How long of recovery for hip replacement and can I remain a police officer afterwards?
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I have had both of my hips replaced in separate surgeries several months apart. I can describe to you my own experience in the hope that you can apply some of it to your own situation. Both times I was in the hospital 4 days + surgery day. I had slightly different recovery rates between the two surgeries. I seemed to recover very quickly with my second hip, not so quickly with the first. Part of this difference may have been due to the fact that I still had a bad hip after surgery #1 and this slowed me down. Another factor may have been that by the time I had hip #2 done, I had "been there" and "done that" and knew more what to expect, what worked for me and what didn't. I do know that I was up and active a lot earlier with hip #2, took a lot less pain meds, had no swelling of the leg because I was up and walking around sooner. I guess it takes one surgery to learn the drill.
I was able to drive by about week 5 each time. I was able to ditch all walking aids (canes, etc.) by 6-8 weeks after surgery #2. I had PT 2-3 times a week after each surgery until about week 7 post-op. I had movement and positional restrictions imposed for several months (I don't remember how long the surgeon said I wasn't supposed to bend at the hip past 90 degrees.) The nature of the surgical approach and the preference of your surgeon will determine what, if any restrictions you are to follow and how long you are supposed to follow them. It's been several years since my surgeries but I still observe one of the restrictions: I avoid bending my hips past 90 degrees at the same time as I internally rotate my leg. This is a permanent restriction for me. So that means that I can now put on sox, tie shoes, and pick up that $20 bill from the floor!
In the interest of increasing the likelihood that my fake joints might outlive me, I also avoid high-impact activities (singles tennis, running, basketball, etc.) in favor of walking, biking, elliptical trainers, etc.
A suggestion: discuss the nature of your job with your surgeon and get his/her take on if and when you'd be likely to be able to go back to work. I consider that I could have gone back to work at my regular job at about week 6 of the 2nd surgery. That job allowed me to alternate between sitting, standing and walking and didn't require me to lift or carry heavy weight so it would have been an ideal situation (I don't work any more).
IMHO, hip replacement is a kind of miracle in the way that it resores function and relieves pain. I'm so happy I had mine done. I hope yours turns out as well and mine did.
Usually, people do not spend more than 3 to 5 days in the hospital after hip replacement surgery. Full recovery from the surgery takes about 3 to 6 months, depending on the type of surgery, your overall health, and the success of your rehabilitation.
According to the site I found, you should avoid running, which could be a problem if you have to do a yearly run (some places make you qualify yearly with the POST physical tests, I don't know if you have to worry about that or not), so you might have to switch your duties a little, but I'm sure you can remain a police officer, if you are willing to work with the department to find a post that you can physically handle. Maybe you should take to your HR department about your concern and see what the options are.
Good luck!
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