Can You do Yoga After a Hip Replacement? Yes!
As a chair yoga instructor for seniors, one question I always ask new clients during our onboarding consult is if they've had any past/recent surgeries. One of the most common answers I hear is a "total hip arthroplasty" aka a total hip replacement. Regardless of whether the reason for hip surgery was rheumatoid or osteoarthritis, a hip fracture, or something else, many yoga practitioners and other active seniors find themselves wondering how soon they can get back to their normal workout routine.
Your return to yoga after hip replacement surgery will likely require the support of an experienced yoga teacher, your surgeon, and a physical therapist. Any joint replacement is a major surgery, and many common yoga postures will not be safe in the initial weeks/months post-op, even for experienced yoga practitioners.
That's why, in today's blog post, I want to discuss how chair yoga therapy can help support your recovery from total hip replacement surgery and how you can modify your chair yoga practice during each stage of your healing process. I've also created a FREE printable chair yoga after hip replacement pdf to help you put everything discussed here into practice. But without further ado, let's dive into the article!
Disclaimer: I am not a healthcare professional. The purpose of this article is to provide general information for public consumption and is not meant to substitute for medical advice. Please consult a doctor prior to making significant changes in your diet, lifestyle, or exercise regimen.
FAQs: What yoga poses to avoid after hip replacement?
While there are many health benefits of yoga for people who have had a hip replacement, the initial days and weeks are healing times. It's important not to rush back into our typical chair yoga practice, as hip dislocation during yoga is a very real risk at this time. So what poses should you stick to and/or avoid? Well, it depends on your doctor's surgical method for your total hip arthroplasty.
Posterior Approach
If you've had a posterior hip replacement, your orthopedic surgeon accessed your hip through the back on your backside on your body. A posterior approach to hip replacement surgery involves cutting through muscles around the hip joint and, therefore, comes with a higher risk of dislocation after surgery.
Movements involving hip flexion (see picture below) should be avoided while recovering from a posterior hip replacement, and you might be asked to follow the "90 degrees rule". This means not bending forward so much that your thighs and spine make less than a 90-degree angle. Here are the specific precautions you should take in your chair yoga practice.
Until it is approved by your medical team, you should avoid all forward-bending yoga poses to minimize your risk of hip dislocation. Examples of forward-bending yoga poses include uttanasana, janu sirsasana, and downward-facing dog.
You also need to avoid crossing your legs at the knees or the ankles. This means that chair yoga poses, such as seated pigeon pose and seated cow face pose will be off-limits until you have made a full recovery.
Anterior Approach
If your doctor used an anterior surgical approach, the risk of prosthetic hip dislocations will be much lower. That is because an anterior hip replacement involves cutting in-between muscles on the front of the hip, rather than cutting through them. However, certain precautions are still necessary to avoid complications in the initial healing phase.
In general, you should avoid movements that put the hip in extension (see picture). These postures come with some risk of hip dislocation and also stress the healing soft tissues on the front of the hip.
In terms of your chair yoga class, this means especially avoiding asanas, such as warrior I or high lunge, which stretch the psoas. However, almost all standing poses will initially be off limits (e.g. warrior II, triangle pose, etc.) for the first few weeks/months post-op until you can regain enough strength and flexibility in your hips to reduce your risk of falls. In the meantime, stick to more restorative poses.
FAQs: How soon after a hip replacement can you do yoga?
This is a question that requires a nuanced answer. Your return to yoga after a total hip replacement will be an overnight event, and the timeline will be slightly different for everyone. You'll likely need to work closely with your surgeon, physical therapist, and chair yoga instructor to slowly reintegrate movements into your yoga practice.
However, if you're someone like me and can't stand uncertainty, here is a general timeline for when certain chair yoga poses might become safe and accessible for you again:
Immediately Post-Op (1-7 days) — Consult your doctor and/or physical therapist before attempting any exercise.
