Setting up your home for your return after joint replacement surgery will help make you more comfortable during your recovery. After your surgery, you will have limited joint movement and stair-climbing ability.
In anticipation of your return home, we recommend the following:
Food and Supplies
Rearrange your most frequently used items. Store food, toiletries and other supplies at a convenient level, somewhere between your waist and shoulder.
Stock up on easily prepared food items, including frozen and microwave foods.
Driving
You won’t be driving until your doctor gives you the “okay.” Find someone who will be able to help with groceries and errands, and drive you to your follow-up appointments and physical therapy.
Check to see if a local grocery store might deliver telephone orders.
Be sensitive to your family’s or close friends' needs to take some personal time away from care-giving.
Bedroom
If your bedroom is on the second floor, you may need to get creative. Your doctor may allow only one trip up the stairs each day during your initial recovery from joint replacement surgery. Sometimes, stairs are simply “out” until your recovery reaches a certain point.
Find a room or space on the first floor that you can call your own for a couple of weeks, and stock it with needed supplies so that you can rest during the day.
Bathroom
Obtain a height-adjustable shower seat and rubber mat for the shower. It may also be a good idea to get a raised toilet seat.
All Rooms
Make sure that you have good lighting, and that the light switch is within easy reach.
“Fall-proof” your home:
- Remove throw rugs to avoid tripping and make sure handrails are secure
- Check the rooms for electrical cords, foot stools, or other small objects that might be a safety hazard and reposition those that could be potentially dangerous
- Don’t forget small pets that tend to get “under foot”
Personal assistance items such as a long-handle reacher, shoe horn and sock donners (a device to help you with putting on socks, stockings or pantyhose) are advisable.
Joint Replacement Program
We offer one of the most comprehensive joint replacement programs in the Winston-Salem area. From minimally invasive to bone-sparing procedures, our full menu of surgical options fits patients of all ages and activity levels.
Our orthopaedic teams include surgeons who are highly trained specialists in their fields. That means they focus on diagnosing and treating problems in only one region of the body, such as the knees, hips or shoulders.