Well done on reaching the 3 month post op mark for your Total Hip Replacement! This is a milestone in your recovery, and in general, we expect you to be doing really well at this stage. You would have had (or having) your first and final post operative imaging to check that everything is perfectly positioned and the same as when we left it at the time of surgery. At 3 months, most of the recovery is done, but you are still not FULLY recovered as yet. There is still about 10-20% of your recovery yet to be completed, which now occurs at a slower pace over the next few months. Based on our own patients – the recovery is quicker than usual, with an estimated time frame of 6-9 months until you have mostly forgotten about your hip replacement and are doing everything you want to do without any further thoughts!
This is the time to reflect on the things that you couldn’t do before the surgery and those that you can do now. You should feel much better than before the surgery, your walking should be improved, and you should sleeping and performing normal activities without much difficulties.
There are still 2 symptoms that many people have at the 3 month mark after their total hip replacement:
- Start up stiffness: This means that depending on how long you sit for, you might find that the first few steps are stiff. This is NORMAL and almost everyone has an element of this at this stage. The first few steps after being in a seated position for a long time will be a bit stiff, and you should be able to walk through it, after which it should disappear and feel a lot better after – your walking stride and capabilities would then be far better than before surgery. Depending on how long you limped for prior to your surgery, or how long you were limited by your hip – this will dictate how long after surgery you will still maintain some of this abnormal gait. Going up and down stairs, getting in and out of a car should all be much easier now, and you should be reaching your shoes and socks a lot easier than before the surgery.
- Some discomfort: most people will still find that there are some limits with how long you can stay on your feet, or walk for, and this will show by some discomfort at night time. There may also be a sensation of some swelling around the muscles in the afternoon/evenings, and even some slight heat. This is normal, and will disappear over time.
The main thing, is that you are noticing that things are continuing to improve, from a mobility and functional level. I would anticipate that by now, things are all improving each week.
The Xrays that you have had will show the implant position. The main thing that I am looking for here, is that there is evidence that the integration between stem and bone, and cup and bone is complete. There should be very little difference with the intra-operative imaging and 3D scan virtual surgery images that I took previously. I can send a copy of your recent Xrays to your email if you wish.
Below I’ve added some FAQ’s for this timeframe.
Finally – many of my patients request that this appointment is done in as convenient a way as possible, and I have had many requests to have this 3 month final appointment done as a phone call. All of you would have my personal mobile number at this stage, so you know how to SMS me if you have any concerns about things. Which is why I would like to offer the following options to you. If you wish to pop in for your 3 month review in person, then you do not need to do anything at all. Just come in at your scheduled time and I will see you then. Alternatively, please reply to the email that I sent to you to advise if you would prefer:
A: A phone call in place of a physical review. I will call you, and send you a copy of your Xrays to your email.
B: No phone call – you will contact me as required. I can still send you the Xray for your records. I will then cancel your 3 month review appointment on our system, but you know you can contact me anytime via SMS as you need to, or call you back if you wish to discuss more than SMS can handle!
I hope this helps with things. Often patients are so recovered at this point that this visit is not required. If the above sounds like you, then you might be able to cancel this 3 month review in the ways described above. Just let us know prior to your appointment so we know beforehand.
Thankyou again for your trust in our surgery and outcomes. I hope you have found the quality of life improvements to be fantastic!
Dr Chien-Wen Liew
Do I still need to do physiotherapy?
In general, no. I do not recommend physiotherapy if you feel that you are functionally excellent. In general, most of the gym/physio treatments at this stage should not be isolated to your hip, but should be general in nature, rather than just for your hip. If you are using a physio for general health/fitness, than this is fine. Go ahead, but you should not need continued physiotherapy for your hip replacement from now.
Do I need any more Xrays of my hip?
This recent Xray should be your last one, and unless you find that your symptoms change, or anything feels unusual in the future, further Xrays are usually not required. We would normally recommend that routine Xrays in the future are not necessary – if anything feels unusual down the track, contact us or your GP and we can organise another Xray for you. Routine Xrays are certain intervals (ie 10 years) are not required.
What activities can I do or not do now?
Like I mentioned prior to the surgery, you can pretty much do any activities that you wish, with the exception of long distance road running, or jumping from things. I did a short video about running after joint replacement which you can watch here if you wish. But unless you are a very seasoned runner, then I would not recommend running. If it was something that you were very passionate about, then finding a running coach that helps you become a forefoot/midfoot runner is beneficial. Heel striking is not recommended. Jumping off things is also not recommended (ie box jumps, or jumping from a few rungs up in a ladder). Try to avoid high impact if you can, which will extend the longevity of the implant.