After Hip Replacement: Sitting Safely

Learn the safe way to sit to protect your new hip. Follow the instructions below.

Sitting higher

To protect your new hip, you must sit with your knees lower than or level with your hips. To do this, sit in chairs with high seats. Or you can place a firm pillow on the seat of a chair to help raise your hips.

Side view of person seated in higher chair, showing knee lower than hip.

To sit down

To sit down, back up until the edge of the chair touches your leg. Then, using the armrests to support your weight, lower yourself into the seat. Always keep out in front the leg that was operated on.

Person using walker backing up into chair so that chair touches back of legs.

Person with hands on arms of chair and lowering self into chair, keeping operated leg slightly out in front.

Person seated in chair with hips higher than knees.

Online Medical Reviewer: Rahul Banerjee MD
Online Medical Reviewer: Raymond Turley Jr PA-C
Online Medical Reviewer: Stacey Wojcik MBA BSN RN
Date Last Reviewed: 7/1/2023
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