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After a hip replacement: what you'll actually need

This page is about getting through the first six weeks at home after a hip replacement: dressing, using the toilet, washing and picking up what you drop. It isn't about the operation or your treatment, and nothing here is medical advice.

Your surgical team gives you movement precautions before you go home. They differ between surgeons and between types of operation, so we don't repeat them here. Everything on this page is meant to work within whatever you were told. If a tip doesn't fit your precautions, skip it and ask the team.

Before you start

  • Measure your seats. Ask at the pre-op appointment or class what seat height you'll need, then measure the chair you'll use most, the bed and the toilet from the floor up. A firm chair with solid arms is easier to get out of than a deep sofa.
  • Set up one chair as your base. Put a small table beside it for the phone, water, remote, glasses and a reacher, so the things you reach for all day are at arm's length.
  • Clear the floor paths. Walk the route from bed to bathroom to kitchen with a walker's width in mind, about 26 inches. Pick up loose rugs, move cords out of the way and push back furniture that narrows the route.
  • Move everyday things to waist height. Mugs, plates, the clothes you'll wear and anything else that lives on a low shelf or in a bottom drawer goes up onto a counter or table for now.
  • Check what you can borrow. Some hospitals send people home with a reacher and a sock aid, and many towns have medical equipment loan closets for walkers, raised toilet seats and shower chairs. Ask before you buy.
  • Buy the basics before the operation. The raised toilet seat, reacher and sock aid are the ones people most often wish they'd had on day one. Try the sock aid a few times while you can still bend down to fix a sock that went on crooked.
  • Line up help for the first days. Someone to stay or drop in daily, to carry things, do laundry, walk the dog and drive. Groceries on delivery and a few meals in the freezer take care of the rest.

First week home

What to have ready

  • Raised toilet seat

    Budget option: Carex 5" toilet seat riser, $35.00 (price as of Sep 27, 2026 at 4:47 pm ET) · See on Amazon (opens new tab)

  • Toilet aid

    Budget option: 15.7" silicone toilet aid with press-to-release, $9.99 (price as of Sep 27, 2026 at 4:47 pm ET) · See on Amazon (opens new tab)

  • Reacher grabber

    Budget option: FitPlus 32" foldable reacher with wide jaw, $8.96 (price as of Sep 27, 2026 at 4:47 pm ET) · See on Amazon (opens new tab)

  • Sock aid — A sock aid is a curved sleeve with two long cords that lets you pull a sock onto your foot while sitting upright, without bending down.

    Budget option: KEKOY Sock Aid, 4-inch foot width, $8.99 (price as of Sep 27, 2026 at 4:47 pm ET) · See on Amazon (opens new tab)

  • Dressing stick

    Budget option: Cubii 26" wooden dressing stick with hook, $8.99 (price as of Sep 27, 2026 at 4:47 pm ET) · See on Amazon (opens new tab)

  • Long-handled shoehorn

    Budget option: Phantawell 35.5" shoehorn and dressing stick, $8.32 (price as of Sep 27, 2026 at 4:47 pm ET) · See on Amazon (opens new tab)

  • Elastic no-tie laces — Elastic no-tie laces replace ordinary shoelaces with stretchy ones that stay fastened, so lace-up shoes become slip-ons.

    Budget option: RJ-Sport elastic no-tie laces with lock, $7.99 (price as of Sep 27, 2026 at 4:47 pm ET) · See on Amazon (opens new tab)

Checklist

  • Fit the toilet seat before you need it. Choose one that clamps or locks onto the bowl, and have someone lean their full weight on it before you use it.
  • Keep a reacher where you drop things. One by the bed and one by the chair saves a lot of trips. Most are made for light things like keys, clothes, a remote or a sock off the floor.
  • Dress sitting down, in the order you were shown. Lay out the sock aid, dressing stick and shoehorn the night before so they're waiting by the bed. If the ward therapist taught you a sequence, stick with it.
  • Wear shoes that go on without tying. Slip-ons with a firm back, or your usual shoes with elastic laces that someone else threads in, plus the long shoehorn.
  • Try a toilet aid only if you need one. Some people find reaching round to wipe awkward in the first days, and a toilet aid holds the paper on a long wand. Plenty of people never use one, so see how the first day goes.
  • Carry things without your hands. If both hands are on a walker, a walker tray or basket, a bag worn across your body or a pair of deep pockets moves the phone and a drink between rooms. A travel mug with a lid spills less than a cup.

