limb straight in the horizontal plane of adduction and abduction of the hip joint; the back of the thigh of the affected limb is padded with pillows, and flexion and extension of the knee and ankle joints. Then, contract the gluteal muscles, move the hips, let the hip up and down activities, just like the back on the ground crawling. Gradually, practice standing, sitting and walking When the time is ripe (depending on the nature of the disease, the type of surgery, the type of artificial joint, and the patient’s condition, you can consult with your doctor in the outpatient clinic to determine the time, usually 3 to 4 weeks after surgery), you can practice standing, sitting, and walking, which is the most crucial step in the process of entering normal life. It should be reminded that at first your muscle strength is not enough to support your body weight and you are not used to the movement of the replaced joints. Therefore, you need to be accompanied and protected so that you do not fall and cause other injuries. It is also important to note that hip flexion should not exceed 90 degrees and that you should not rest the affected limb on the ankle and especially the knee of the opposite limb to avoid dislocation. Getting up is the first step. The body moved to the edge of the bed, the affected limb facing outward, the healthy side of the leg flexion, first in the back pad thick pillow, and then move the affected limb off the bed, slowly descending, and then hanging down the healthy side of the leg, so that the whole lower limb hanging in the edge of the bed. At this time you have sat up, after a short rest, the healthy leg first on the ground, bear the body weight. Grab the armrests or brace yourself on a walker (or the back of a chair) and slowly raise your body so that your hips are off the bed, which signals that you have stood up. Once you’re up, it’s time to try to take steps to walk. With the help of the walker or family members to help the affected limb first walk forward a small step, and then the healthy limb to walk forward a step, and the affected limb parallel or slightly forward, repeat the above action. Walk a few steps and then practice sitting down. Choose a chair with armrests of more than 30 centimeters in height, hold the armrests of the chair to share the weight of the body, and slowly sit down. Try to keep the lower limb on the operated side as straight as possible before sitting down. “Reinforcement” training: increasing joint mobility and muscle strength Now that you have learned to get up, stand up, walk and sit down, practice. It will take you about a week to familiarize yourself with and strengthen these movements. In fact, completing these movements works almost all the muscles in your body and the function of your ankle, knee and hip joints at the same time. When the above movements are not a problem, you can further strengthen the joint movement, the purpose is to enhance joint mobility and strengthen the muscle strength. Simple and easy way to slide wall exercise: back against a smooth wall stand straight, waist back hip slowly slide down 20 centimeters, and then stand straight, repeat to do 30 times. Another method is elastic band exercise: choose a certain strength of elastic band, one end is fixed on the table leg, the other end of the set in the affected limb of the ankle. First of all, both legs parallel to the table leg, the affected limb against the elastic band tension for abduction; then back to the table, forward leg lift; then face the table, backward leg kick, so repeatedly to exercise the power of hip flexion, hip extension, abduction and adduction. Functional exercise is relatively tedious, there may be some pain at first, it is recommended to take some anti-inflammatory analgesics half an hour before the implementation of exercise. After the exercise, use an ice pack to apply a cold compress to the area of joint discomfort. A few points to note As your muscle strength increases and your joint function improves, you will gradually feel that you can get up, sit down and walk as you wish, which signals the success of your hip replacement surgery and the beginning of a new life. At this time you can try to take care of yourself, but you should pay attention to the following problems: 1. Within your range of activities, keep the road clear, avoid crossing things and unnecessary collisions. Also there should be sufficient lighting and you can see the road clearly at night. 2. Frequently used things should be placed where they can be easily reached without tiptoeing or crouching. The telephone should be placed next to the bed, next to the chair where you often sit or prepare a sub-machine that can be put in your pocket. Toiletries should be within reach. Kitchen room equipment should not cause you to bend your hips and turn around too much. 3. Dress with care and do not wear shoes with laces to prevent slipping. Put on and take off shoes with the help of a lifter. Clothing should have pockets for carrying items so that frequently used items such as eyeglasses can be carried with you. 4. The bed you sleep in should be of a certain height so that you don’t bend your hips 90 degrees when you sit on the edge of the bed. Frequently sit in the chair, writing desk and dining table should also have the corresponding height, so that you in the hip flexion less than 90 degrees of the case of the same comfortable and natural. Be careful not to sit on sofas; these soft furnishings are too short and difficult to stand up on, and may cause hip dislocation. The toilet used for going to the bathroom should also be elevated, which can be done by adding a raised seat cushion to the toilet. Handles and grab bars of appropriate height should be installed in the bathroom. 5, when going up and down the stairs, should be close to the side of the handrail, one hand on the handrail, one hand to support the crutches. When going up the stairs, the healthy limbs go up first, and then the affected limbs go up again. It is safer to go up one step at a time than to go up the stairs alternately with both legs. When you go downstairs, you should go down the affected limb first, then the healthy limb. A little sweat, a little gain. After unremitting efforts, you have returned to “normal”. Go out and talk to your long-lost neighbors; take a walk in the park and see how bright the flowers are; visit your good friends who used to take care of you and let them share your happiness; and even prepare for your return to work and give your colleagues a surprise. Isn’t it? The sun is warming you up!