There you are. You've just awakened after your hip replacement surgery and your first recollection is of the hospital recovery room. Soon after you feel a growing discomfort in your hip area. The surgery is over. What comes next?

Hip replacement surgery is becoming more and more common place in today's society. Success ratios of the surgery are high and more and more patients are discovering that recovery from hip replacement is not as big a challenge as some might suspect

The Importance Of Attitude

Most successful hip replacement patients report that believing that you will return to health and even better health after the surgery is an important component of any successful recovery from surgery.

Believing in your recovery and actually spending some time mentally picturing yourself as already having successfully completed your hip replacement surgery are great ways to help your mind speed your body in the healing process.

Movement and Exercise

Immediately after your surgery you will be asked and encouraged to do some exercises in bed. You are asked to get out of bed and move the very next day after your surgery. Over the years modern medicine has come to realize that return to normal movement and normal living as soon as possible is the best way to speed recovery.

Here are some exercises that can help to speed your recovery

1. Sitting or laying in bed and tightening the buttocks
2. Bend your knee and slowly pull your foot towards your buttocks
3. Use the bar above your bed to lift your upper body and hold your body weight. This is not for your hip but it is for your upper body and your reinforcing your belief that you are getting stronger and will recover
4. Once you are standing straighten and raise your leg to the rear and to the side while you tighten your leg and buttocks

Doing these exercises every one or two hours will speed your physical recovery and also strengthen your belief of successful recovery from hip replacement

Be Patient

Even though many people recover fully and in many cases feel healthier and stronger than before their surgery it's important to realize that this is indeed a major surgery and it will take a while for your body to accept and work with this foreign object that has been introduced
Here are a few helpful thoughts to guide you to your complete recovery

1. It took many years for you to get to the place where you needed your surgery. It will also take some time for you to fully mend
2. Eat an elephant one bite at a time. Make no mistake, even though there is a very good chance that your recovery from surgery will be successful, it really is a day to day process. Trying to do too much and rush yourself back to full health can only serve to slow your recovery and create complications.
3. You've got the rest of your life. A little more time to do your recovery plan right will only make things turn out for the best

Your recovery is a long race and not a sprint. It's important to remember that you are the tortoise and not the hare. It's good to be patient

Very soon you will be better than your old self. Even though there may be some things that you will have to forego there will still be many things that you can do and do without pain.

Believe in your ability to return to full health and move on a daily basis. Stay the course and very soon your recovery from hip replacement will be complete.