Question
Hello,
My father is 84, and had right hip replacement in January 08. I'm afraid he is not a very good patient and has not really followed up with his post-op exercises (although he will tell you he is doing all his exercises). He did have a therapist come in for several weeks after his surgery, but other than that, he hasn抰 done much. He goes out once and a while for a very short walk, but he always has all kinds of excuses. I'm having a very difficult time with it and I find myself very mad at him at times(I live at home). My mother is 78 and is WONDERFUL, but she just doesn't want to argue with my father about his not exercising. He gets really mad when you talk about the non-exercising issue.
He still relies a great deal on his cane and limps heavily without it. Without telling us, he drove yesterday for the first time, and I don抰 think he has any business driving right now.
Anyone else have any problems like this?


Answer
Hello Susie

One of the hardest things for a hip replacement patient to get over, is the loss of control that they have after surgery.  They lose control over their independence and that's a hard thing to get over.  This is probably part of your dad's problem.

You might want to call his doctor on the side and mention to him, the problems you are having.  He might be able to convince your father how important exercise is.  In the end it is the muscles and tendons that hold the hip prosthesis in place and the stronger the tendons and muscles are the better stable the replacement becomes.

Unfortunately it might take someone outside the family to convince your dad how important exercise is.

As far as driving, I did drive after six weeks post op.  So the driving issue, to me, is not a problem and might even help your dad get some of his independance back.  But if his doctor did not give him permission to drive, he should not be driving.  But frankly, if he has persmission to drive, it might be the best thing for him to drive again, unless he has other problems that interfere with the driving.

Clearly you and your mother are concerned for, and love your father.  It might work better if you take another approach and instead of using the word "exercise", it might be better if you suggest going to the mall for an ice cream, or going to a park to take a stroll.  It may be idea of specific exercise program annoys him and if you come from a different angle, it might work to your benefit.

I wish you much luck and I hope I have helped a bit.

Sharon