Some form of hip flexor pain and/or back pain with total hip replacement seems to be a common experience among those of us with THR. I frequently get questions about it from students and I have read accounts from others with THR. I remembered that several weeks after my second THR surgery I began to feel discomfort in my right groin. It was painful to raise my leg in flexion. I did some research and learned there are many reasons for hip flexor pain so with some sleuthing I began to understand what was happening in my body. What are Hip Flexor muscles? The iliopsoas muscle is the major flex ..read more

When you are preparing for or recovering from total hip replacement surgery you need increased stability to support your new joint. The whole-body benefits of an asana practice begin with the feet, and the way you connect with the earth will have a ripple effect throughout your body. Plus, bare feet provide the most possible stability. Typically yoga is practiced in bare feet. Bare feet have the freedom to move and flex and they give you direct contact with the floor. Doing yoga with bare feet provides an opportunity to stretch and strengthen all the muscles in the feet. In addition, the fe ..read more

When you balance, whether on two feet, or on your head, you are strengthening muscles essential for the stability of total hip replacement. Balancing challenges your ability to focus, to react to fluctuations in your body, and to maintain your center of gravity. It is a mental practice as much as a physical one. When you practice balancing you not only … improve brain health, reduce your chance of falling, maintain physical coordination, improve your reaction time…. but you also strengthen key muscles that support your hip joint! Balancing helps keep the brain healthy. It improves memory ..read more

Open-hip standing poses offer a range of benefits for total hip replacement. – They can be modified for any level of ability so that you can practice them at any stage of your THR journey. – They build strength – They provide stability – They promote mobility in the hip joint. The key to accessing the benefits of open-hip poses is in the WAY you practice them. Keen attention to alignment is necessary to keep the hip safe. And using muscle strength to bring the legs into alignment stabilizes the hip joint. Examples of open-hip standing poses:               ..read more

Before total hip replacement our bodies are often limited in the kinds of movement they able to do. It can be difficult, if not impossible, to get down on the floor, to balance, or to bend like we did before the THR journey started. Following THR surgery, your surgeon may prescribe limits on your movement while bone and tissue heal. Consider these transitional times as an opportunity to investigate the more contemplative aspects of yoga and also to get inventive with props and asanas. When you are in pain, frustrated, or stressed-out, turn to restorative yoga, pranayama (breathing practices ..read more

The short answer is all yoga poses are safe for total hip replacement if you get creative and shift your thinking about what a pose should look like. The benefits of practicing yoga are rooted in awareness and focus. The shape of a pose will end up being different for everyone. Think of Tree Pose (vrksasana). The benefits from the pose exist whether your foot is low on the leg or high on the leg, or whether you are supporting your balance with a chair or wall or not. Either way you are building hip stabilizer strength in the standing leg and creating hip mobility in the lifted leg. No matte ..read more

Total hip replacement introduces a new set of considerations for stretching in yoga. Your range of motion may be different following your surgery. Your surgeon may have given you restrictions on your movement which will limit the kinds of poses you will be able to do. Usually restrictions are lifted after 6-12 weeks. You may have lost strength in your core, legs muscles, and in the muscles around your hips. This can effect the stability of the hips. Because your new hip is different from your old one you will have to learn about the new ways that it can move. This takes time. Start by mov ..read more

When you have a total hip replacement, it is worth understanding why and how infections occur. Here is some general information on how they arise, what you can do to avoid them, and the treatment for them if they do happen. First, the chances of infection in your new hip is about 1 in 100 according to The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. But they can happen … As a result of bacteria being introduced during surgery After full recovery and as a result of bacteria being introduced into the blood stream. This can happen following procedures like dental work or a colonoscopy. Because th ..read more

Following THR surgery you want to give your body every opportunity to heal. This can take 6-12 weeks. Surgeons often give restrictions on movement for the first 6 weeks or so. Restrictions on movement are meant to protect your vulnerable new hip while the bones knit with the prostheses and while tissue heals. But some movement is important for healing and you may find yourself craving movement if you are feeling stiff from sitting all the time or tense because of pain. The key is to find what is safe, relaxing and what feels good; and because yoga is so adaptable there are always options. Tr ..read more

Following THR you want to give your body every opportunity to heal. This can take 6-12 weeks. Surgeons often give restrictions on movement for the first 6 weeks or so. Restrictions on movement are meant to protect your vulnerable new hip while the bones knit with the prostheses and while tissue heals. But some movement is important for healing and you may find yourself craving movement if you are feeling stiff from sitting all the time or tense because of pain. The key is to find what is safe, relaxing and what feels good; and because yoga is so adaptable there are always options. Try these ..read more