THA recovery

[truthseeker]

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I posted this question on the ortho board and got no response: Is there a standard length of time that hip precautions are in effect after hip replacement surgery? (assuming no other complicating issues)

Or, does it come down to the surgeon's preference?

Thanks.

 

[axm397]

I think it's surgeon dependent and also depends on the surgery performed but on average I have seen about 3 months.

 

[truthseeker]

I think it's surgeon dependent and also depends on the surgery performed but on average I have seen about 3 months.

Thanks. Some PTs (like me) have been discussing it on rehabedge and many of them say lifetime. That just doesn't make sense to me since the precautions are in place for stability much like after a shoulder dislocation where after 6-8 weeks depending upon the shoulder and how long before it was reduced the patient can begin to elevate above 90 degrees and ER past neutral. It is the same rationale. In the shoulder you avoid challenging the stability in the direction of instability until the capsule scars down and create a mini-adhesive capsulitis, then try to recover the motion back to normal.

It seems that the hip should follow a similar path. I realize that an incision is weaker than simply a stretched capsule as in a shoulder, but the concept is the same.

Also, I do not require such a strict adherence to the precautions when the patient is in full weight bearing because the weight of the body and the structure of the hip joint lends stability.

any other thoughts on that?

 

[axm397]

obviously depends on surgeon, surgical technique, and stability of joint but most seem to say 3 months

http://www.ejbjs.org/cgi/content/abstract/87/2/247

http://health.ucsd.edu/specialties/ortho/joint/faq_totalhip.htm

according to a review article:Rehabilitation of orthopedic and rheumatologic disorders. 3. Total hip arthroplasty rehabilitation
Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Volume 86, Supplement 1, March 2005, Pages 56-60
Ali A. Bitar, Robert J. Kaplan, Todd P. Stitik, Vivian C. Shih, Andrew N. Vo and Leonard B. Kamen

it's 4-12wks.