11 Exercises to Fast-Track Your Healing After a Hip Replacement

If you've had total hip replacement surgery, which is when damaged bone and cartilage are replaced by artificial implants, recovery can seem daunting. Adding in movement soon after surgery can help you recover better, faster. In fact, experts recommend exercise immediately after a hip replacement.

"One of the keys to recovery from hip replacement surgery is getting up, walking and being active. Since your hip can be sore and sometimes even painful, you rely more on your core and upper body to help you get around," Michael P. Ast, MD, orthopedic surgeon and chief medical innovation officer at the Hospital of Special Surgery (HSS) in New York, tells LIVESTRONG.com.

"Exercise in one form or another starts right away. Usually these are very simple exercises meant to get your hip moving and begin your recovery. The most important exercise to do during that time is simply walking," he says.

As far as early exercises post-op, recommendations focus on walking. During the first six weeks after hip replacement surgery, people are encouraged to do a daily walk as a form of exercise, Dr. Ast says. The goal is to gradually increase your physical activity post-surgery.

"We generally recommend that patients walk about 1,000 steps per day and slowly increase that by 1,000 steps per day per week. This would mean that by the end of the second week, a patient would be walking 2,000 steps per day, by the end of the third week, they would be walking 3,000 steps, etc." Dr. Ast says.

In addition to walking, Dr. Ast recommends doing hip replacement post-op exercises that target your glute muscles that surround and stabilize your hips. These exercises work to restore joint mobility and stability.

"The gluteal exercises I recommend are lifting the leg lateral (out to the side) and posterior (behind you) in a standing position while holding on to something for balance," he says.

Whether you're four weeks or two months out of surgery, here are the best exercises after hip replacement. (Before incorporating these recommendations, make sure you talk to your doctor and/or physical therapist about the best hip replacement exercises for you.)

In addition to walking regularly, most hip replacement post-op exercises strengthen your glutes to help stabilize your hips and restore joint mobility.

During the first four weeks post-surgery, Erica Fritz Eannucci, PT, DPT, physical therapist and HSS physical therapy manager, recommends these exercises for strengthening your glutes and improving hip flexibility. Do 3 sets of 10 reps per exercise three times a day for the first four weeks post-op.

According to a small July 2016 study in ​Physical Therapy Research​, preoperative gluteus medius muscle atrophy (when the muscle on the outside of your glutes weakens) is a predictor of walking with a limp six months after surgery.

So by strengthening your glutes — particularly your gluteus medius, which is responsible for moving your leg away from your midline (or the center of your body) — you'll be able to walk and do other activities more comfortably.

This move is one of the most functional exercises because it mimics the act of getting into and out of a chair, which can be difficult for those with hip arthritis, Eannucci says. "This exercise builds strength to do this activity while strengthening your thigh and buttock muscles."

This exercise works hip abduction (moving your leg away from the middle of your body) and external hip rotation, and activates your core.

"Hip rotation is a motion that typically is lost due to hip arthritis. People find they can't put their shoes on and off, for example, as a result," Eannucci says. "This exercise is recommended to help improve hip rotation flexibility."

Hip abduction exercises after hip replacement surgery are important because your hip abductor muscles, including your gluteus medius and minimus and tensor fasciae latae (front hip muscles), tend to be the weakest before and after surgery, Eannuci says.

Your hip abductor muscles are responsible for many daily movements, including walking, balancing and climbing up stairs. This exercise aims to strengthen these muscles and increase hip flexibility, she says.

Your glutes are primary movers for many daily activities, like walking, picking things off the floor and standing up from sitting. The basic bridge exercise builds glute strength while teaching people how to fully extend their hips, Eannucci says.

At six weeks post-op, you're going to build upon the glute and hip flexibility exercises you were doing at four weeks and start incorporating balance exercises, which are essential for preventing injury. You can also reduce the number of times you do these exercises to just once a day instead of three, Eannucci says.

"After six weeks, I generally tell patients to start increasing their exercise routines and also to start adding hip stretching exercises, but this depends on the individual," Dr. Ast says.

