Tips for Preparing Your Parent’s Home for Their Return After Hip Surgery

Hip problems such arthritis, otherwise age-related pain and stiffness, and even injuries are common among older adults. For more than 300,000 each year, total hip replacement surgery becomes the means of managing these issues and restoring their mobility, comfort, and quality of life. If your elderly loved one will be undergoing such a procedure in the near future, now is the time for you to act. As their family caregiver, your role in their recovery begins well before they even undergo the procedure and then continues through their recovery and on into this new chapter in their life. One important way that you can do this is by preparing their home for when they return after their procedure.

While most seniors who undergo total hip replacement surgery will only spend a few days in the hospital following their procedure, the recovery itself can last for 6 months to a year or even longer. The early portion of the recovery is critical to establishing a foundation of healing and getting them off to the best start possible. Creating an environment of healing in the home will give them a place to rest, recuperate, and focus on healing.

Use these tips to help prepare your parent’s home for when they return after their total hip replacement surgery:

• Eliminate stairs. Going up and down the stairs is not something that your parent will be able to manage for some time after their surgery. If their bedroom is upstairs, either move it downstairs or consider renting a hospital bed so that they can have a comfortable place to sleep without the strain of getting to the bedroom.
• Rearrange needed items. Go through your parent’s home and identify items that they use frequently. Make sure that these are placed no lower than waist-height and now lower than shoulder-height. This will prevent them from having to bend, crouch, or reach, all of which can put undue strain on their new hip.
• Stock their kitchen. While your parent will need to exercise their new hip to encourage healing and help strengthen it, they should not overdo it. Help to both reduce the amount that they have to be on their feet and ensure that their body gets what it needs to stay healthy and strong by stocking their kitchen. Prepare healthy meals that they enjoy and freeze the for easy, fast preparation after surgery. Make healthy snacks easily accessible and ensure that they have access to plenty of fresh water to keep them hydrated as they recover.

If your aging parent must undergo surgery for a hip replacement or has recently undergone such surgery, starting home care for them can be one of the best decisions that you can make for them. Recovery can be long and arduous, and your parent will require a considerable amount of care, support, and assistance throughout this time. An in-home senior care services provider can step in to provide your aging parent with a highly personalized approach to their care that is tailored to not only helping them to manage the tasks of recovering from their hip replacement surgery, but also moving forward in a lifestyle that is healthy, safe, active, and fulfilling. As a family caregiver, knowing that your aging parent is in the hands of a home care provider can be tremendously meaningful and help you to feel more confident that even when you are not able to be with them, they will have everything that they need to handle their recovery and this new chapter in their life in the best way possible.

If you or an aging loved one are considering home care in Philadelphia, PA, contact the caring professionals at Reliant At Home Care today (610) 674-6860.