Hip Replacement Exercises
Transcript
Hello, My name is Heidi Wulff Plumb Graham, and I'm a physical therapist and clinic director for ATI Physical Therapy in Norridge. After a total hip replacement, it's important to get your hip moving early so you can get back to your normal routine. Here are a few exercises you can do at home.
The first exercise I'm going to show you is simply marching. You're just going to lay on your back, knees bent, you're going to lift one knee toward the ceiling and keep your hip at at a 90 degree, don't go past that. Simply to here and back down. You're going to alternate on both sides. I would do about 10 reps if you can, try two to three times.
The next exercise is called the bridge. This is an important one because it will help you get in and out of your chair better. From here, you're going to lift your hips up toward the ceiling, pause, and bring them back down. Same idea with this one, you want to do it about 10 times and do two to three reps.
The next exercise I have for you is called clams. To do this exercise, you're going to lay on your side, with your knees bent. This exercise works the muscle on the side of your hip here, it's important to standing and walking. What you're going to do is keep your feet together, but lift your knee up toward the ceiling. It's not going to go that far, that's okay, and then bring it back down. You want to lift your top leg only as far as you can, before your hip start rocking backwards. It's important to do this one on both sides. You're going to want to do it 10 times, and do it for two to three sets.
The last exercise I'm going to show you is to stretch the muscles in the front of your hip, and also to strengthen your hamstring. If you can lay on your stomach, perfect, that's how I'd like you to do it. If you can't, you can also do this exercise in standing. On your stomach you're going to provide a nice stretch to the muscles to the front of your hip, which often get tight after a total hip replacement. To do this exercise, you simply bend your knee, bringing your heel toward your buttocks as far as you can, until you feel a stretch, hold for a couple of seconds, and then bring it back down. As with all of these exercises, you will want to do them 10 times, for two to three sets.
Those were four simple exercises you can do at home after a total hip replacement. If you continue to experience pain or weakness, please stop in to one of our ATI clinics for a complimentary injury screen.