Weeks 2–6

What to have ready

  • Shower chair

    Budget option: FULLOT triangular corner shower chair, $35.99 (price as of Sep 27, 2026 at 4:47 pm ET) · See on Amazon (opens new tab)

  • Long-handled sponge

    Budget option: Amazon Basics long-handled loofah brush, $5.07 (price as of Sep 27, 2026 at 4:47 pm ET) · See on Amazon (opens new tab)

  • Long-handled toenail clipper — A long-handled toenail clipper has a cutting head on the end of a long shaft, so you can trim your toenails while sitting upright.

    Budget option: BEZOX Long Handle Toenail Clippers, $22.99 (price as of Sep 27, 2026 at 4:47 pm ET) · See on Amazon (opens new tab)

  • Swivel seat cushion

    Budget option: HealthSmart 360° swivel seat cushion, $24.84 (price as of Sep 27, 2026 at 4:47 pm ET) · See on Amazon (opens new tab)

  • Car standing aid

    Budget option: PELEGON car door assist handle, 2-pack, $12.97 (price as of Sep 27, 2026 at 4:47 pm ET) · See on Amazon (opens new tab)

Checklist

  • Set up the shower before the first one. Your team will tell you when showering is fine. Adjust the chair legs to the height you were given, put a non-slip bath mat down, and keep shampoo and soap in pump bottles so nothing needs picking up. The long-handled sponge reaches your lower legs and feet.
  • If you have a tub, ask about a transfer bench. Stepping over a tub edge is a different job from walking into a shower. A transfer bench lets you sit down outside the tub and slide across; the therapist can tell you whether it suits you.
  • Plan for toenails. They usually need cutting at least once in six weeks. A long-handled clipper works for some people; others book a podiatrist or ask a family member.
  • Make car trips easier. Your therapist will show you how to get in and out of a car. A swivel cushion, or a smooth plastic bag on the seat, makes it easier to turn, and a car standing aid gives you something solid to push up from. Ask the driver to stop where you can step out onto flat, level ground.
  • Driving again is the surgeon's call. Don't plan around a date you read online. Book rides to follow-up appointments ahead of time.
  • Put things away as you go. Once your team says the precautions are over, most of the gear goes into a closet. The reacher and the long shoehorn often stay in use for months.

What the budget options add up to

About $190.10 for 12 of the 12 items above. You won't need all of them — the checklists say which matter first.

We may earn a commission when you buy through these links. It never decides what we list.

What people regret buying

  • Suction grab bars — they hold only as long as the seal and the tile under it do, and they can let go without warning. If you need a bar to lean on, have one screwed into the wall studs.
  • A sock aid ordered after coming home — the first morning is when people find out they can't reach their feet, and waiting for delivery means asking for help with every sock. If you've been told to wear compression stockings, ask the ward which aid to get, because many standard sock aids struggle with them.
  • A heavy, extra-long reacher — a 36-inch metal reacher gets tiring to hold out in front of you, and you'll often be using it with one hand while the other holds a walker. A light one around 30 inches covers most jobs.
  • A memory foam cushion to add height — it sinks under you, so the seat ends up lower than it measured. A firm foam cushion or proper furniture risers keep their height.
  • Big-ticket gadgets for a six-week stretch — a lift recliner or an electric bidet bought in a rush often goes unused once the precautions end. Borrow, rent or try the simple version first.

Buying this for someone else?

If you're buying for a parent, check these before you order:

  • The surgery and discharge dates. Order so everything arrives before they come home. The raised toilet seat and sock aid matter on the first day; the shower chair and toenail clipper can follow.
  • What the care team told them. Ask for the precautions sheet or the notes from the pre-op class, including any seat height the therapist mentioned. Buy to fit what they were told, not what a page like this suggests.
  • The heights around the house. Measure their usual chair, the bed and the toilet seat from the floor, and check whether the toilet bowl is round or elongated before you order a raised seat.
  • Who is there in the first days. No tool carries a laundry basket or walks the dog. If you can't be there, arrange someone who can.