Recovering at Home After a Hip or Knee Replacement

The surgery is done. Now the real work starts: bending, walking, stairs, and sleep. A physical therapist at home guides those first weeks, and a nurse checks the incision and your medicines.

If your doctor orders it and you qualify, Original Medicare covers home health at no cost to you.

What hip or knee replacement can look like at home

Your dad is home from surgery. He is glad to be in his own chair, but getting out of it takes both arms, a walker, and a lot of breath. The hallway to the bathroom feels longer than it did last week. The front steps are the reason he has not been outside yet.

On the counter sit the hospital papers, exercise sheets with stick figures, a list of things not to do with the new hip, and pill bottles for pain and for blood thinners. Everyone is a little afraid of doing something wrong.

This is a normal picture for the first weeks. Home health can bring a therapist and a nurse into that living room, so the exercises get done the right way and the incision is checked by someone who knows what to look for.

How home health helps

Your surgeon decides what to order. Here is what each team member does in your home.

Physical therapy

• Goes through the exercises your surgeon wants, corrects your form, and moves you to the next step when you are ready.
• Practices the real tasks: walking the hallway with the walker, getting in and out of bed, sitting down on the toilet, and climbing the front steps.
• Works on knee bending and straightening, or hip strength and movement precautions, depending on your surgery.

Skilled nursing

• Checks the incision for signs of infection and shows you how to care for it.
• Looks at your legs for swelling, redness, or warmth that could point to a blood clot.
• Reviews every pill bottle with you, so pain medicine, blood thinners, and your regular medicines fit together.
• Talks through pain, constipation, and sleep, and reports back to your surgeon.

Occupational therapy

• Shows you how to bathe, dress, and put on socks and shoes while following your movement precautions.
• Recommends simple tools like a reacher or a sock aid, and shows you how to use them.

Home health aide

While you are getting skilled care, an aide can help with bathing and dressing during the weeks when reaching your feet or standing in the shower is hard. Aide visits are covered only alongside nursing or therapy.

What the first visit looks like

The first visit usually happens within 24 hours after your surgeon or the hospital sends the order. Families may call us first, and we coordinate the doctor's order. A nurse or physical therapist looks at the incision and checks your temperature and blood pressure. They go over your papers and every medicine. They watch you stand, walk, and manage the bathroom and any steps. Then they set goals with you. Your doctor's plan of care sets how often visits happen.

You will have one named coordinator at Comfort Care who knows your case. We send the same nurse or therapist whenever possible, and if someone else must come, we call first. We call before every visit, so nobody is surprised by a knock at the door. Our team speaks English, Spanish, Armenian, Russian, and Tagalog. Speak another language? Call (818) 579-4012 and ask whether we have staff who speak it. If we do not have staff who speak your language, we arrange a free interpreter.

When to call

Call your doctor or nurse if you notice any of these:

• Redness spreading from the incision, new drainage, or the incision opening up.
• A fever, chills, or feeling suddenly much worse.
• New or increasing pain, swelling, warmth, or redness in the calf or thigh.
• Pain your prescribed medicine is not controlling, or side effects that worry you.
• A fall, even one where you feel fine afterward.

Call 911 for chest pain, sudden trouble breathing, coughing up blood, signs of stroke (face drooping, arm weakness, slurred speech), a fall with severe pain or a leg that looks out of place, or heavy bleeding that does not stop with pressure.

What family can do

• Clear the path. Roll up throw rugs, move cords, and make sure the walker fits through the hallway to the bathroom.
• Set up a recovery base. A firm chair with arms, the phone and water within reach, and a night light for the trip to the bathroom.
• Be the exercise buddy. Sit with your dad while he does his sets. Count reps, keep the sheet handy, and cheer a little.
• Watch, but let him do it. The instinct is to do everything for him. The walking has to be his to do, with you close by.

Cost and who qualifies: with Original Medicare, covered home health is $0 if you qualify, and your doctor decides. See what Medicare covers, who qualifies, and what is not covered.

If surgery is still ahead, read our coming home from the hospital checklist and ask your surgeon's office to send the order as early as they can, so the order is ready when you get home.