Around 100,000 hip replacement operations are performed in the UK each year, making it one of the most common elective surgical procedures. While the surgery itself is highly successful, the quality of post-operative physiotherapy significantly influences how quickly and completely you recover.
Physiotherapy begins on the day of surgery. The initial focus is on getting you upright and mobilising safely with a walking frame. You'll receive hip precaution advice (depending on your surgical approach) and begin gentle exercises to restore circulation, reduce swelling, and activate the hip muscles.
Once discharged, exercise becomes more progressive. Walking distances increase daily. Gentle strengthening exercises (heel slides, static quadriceps contractions, gluteal squeezes) build the foundation for later strengthening. Swelling management and scar tissue mobilisation are also addressed.
By six weeks, most patients are walking without a frame (often using one stick). Physiotherapy progresses to closed-chain strengthening — step exercises, sit-to-stand practice, and stationary cycling. Balance and proprioception work is introduced.
The goal in this phase is to achieve full independence with all daily activities and return to recreational activities. Most people are ready to return to swimming and cycling by 3 months. Golf and doubles tennis are typically possible by 4–6 months.
Most people can return to driving an automatic car at 4–6 weeks post-operatively. Your physiotherapist can perform a functional assessment to confirm readiness. Always check with your surgeon and insurer.
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Book Free ConsultationSenior Physiotherapist
James is a senior physiotherapist with a decade of experience in musculoskeletal conditions and post-operative rehabilit...