Hip Surgery Recovery: Week by Week

We put our hips through a lot — long hours of sitting, impromptu soccer games with the kids, and everything in between — so it’s no surprise when hip pain sets in. But when strategies like rest or even physical therapy aren’t enough, hip surgery may be your next step.

Whether it’s a total hip replacement for arthritis or arthroscopic surgery for a labral tear, recovery takes time, patience, and sometimes months of rehab. Knowing what to expect can help you prepare both mentally and physically for the road ahead. To help you know what to expect and plan for, we've put together this week-by-week guide to hip surgery recovery. Remember, this is just a general overview — always follow your surgeon's specific instructions and listen to your body! 

If you want more individualized guidance — we can help you with that too. Book a visit with one of our physical therapists. They’ll make sure you’re healing properly and safely on the path back to the activities you love.

Hip surgery recovery timeline

The recovery timeline after a hip surgery will vary from person to person. Several factors can influence this process, including:

• Age and overall health
• Pre-existing health conditions
• Type and reasons for your surgery
• How well you stick to your rehabilitation program
• Nutrition and lifestyle factors

‍

More involved procedures like a total hip replacement may take up to a year to fully heal, while less invasive surgeries like arthroscopy may have a shorter recovery period.

Below is a general overview of what you can expect as you recover from hip surgery.

Pre-surgery preparation

Your surgeon may recommend a "prehabilitation" program (prehab) before your hip replacement surgery. While research on prehab’s physical benefits is mixed, with some studies showing fewer post op physical therapy visits and others finding no significant improvement in outcomes, it serves another important purpose. Prehab is a great opportunity to get a ton of education about your upcoming procedure and detailed insights into what to expect during recovery. 

The first week: Taking it easy

You'll likely head home within a day or two of your surgery. In these early days, your main focus should be on managing your pain, controlling inflammation, and learning how to move comfortably after surgery.

You'll likely be up and walking the same day as your surgery. Start with short distances and see how your body responds. Your care team will teach you safe exercises, make sure you are comfortable getting around with your assistive device. 

You can usually return to simple self-care activities like showering and dressing yourself the day after surgery if you're feeling up to it. Just make sure to keep your incisions dry and clean, and stick to your specific post op instructions.

Things to try:

• Exercises to promote circulation, like ankle pumps or glute squeezes while resting in bed.
• Short walks (as permitted by your care team) around your home to encourage blood flow and minimize swelling.
• Try using ice packs on your hip area for about 20 minutes every 2 to 3 hours for inflammation and pain.

Weeks 2 to 6: Getting back to your routine

A couple of weeks after your surgery, you should start feeling more like yourself. But you’ll still feel some soreness (that gets better each day) and fatigue as you build back your strength and endurance. While continuing to follow your postoperative guidelines, you can progressively increase your activity levels — just be mindful of how your body is responding to new activities, and adjust as needed.

This is usually when you’ll start seeing a physical therapist — either in the office or via telehealth. They’ll help you regain hip range of motion and progress your strengthening exercises beyond your bed.

More things to expect:

• You can usually resume driving during this time, depending on the side of your surgery and other factors like the specific pain medications you are taking. Your healthcare team will let you know for sure when driving is safe for you. 
• You may also be able to return to work by around week 3, depending on your progress and the physical demands of your job.
• Any remaining stitches or staples will likely be removed by a nurse around 10 days post op

6 Weeks to 6 months: Returning to tour usual activities

Around the 6-week mark, you’ll likely have a follow-up appointment with your surgeon. They'll assess your progress and clear you for more activities if you’re healing well. 

Many folks can get back to most of their basic daily activities during this time, but you may still need to modify them a bit. You may even be cleared to start low-impact exercise like stationary cycling or swimming, if your incision is fully healed and your surgeon thinks you’re ready.

What you can expect:

• During weeks 6 to 12, continue to progress with more advanced strengthening, balance, and coordination exercises, which are important for walking and preventing falls. You can usually get back to more demanding work duties during this time, depending on how you’re doing and your job requirements.
• During months 3 to 6 most people can resume the majority of their normal activities. Some studies even show that patients can return to activities like golfing as early as 4 to 5 months after surgery. But always get clearance from your surgeon and/or physical therapist first. 
• Continue to focus on using exercises to improve your strength, proprioception, and whole body function, with a gradual return to more demanding physical activities as tolerated and approved by the healthcare team.

6 months to a year: The home stretch

By 6 months to a year after surgery, you should feel like you’re making a full recovery and maybe even able to return to high-impact activities (if that’s your goal). Be patient with your progress. You’ll continue to see improvements in your gait and function throughout the first year and beyond. Even when feeling fabulous, stick with your regularly scheduled follow-ups with their healthcare providers and continue with any prescribed exercises to keep you feeling strong and healthy in the long term.

Hip labral tear surgery recovery

It's worth noting that recovery from hip labral tear surgery may be a bit different from a total hip replacement recovery. Smaller hip labral tears are usually repaired using an arthroscopic technique, which is a minimally invasive way to repair smaller bone or cartilage issues. 

Here is what you may be able to expect:

• Most people will be able to walk and start low-impact activities right away after surgery.
• Full weight-bearing may be restricted for several weeks so the newly repaired tissue can heal with modified impact.
• Full recovery may take up to 6 months, especially for more advanced athletic activities.

For those with labral tears that don’t need surgery, you may feel better within a couple of weeks of rest and conservative treatments like physical therapy. While a tear won't fully heal  without surgery, it’s not always needed to feel better.

When to reach out to your doctor

Complications after hip surgery are rare, but they can happen. Contact your doctor immediately if:

• You're feeling throbbing or cramping pain in your hip or leg that's not easing up
• You've got a fever or the chills 
• You notice changes in your incision that include increased readiness or drainage, or if the incision opens up
• Redness, tenderness, swelling, or pain in your hip or leg is getting worse or not improving

It’s also important that you should go to the emergency room immediately if you have any trouble breathing or chest pains — especially if you also have leg pain and swelling. This could mean you have a blood clot that has traveled to your lungs (pulmonary embolism), and it needs immediate treatment.

If you have any other questions or concerns about your recovery after hip surgery, or the symptoms you’re experiencing, we're here for you at Origin! Don’t hesitate to make an appointment today so we can help you get back to feeling like your best.