Patient/caregiver was instructed upon measures to promote safety and reduce the workload during immediate post-surgical phase as follows:
Certain arrangements and minor modifications can help improve safety, reduce the effort and workload for individuals during immediate phase of hip replacement surgery.
- Use of a handheld water hose can help avoid the stress of turning your back inside the shower to the stream of water. Handheld water hose can help easy rinsing of back and other difficult to reach areas of the body, while seated on the shower bench. Having an extension to the water hose, as needed, can add more comfort.
- Sit down comfortably while dressing, undressing, putting shoes on, and taking shoes off. Individuals can present with poor balance during the immediate phase of hip replacement surgery. Performing these above-mentioned tasks while standing can compromise their balance further, thus increasing the fall risk for the individual. Have all the apparel and shoe accessories ready by your side before sitting down to wear them can help avoid multiple trips and frequent getting up to gather them, thus reducing the stress on the aching weightbearing joints. While putting the apparel on, place the surgical limb into the clothing first, followed by the good limb. While getting off the apparel, get the good limb out of the clothing first, followed by the surgical limb. This pattern helps have the good limb freely available, for any extra support needed during maneuvering the surgical limb into and out of clothing.
- The dressing stick can be used to put the pants on without bending much. Be comfortably seated and put the dressing stick through the surgical leg opening to hold it wide open and put the surgical leg in first. The dressing stick could then be inserted into the second leg opening to hold it wide open and put the second leg in. Then, you can pull the pants a little up the knee, stand straight up and pull the pants into place.
