Physiotherapy at Home in Sutton Coldfield After A Hip Replacement

Hello and welcome back again to the ThreeSpires Physiotherapy blog where we take a look at all things physiotherapy related. Having just had a look at the overall physiotherapy service that we offer in Sutton Coldfield I wanted to now drill down and look in more detail at a specific aspect of our home visit physiotherapy service in Sutton Coldfield: hip replacements. As a community physiotherapy service our physiotherapists help many patients in Sutton Coldfield with their recovery after a hip replacement and if you live in Sutton Coldfield I thought it would useful to know a bit more about this.

Just to remind anyone visiting this blog for the first time: all of or physiotherapists are mobile and go out to their patients at home in Sutton Coldfield. We provide physiotherapy across all of Sutton Coldfield including Walmley, Streetly, Wylde Green, Four Oaks and Little Aston. If you live in Sutton Coldfield and need physiotherapy, one of our mobile physios will be able to visit you at home.

Okay, before looking at the specifics of our service in for hip replacements in Sutton Coldfield, we probably need to have a look at what a hip replacement actually is and some reasons that you may have a hip replacement. We have an in depth article on this topic, which you can access here: Everything You Need to Know About Hip Replacements

What is a Hip Replacement?

A hip replacement is major open surgery that involves replacing the hip joint with artificial parts. The two types of hip replacement are:

1. Total Hip Replacement (THR): both the ball and socket are replaced.
2. Partial Hip Replacement (Hemi-arthroplasty): only the ball is replaced

The type of surgery you have depends upon a range of factors that will be discussed with you by your surgeon.

Why Have a Hip Replacement?

Although as physios visiting patients in Sutton Coldfield, we see patients who have had a hip replacement for a wide range of reasons, there are only 2 main reasons for having a hip replacement:

1. Arthritis: if you haven’t broken your hip, then this will be by far the most common reason for having a hip replacement. We have a large article all about arthritis here: Hip Arthritis & Physiotherapy if you want to know more.
2. Hip Fractures: one of the most common reasons that people in Sutton Coldfield will have a hip replacement is having a fall and breaking their hip. Sometimes the surgeon can simply repair the hip with some metal work but often it will involve having a hip replacement.

Whichever reason you have had a hip replacement for, one of our mobile physios will be able to visit you at home in Sutton Coldfield and help you recover. Our physiotherapists have a large amount of experience of helping patients in Sutton Coldfield recover after a hip replacement.

Who Has A Hip Replacement?

Clearly, anyone could end up having a hip replacement but some factors make it more likely that you will have a hip replacement.

1. Age: this is probably the most important factor and unfortunately as we get older we tend to have more arthritis and also have more falls both of which can cause the need for a hip replacement.
2. Gender: women due to partially to living longer and also partially due to genetics have a tendency to have more hip replacements than men.
3. Obesity: having a higher BMI makes it much more likely that you will have a hip replacement later in life.

What Is Likely To Happen After My Hip Replacement Operation in Sutton Coldfield?

When discussing options with our patients in Sutton Coldfield, often our physios will be asked about the general process of having a hip replacement and what is likely to happen after they have had their hip done? Due to factors such as age, the reason for having a hip replacement and how you do after anaesthetic there is quite a bit of variability but below I have tried to describe a general process but for more detail check out our whole article on Everything You Need to Know About Hip Replacements:

1. After waking up at most likely Good Hope or Little Aston Hospitals after having your hip replacement staff will comae around and check on you and get you some food and drink and give you some pain relief.
2. Physiotherapy: usually most hospitals (including Good Hope and Little Aston in Sutton Coldfield) are very keen for you to get up and weightbearing on the first day and so it is very likely that the physios will come around and try to get you up and if you have stairs at home they will attempts these with you.
3. Going Home: depending upon how well you have recovered, going home will be the next step and this is usually after between 1 and 3 days after your hip replacement

Obviously, this is a very abbreviated description of the process after having a hip replacement in Sutton Coldfield and for some patients (more elderly or more unwell) this will take much longer and they may stay in hospital for a few weeks or may even need some respite care in a care home in Sutton Coldfield. However long things take our home visit physiotherapists in Sutton Coldfield will be able to help and guide you after your hip replacement. If you have any concerns or worries about the process of having a hip replacement and how physiotherapy plays a role, please get in touch.

Recovering From Your Hip Replacement At Home In Sutton Coldfield

Okay, so now you are back home in Sutton Coldfield and you are trying to recover after your hip replacement. What should you be doing to try and help you recover and are there any things that you need to be aware? Well, yes there are quite a few:

1. Recovery is a long process: a hip replacement is a major open operation and this means that the recovery process is lengthy and you should expect a slow recovery.
2. Rest: initially your body is recovering from a large operation and in the first few weeks it is important that you rest enough.
3. Exercises: although rest is important it is also vital that you do any exercises that have been given to you by the physios in the hospital.
4. Physiotherapy: this is a vital part of your recovery and it is important that you see a physio after getting home, so that they can assess you and see what exercises you can do.

Once home in Sutton Coldfield, we would recommend that you have one of our physios visit at some point in the first week so that they can do an initial assessment, have a look at your exercise program and give you any advice that you need. This will then give you the confidence to make progress and manage things at home.

Why Physiotherapy At Home And Not A Physiotherapy Clinic in Sutton Coldfield?