Specifically, he recommends doing hip rotational stretches and exercises because people with severe hip arthritis tend to lose their rotational flexibility, which is necessary for doing daily tasks, like putting on your socks and shoes.

"One of the most important stretches is to try to regain the ability to sit cross-legged with your ankle of the operated leg on the knee of the other leg. This is a useful position for putting on shoes and socks and caring for feet, but this flexibility is often lost as the hip becomes stiff from arthritis," Dr. Ast says.

Make sure you keep up with your walking routine and aim to clock in two to three miles a day. This is also a good time to incorporate some core exercises into your routine, he adds.

Your balance naturally declines with age, and this exercise helps improve your balance and stability to help reduce your risk of injury, Eannucci says..

By targeting your hip's external rotators, aka your glutes, the clamshell move gives you strength to fully rotate through the hip, Eannucci says.

This exercise is a progression of the standing hip abduction. It strengthens your hip abductors — your glutes and tensor fasciae latae — which are often the weakest before and after surgery, Eannucci says. "They contribute to balance and the ability to walk normally."

Before hip replacement surgery, many people will have pain doing weight-bearing exercises, such as climbing stairs, and develop muscle weakness and compensatory movements, Eannucci says. The step-up exercise helps strengthen your glutes and quad muscles, improving your ability and balance to climb stairs.

Between the second and third month after surgery, you will continue to focus on increasing glute strength by progressing the exercises you're already doing.

This will prepare you to return to full activities and exercises at three months, where most surgeons will lift activity restrictions except high-impact ones, such as running, Eannucci says. High-impact activities are generally allowed at six months post-op.

"At three months, people can return to hiking, tennis and generally feel very well," she says. You can also start doing strength-training exercises with load, starting at a very light weight and slowly progressing.

"Outside of the gym, I would recommend adding exercises that strengthen your legs, core and balance. Squats, lunges and bird dogs are some of examples of what can be added at three months," Eannucci says.

After three months, you no longer have to do targeted exercises for your hip replacement. Instead, you can do activities you enjoy.

"I try to encourage patients to continue their core exercises as these are probably the more important exercises long term, regardless of a patient's desired activity level," Dr. Ast says.

As with the forward step up exercise, this move strengthens your glutes and quads and helps improve your balance to descend stairs, Eannucci says.

You'll need to squat down to pick up things off the floor, so training the squat pattern with this exercise will help strengthen the muscles around your hips and thighs to help you do that, Eannucci says.

This exercise complements the side-lying hip abduction exercise. The mini resistance band (shop our picks for the best resistance bands here) around your thighs helps to further strengthen your side glutes and hips, Eannucci says, but feel free to try this move a few times without to get the hang of it.

There are generally no exercise restrictions, including on high-impact workouts, after six months post-surgery. From six to 12 months post-op, you no longer have to do hip replacement rehabilitation exercises; you can transition into a workout routine that includes strength training, stretching, endurance and balance, Eannucci says.

Doing low-impact exercises, like swimming, cycling, rowing, yoga and strength training, are great ways to stay fit and strong while reducing stress on your implants. Dr. Ast recommends riding a stationary bike after hip replacement to get your joint moving smoothly.

"It is likely one of the best ways to warm up your hip at the start of an exercise session," he says. "Also, stationary bikes can be used very differently with everything from low-intensity warm-ups to high-intensity spin classes and HIIT rides."

You want to limit high-impact exercises, like running and HIIT moves that involve jumping, in order to protect the longevity of your implants and reduce the stress on them.

"Personally, I think it is still important to keep in mind that these are artificial implants and there may be some concerns with their long-term durability with certain activities," Dr. Ast says.

"We tend to ask patients not to use running as their primary form of exercise, meaning if patients want to run from time to time that is probably fine, but to run multiple miles, multiple times a week may not be the best idea for the longevity of these implants."

Very high-impact activities, like skydiving, are not recommended because they can increase the risk of the bone breaking around the implant.