Hip and knee surgeries are simultaneously a source of hope and anxiety. On one hand, we hope they will cure our chronic pains and bring our mobility back. On the other hand, rehabilitation can seem too imposing an obstacle. Normally, your health specialist should be able to inform you about all that pertains to your surgery. Once back home, you will need a list mobility aids, hygiene aids and daily life assitance tools to facilitate your recovery. Take some time before your surgery to evaluate your personnal needs and prepare yourself in advance. That way, you won’t need to shop at the last minute. 

Canes, Walkers and Other Mobility Aids 

After hip or knee surgery, you won’t be able to walk normally for a few weeks. Although your recovery should be swift, you will need a walker to move around your home in the first days. A simple walker, equipped with wheels and skis, will let you walk while relieving your injured leg. After your leg has recovered enough, a walking cane can serve the same function. 

Take care to notice the obstacles present in your home. For example, you probably won't be able to climb up and down stairs during the first few days. It is then possible that you won’t have easy access to your bed and bathroom. In such circumstances, renting a hospital bed and acquiring a commode chair would let you sleep and relieve yourself without taking any risks with the stairs.

Reachers, Sock Aids and Other Dressing Aids 

You might be recovering from surgery, but you will still need to dress yourself. With hip replacement surgery in particular, it is important to avoid leaning and bending over, and bringing your knees towards your torso. With that in mind, you will need tools to put on pants and socks. A reacher is a versatile tool that lets you pick up objects from the ground and helps you with dressing yourself. Sock aids are a tool that helps you put on socks. By rolling the sock or stocking on the aid, and then by pushing your foot through the opening while holding the straps, the sock should roll onto your foot. Shoehorns can also assist you in putting on and removing your shoes without leaning over. 

Toilet Seats, Long-Handled Scrubbers and Other Hygiene Aids 

Hip or knee surgery recovery can take a few weeks. Even though you will mostly be resting, you will still need to wash yourself and use your toilet. While a commode chair is a good solution for the first days of recovery, you will be able to go to your bathroom soon enough. During the recovery of both hip and knee surgeries, a raised toilet seat and safety frame are useful. For hip surgery in particular, since it is important that your knees never bend higher than your hip when sitting, raising the seat of your toilet might be necessary. For knee surgery, the safety frames will help you stand back up without leaning on your injured knee. 

To bathe yourself, you won’t be able to stand for a very long time, especially if you’re balancing on a single foot. A shower stool, set at the right height, will let you sit down when washing, preventing fatigue and pain caused by your surgery. An anti-skid rubber shower mat is also useful, potentially preventing a disastrous fall. For the bath, since you won’t be able to securely stand back up, you will need a bath bench. Comfortably seated on such a bench, you will be able enter, exit and wash yourself with a washcloth or a handheld shower  

Finally, there is a long list of products designed to facilitate your recovery. Take some time before your surgery to figure out your particular needs with regards to mobility, dressing and hygiene. That way, you will be able to anticipate the challenges you might face during your surgery recovery. You can also pay us a visit at Équipements Adaptés MCL, where we will be able to help you figure out what tools you really need. 

Here to find your Mobility, Comfort and Liberty!