A lot of people may think that they need to find a physiotherapy clinic in Sutton Coldfield after their hip replacement because they will need access to rehab and gym equipment. In fact, the opposite is true and certainly in the early days and months all exercises and physiotherapy is better done at home with very little equipment. There is a whole article here on the benefits of physiotherapy at home:  Mobile Physiotherapy Service At Your Home . However, below are some of the key benefits/reasons for having a physio visit you at home in Sutton Coldfield after a hip replacement

1. Pain

In the first few weeks your hip is likely to be quite painful and it will make getting out of your home in Sutton Coldfield very difficult. Having on of our mobile physios visit you at home in Sutton Coldfield after your hip replacement is the ideal solution.

 2. Unable To Leave The House

Some people recover quickly after their hip replacement but our mobile physios help many patients in Sutton Coldfield who are struggling to walk after their hip replacement and for whom getting out to a physical physiotherapy clinic in Sutton Coldfield after their hip replacement is not an option.

3. Resident in a Care Home in Sutton Coldfield

Many of the patients of our physiotherapists in Sutton Coldfield are residents of care homes and sometimes they fall and break their hip and have a hip replacement. For these patients having  one of our mobile physios come to their care or nursing home in Sutton Coldfield is essential.

5. Assessment and Rehab at Home

Having one of our mobile physiotherapists come to your house in Sutton Coldfield after your hip replacement will enable your physio to look at your home environment and see how rehab will fit in and if there are any factors at home that are limiting you. This is a key benefit for anyone who has had a hip replacement in Sutton Coldfield as the majority of your rehab and exercising after your hip replacement will take place at home.

There are many more reasons for having one of our physios visit you at home after your hip replacement such as time saving but hopefully I have covered the most important ones here. Next I thought we should look at the general process of physiotherapy after having a hip replacement in Sutton Coldfield.

What To Expect With Physiotherapy  At Home In Sutton Coldfield After A Hip Replacement

Firstly, we would always , if at all possible, recommend getting in touch for a chat prior to your hip replacement. That way you can let us know, when you are going to have your hip replacement, where you live in Sutton Coldfield and we can check availability. We can also go through what to expect with our home visit physiotherapy service and how everything works. Below is a brief look over how our home visit physiotherapy service in Sutton Coldfield works for hip replacements.

After getting in touch and booking an appointment one of our mobile physios will visit you in Sutton Coldfield. You can make this booking easily by phone, email or our contact form on our website, we can usually get one of our physios out to you within a week and we try our best to fit in with your availability. If making your booking by email it is really helpful to know some details about your hip replacement such as when you had the operation, where it was carried out, when you got home, your postcode (this lets us work out driving time for Sutton Coldfield), your goals and how you are physically doing at the moment. This detail about your hip replacement is really helpful for the physio that comes out to visit you at home in Sutton Coldfield.

Next, our physio will visit you at your home in Sutton Coldfield on the day and time of your booking. We pride ourselves on being punctual but occasionally traffic slows us down unexpectedly so if they are 5minutes late please don’t worry, they will be there. To begin with you and your physio will have a discussion about your hip replacement and how the operation has gone and the reasons for having the replacement. If you have your discharge letter from your hospital that is always helpful for the physio but it isn’t essential. Our physio will try and ask you about your goals for your hip replacement and any things that you would like to get back to, this discussion section of the assessment is the most important part and gives your physio an idea of what you would like to work on wit your hip replacement and what things are bothering you.

Our physiotherapist will then complete a physical assessment of your hip replacement where they will ask you to move your hips, walk (with any aids) and they will test your strength. The physical assessment aims to find out where you are weak and what you need to work on in order to maximise your recovery after your hip replacement. Once this has been completed our physio will run through what they have found out and create a personalised exercise program for you that you can do at home in Sutton Coldfield. They will then discuss an overall management plan, general timings and book any follow up physiotherapy sessions that are needed.

Frequently Asked Questions About Hip Replacements & Physiotherapy in Sutton Coldfield:

Before we finish, I thought it would be helpful to have a look at some questions that patients often have about our home visit physiotherapy service for hip replacements in Sutton Coldfield:

1. Do your physios go to all of Sutton Coldfield? Yes, wherever you live in Sutton Coldfield, one of our physios will be able to visit you at home after your hip replacement.
2. Can you work alongside NHS physiotherapy? Yes, we have no problems working with and alongside the NHS physios after your hip replacement in Sutton Coldfield.
3. Can your physios visit a care home in Sutton Coldfield to help with a hip replacement? Yes, absolutely and in fact many of our patients are residents at care homes in Sutton Coldfield.
4. Do you have any testimonials for your physios? Yes, we have many testimonials both here on our website and on Google and Facebook.
5. Can relatives attend physiotherapy sessions? Yes, our physios are very keen for family involvement and in fact having relatives aware of the exercises needed to help with a hip replacement is very helpful.

Okay, I think that is probably as much information as you are likely to need about our mobile, home visit physiotherapy service in Sutton Coldfield to help with recovery after a hip replacement. Thank you for taking the time to read this article about our physiotherapy service in Sutton Coldfield and if you or a relative have had a hip replacement and need physiotherapy in Sutton Coldfield, then please get in touch and one of our mobile physios will come out to you at home in Sutton Coldfield.