Once you return home after a hip replacement, continue to stay active. The key to a speedy recovery is to not overdo it. "For the first six weeks, a walker is recommended," says Kenneth Marks, MD, an orthopaedic surgeon at Cleveland Clinic. "If a patient is younger, crutches may be used." "I dont advise using a cane," adds Dr. Marks. "The protection of a walker or crutches is not so much for the bone-cement interface, but for the soft tissues, so they wont pull off the reattached muscles. Driving. You can normally return to driving a car after six weeks. "Just be sure to adjust your seat as far back as comfortable so that your legs are not compressed," says Dr. Marks.
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