Short, supported movement
Use the walking aid and exercises prescribed for you.
Last reviewed August 20, 2026Content type Medical informationSources & editorial policy →Editorial review — not medical peer review. Follow your own discharge instructions.
Medical information
The first week after hip replacement
The early days are a transition from monitored hospital care to managing movement, medicines, rest and everyday tasks at home.
Quick overview
What the first week can involve
A framework for the early period—not a promise of what each day will look like.
- 01Hospital-to-home transition
Discharge depends on clinical progress and safe mobility.
- 02Walking with support
Use the aid and movement instructions given to you.
- 03Pain and swelling management
Follow the medicine, positioning and activity plan from your team.
- 04Everyday tasks and rest
Build the day around safe activity, recovery and available help.
01 — A repeating rhythm
Move, manage, rest and check
This visual is deliberately circular rather than day-by-day. The order and amount differ; your own clinical instructions set the plan.
Medicines and wound plan
Follow timing, dressing and prevention instructions from discharge.
Recovery between tasks
Balance essential activity with rest rather than chasing a universal target.
Notice change
Use your contact route if symptoms concern you or worsen.
NICE recommends mobilisation and daily-living advice before discharge. It does not prescribe one universal first-week schedule.
02 — Getting through the day
Separate the tasks
Being home does not mean every task is easy. Think about safe movement, basic routines and help as separate needs.
Walking and transfers
Use the walking aid and techniques taught by your physiotherapy or occupational therapy team. Do not treat another person's milestones as your instruction.
Pain and medicines
Use the plan supplied at discharge. Contact the appropriate clinician or pharmacist if you are unsure how to take a medicine or pain is not being managed.
Swelling and rest
Some swelling can occur after surgery. What matters clinically is your own pattern and instructions, especially if symptoms worsen or appear with warning signs.
Food, washing and support
Practical help may make meals, washing, dressing and household tasks safer while movement and energy are limited.
Medical information → Patient experience data
See where experiences varied
This page provides the medical framework. The linked pages separately show what curated patient accounts described, without turning those accounts into medical advice.
03 — When to seek help
Use your discharge contact route
Contact your care team or local urgent service if you are worried. NHS guidance advises urgent clinical help after recent hip replacement for signs including:
- worsening redness, tenderness, swelling or pain around the hip, leg or wound
- oozing or pus from the wound
- high temperature, or feeling hot, cold or shivery
- throbbing or cramping pain in the hip or leg
This list is general information, not symptom assessment. Your treatment centre's instructions and contact details take priority.
Explore next
Continue from the first week
Use the journey to choose the question that matches what you are trying to understand.
Sources & medical references+
Every medical claim is mapped in the structured evidence file. Patient forums were not used as medical sources.
- Recovering from a hip replacement
NHS · Current NHS patient guidance retrieved 20 August 2026
Supports: hospital-to-home transition, walking aids, pain and swelling, daily activities, individual instructions. Retrieved 2026-08-20. - Complications of a hip replacement
NHS · Page last reviewed 6 March 2024
Supports: urgent postoperative warning signs, wound and clot symptoms, emergency chest and breathing symptoms. Retrieved 2026-08-20. - Joint replacement (primary): hip, knee and shoulder — Recommendations
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) · NG157, published 4 June 2020; reviewed 19 December 2024
Supports: rehabilitation within 24 hours, mobilisation, daily-living advice, home exercise and discharge support. Retrieved 2026-08-20. - After Your Joint Replacement Surgery
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), OrthoInfo · Peer-reviewed patient information; current PDF retrieved 20 August 2026
Supports: early home recovery, medicine and activity instructions, warning signs, variation in recovery. Retrieved 2026-08-20.
About this page
- Title
- The first week after hip replacement
- Publisher
- ReplacedHip
- Last reviewed
- August 20, 2026
- Last updated
- August 20, 2026
- Content type
- Medical information