When Can I Use One Crutch After Hip Replacement?
Updated: Oct 3
Quick answer: Progressing to one crutch is usually based on walking quality rather than a fixed date. You should be able to load the operated leg comfortably and walk without a marked increase in pain or limp, while following your own surgical and physiotherapy advice.
Moving from two crutches to one is usually appropriate once weight-bearing is comfortable enough and you can maintain a controlled walking pattern. When one crutch is used, it is commonly held on the side opposite the operated hip.
This article is about rehabilitation and recovery rather than replacing advice from your surgeon. Hip-replacement protocols can differ according to surgical approach, your health, the reason for surgery and any restrictions you were given at discharge.
Good walking quality is a rehabilitation exercise in itself. Shorter distances with an even step pattern are often more useful than pushing to a high step count while limping. Progress an aid only when you can keep control, and increase distance gradually so that your next-day symptoms remain manageable.
A helpful way to judge recovery is to look at both symptoms and function. Ask whether you are walking more evenly, relying less on your aid, managing transfers and stairs more confidently, and recovering from activity within a reasonable period. A single difficult day does not mean rehabilitation has failed, but repeated setbacks can mean the progression is too aggressive or not targeted enough.
Use a graded approach. Keep the movements and walking that you can perform well, then increase one variable at a time: distance, repetitions, resistance, duration or task difficulty. This makes it much easier to identify what your hip tolerates. Avoid making several large changes on the same day, such as doubling walking, adding heavier strengthening and returning to a new activity together.
Strength matters because the new joint still relies on the muscles around the pelvis, hip and thigh for control. Gluteal strength, quadriceps strength and trunk control all contribute to walking, stairs, getting out of a chair and confidence outdoors. Balance and endurance should also be progressed; recovery is not complete simply because the wound has healed.
When should you get extra advice?
A single question rarely tells the whole story of hip-replacement recovery. Walking, swelling, pain, strength, balance, stairs and return to normal activities interact with one another. The Complete Hip Replacement Recovery eGuide brings these stages together into one structured rehabilitation resource so you can understand what to work on next rather than searching for isolated answers each time a new problem appears.
Sources and safety guidance
If you need advice tailored to you, book a physiotherapy assessment.
More rehabilitation resources
Continue with the Hip Replacement rehabilitation hub
Full physiotherapy guide
For a structured programme from the early stages through later rehabilitation, the full Hip Replacement Guide brings the exercises, progression guidance and practical recovery advice together in one place.
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