Practical preparation
Equipment and preparation for hip replacement
A practical overview of preparing before hip replacement and using equipment during early recovery, with provider guidance kept separate from what patients reported.
This is not a universal shopping list. Needs, precautions and local provision differ; follow your own hospital or occupational therapist.
What patients reported
Topic details
Prepare the home
Think through specific tasks that may need a plan: moving through the home, reaching, carrying, meals, stairs and help from other people.
What patients reported
Across 24 qualified experience units in 12 thread groups, reports described task-specific independence, equipment, practical arrangements and help from other people. Only two units in two thread groups explicitly described setting up the home before surgery.
Provider guidance
AAOS patient information gives examples such as reducing trip hazards, keeping regularly used items within reach, planning meals and arranging help. These are general examples, not requirements or an assessment of your home.
Limits of this evidence
The 24-unit home-support set overlaps with bathroom, dressing, carrying and equipment observations, so counts across cards must not be added. With only two explicit home-setup units, patient reports cannot show that one preparation step caused an easier recovery.
Dressing aids
Provider guides describe long-handled dressing aids as possible options when reaching the foot is difficult or when specific precautions apply.
What patients reported
Eleven qualified experience units across eight thread groups described actually using a sock aid, reacher or dressing hook, a long-handled aid, or easy-on footwear. Different tasks followed different courses.
Provider guidance
Vestre Viken lists a stocking aid, reacher and long shoehorn for its pathway. In its guide for people following hip precautions, RNOH says to use equipment suggested by the occupational therapist and gives long-handled aids as examples.
Limits of this evidence
The 11 units are not a product comparison or a population estimate. Four concerned a reacher or dressing hook, three a sock aid, two another long-handled aid and two easy-on footwear. The categories and the wider evidence sets can overlap.
Bathroom setup
Toilet height, shower access and help with washing were separate practical questions in the patient material; equipment advice depends on the pathway and individual assessment.
What patients reported
Six qualified experience units in six thread groups described toilet or shower tasks. They ranged from early independence to needing help or using another shower during a more complicated recovery.
Provider guidance
Vestre Viken lists a raised toilet seat and shower stool for its pathway. NHS recovery guidance advises avoiding low toilets during recovery and notes that raised seats are available. RNOH's precautions guide says a raised toilet seat or other equipment may be used after occupational-therapy assessment.
Limits of this evidence
These six reports concern bathroom tasks, not six verified uses of one item. They cannot determine whether a raised seat, shower stool or another adaptation is appropriate for a particular person.
Walking aids & carrying
Patient reports described a walker, crutches or a cane serving different roles indoors, outdoors and when hands were needed for carrying.
What patients reported
The governed walking-aid evidence base contains 223 curated experience units across 25 thread groups. Reports described transitions between aids, different indoor and outdoor use, carrying problems, equipment fit and taking an aid out again when needed.
Provider guidance
NHS recovery information describes crutches or a walking frame being used at first after hip replacement. Vestre Viken tells patients in its pathway to bring crutches. These sources describe different systems; follow your own team's instructions about aid choice, fit, weight-bearing and transitions.
Limits of this evidence
This broad evidence base contains overlapping questions and contexts. It is not an equipment comparison. The published aid-free timing subgroup must not be turned into a date for stopping an aid.
Provider guidance
Sources and provider context
This is not a universal shopping list. Needs, precautions and local provision differ; follow your own hospital or occupational therapist.