What to Expect Your First Week After Hip Replacement Surgery

Patient Stories & Recovery · 3 · August 6, 2025

Day 1 after hip replacement is not what most patients expect. You'll be standing within 6 hours of surgery. Walking with a walker within 12 hours. And dealing with a strange combination of relief (the arthritis pain is gone) and new surgical soreness.

Days 1-2: The Hospital Phase

Day 1: Waking from anesthesia, you'll feel groggy and nauseated — anti-nausea medication helps. The surgical site aches but the bone-on-bone arthritis pain you've lived with for years is immediately gone. A physical therapist arrives within 4-6 hours and helps you stand and take a few steps with a walker. It's terrifying and triumphant simultaneously.

Day 2: Pain is managed with a combination of oral medications — typically acetaminophen, an NSAID, and a short-acting opioid for breakthrough pain. Physical therapy progresses to walking 50-100 feet in the hallway, sitting in a chair for meals, and practicing stair navigation (if stairs are needed at home). Most patients discharge on Day 2 or 3. In India and Turkey, hospital stays run 4-5 days — longer than the US trend toward early discharge.

Days 3-5: The Hotel or Home Phase

Swelling peaks around Day 3-4. Ice the hip 20 minutes on, 20 minutes off during waking hours. Walking with the walker increases to 200-400 feet multiple times daily. Wound care is simple: keep the dressing clean and dry, watch for increasing redness, warmth, or drainage. Sleeping is challenging — you can't lie on the operated side for 6 weeks. A pillow between the knees when side-sleeping on the non-operated side prevents internal rotation.

Days 5-7: Turning the Corner

By Day 5-7, most patients notice a significant reduction in surgical pain and can walk short distances with a walker or crutches without resting. Appetite returns, sleep improves, and the haze of the first few days lifts. You may feel confident enough to try walking without the walker — don't. Premature weight-bearing without support risks fall and dislocation. If flying home at Day 7, you should be able to walk through the airport with a wheelchair assist and sit comfortably for 4-6 hours with periodic standing breaks.

Key Takeaways

- You'll be standing within 6 hours and walking within 12 hours of hip replacement

- Swelling peaks at Day 3-4 — ice 20 minutes on/20 minutes off during waking hours

- Don't ditch the walker before your surgeon says so — falls cause dislocation

- Sleeping on the operated side is restricted for 6 weeks — use a pillow between knees

Compare real-time pricing using our global cost calculator.