How to Ride After a Hip Replacement

Being able to get back into a sport that is loved is often the reason that people have hip replacement surgery. Fortunately, riders have considerably better odds of returning to their passion than athletes in "impact loading" sports such as running or skiing, but moderation should be the goal. A person exercising after hip surgery needs to be careful about impact on the artificial joint, which can accelerate wear. The American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) has a whole host of recommended exercises for post surgery, several of which are of specific use for riders.

Things You'll Need

• Chair
• Box or small object
• Mounting block

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Instructions

Ground Exercises

• 1

  Sit tall in the chair, and use your hands to push up from the chair to standing. When you have mastered that, get up and down from the chair without using your hands.

• 2

  Climb up and down stairs to strengthen legs

  Step up and down from a step. Alternate feet so that you use both your "good" hip and your new hip sides. You can do this on steps that have a railing so that you can steady yourself if needed.

• 3

  Step over the box

  Step over an object. Place an object that is about 12 inches high on the ground and practice lifting your foot up and over. Hold on to the wall to steady yourself until you are confident that you can do it without losing your balance. Use both feet.

Riding

• 4

  Step up onto a mounting block that brings you much closer to the horse's topline. Keep the mounting block near a fence or wall so that you can put your hand on it for support while stepping up onto the mounting block. Use your stronger leg as the stepping leg.

  Reach over with your right hand and grasp the mane of the horse or the pommel while putting your left foot into the stirrup. Use the mane of the horse to assist in pulling yourself up with the left leg until you can swing your right leg over the horse and settle into the saddle.

• 5

  Up for a ride

  Adjust the reins and stirrup so that your legs will be in the proper position to ride. The stirrups should be long or short enough so that your bent knee is not above your hips. The reins should be loose enough so you can change the position of your upper body without leaning too far forward from the hip.

• 6

  Ride for a short period of time to gauge how the hip is holding up. The first time you ride, you may only be in the saddle for a few minutes. Each time you ride, try to spend a bit more time in the saddle. When getting back into riding, keep the horse at a walking gait until you are confident of your balance in the saddle.