Recovering from a hip fracture is an extremely painful, time-intensive process that will eventually require ongoing physical therapy from the home. These exercises should be performed with the help of a licensed physical therapist, but they can be done on your own with the supervision of another person.
Moving in Bed
Moving around in bed without pain in very important while recovering from a hip fracture. Common exercises included with this are rolling around, sitting up while in bed, moving from side to side, and moving your legs. Patients should strive to do 10 repetitions per exercise, but they may start lower depending on the level of pain involved.
Getting in/out of Bed
Getting in and out of bed is also vital to being able to function at home after hip fracture. Exercises include raising your body from bed, raising yourself and walking 5 feet, and walking 5 feet and returning back to bed. While these may sound like a waste of time, these movements are building back vital stability muscles that will aid in the recovery process.
Getting in/out of the Shower
These movements are very similar to getting in and out of bed, but they require more movement in that you are being forced to raise your leg and flex your hip. This exercise should not be performed until you can walk relatively well without a walker. Balance is also essential as the surfaces will undoubtedly be wet when you are performing these tasks on a daily basis.
Stretching/Breathing
Some physical therapists will include a series of resistance training and stretching exercises to further build up the stability muscles in the hip. These may include hip flexor movements, movement away from elastic exercise bands, and step-up movements on stairs. Your progress in the recovery cycle will determine the difficulty of these exercises.
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