Early Recovery (2-6 weeks) — Seated ankle circles, seated ankle pumps, seated heel slides, and seated knee extensions can help promote circulation and reduce the risk of blood clots.
Intermediate Recovery (7-12 weeks) — Poses such as hip circles and fire hydrants, when approached slowly and gently, can help regain strength and flexibility in the hip joint.
Advanced Recovery ( 3-6 months) — If you've had an anterior hip replacement, you might be able to incorporate standing poses, such as warrior I and warrior II to rebuild strength and find stability in your artificial hip. You might have to wait until closer to the 6-month mark if you've had a posterior hip replacement.
Full Recovery (6+ months) — Once you're fully recovered, you can slowly reintroduce hip stretches, such as seated pigeon pose or seated cow face pose to improve the flexibility and mobility of your new hip.
This total hip replacement recovery timeline and all the chair yoga poses mentioned above are outlined in detail with tailored practice instructions in our FREE printable chair yoga after hip replacement guide for seniors.
Top 10 chair yoga poses for total hip replacement recovery
#1 Seated Ankle Circles
Steps to Practice:
Come to sit in your chair with your feet planted firmly on the ground.
Inhale, extend out through the right knee slightly so that your right foot is lifted slightly off of the ground. Do not lift your thigh off of the chair.
Exhale, begin to take at least 5-10 rounds of clockwise circles through the ankle. Keep breathing as you do so.
Once you've completed the clockwise circles, reverse the direction and take the same number of rotations in a counterclockwise direction.
Exhale, rebend the right knee, and set the foot down on the ground once you've completed both sets of ankle circles. Repeat this same process on the left side.
Benefits:
Seated ankle circles promote circulation and can help prevent deep vein thrombosis (DVT) following total hip arthroplasty.
#2 Seated Ankle Pumps
Steps to Practice:
Come to sit in your chair with your feet planted firmly on the ground.
Exhale, extend out through the right knee slightly so that your right heel is resting on the ground, and your toes are pointing upward. Do not lift your thigh off of the chair.
Inhale, point your toes away from your body like a ballerina.
Exhale, actively flex your ankle, and pull your toes toward your body.
Repeat this movement for 5-10 repetitions.
Exhale, rebend the right knee, and set the foot down on the ground. Repeat this same process on the left side.
Benefits:
Similar to ankle circles, ankle pumps improve circulation and reduce the risk of DVT. They also help increase strength in the calf muscles.
#3 Seated Heel Slides
Steps to Practice:
Come to sit in your chair with your feet planted firmly on the ground.
Inhale, keeping the sole of your foot flat on the ground, extend out through the right knee as far as it will go. Do not lift your thigh off of the chair.
Exhale, slide the foot back toward your body as far as it will go, maybe even coming slightly underneath the seat of the chair. Continue to make sure that the sole of your foot is flat on the ground and your thigh doesn't lift off the chair.
Repeat this movement for 5-10 repetitions.
Inhale, bring your right foot back into the starting position. Repeat this same process on the left side.
Benefits:
Not only do heel slides help improve blood flow in the legs, but they also help safely exercise muscles in your thighs and hips. This is important to combat long stretches of sitting and inactivity in the early stages of recovery from a total hip replacement.
#4 Seated Knee Extensions
Steps to Practice:
Come to sit in your chair with your feet planted firmly on the ground.
Exhale, press your hand down into the sides of your chair for support. Extend out through the right knee, and try to lift your right foot until it is parallel with your knee and hips. Make sure that you don't lean forward and that the back of your thigh never leaves the seat of the chair.
Inhale, drop your foot back down.
Practice this exercise for 5-10 repetitions, moving slowly and with control.
Repeat this same process on the left side when complete.
Benefits:
Seated knee extension will help preserve strength in your quadriceps, which are vital to daily activities, such as walking. This is especially important in the early stages of recovery when your mobility is limited.
#5 Seated Hip Circles
Steps to Practice:
Sit off to the right side of your chair, and hold onto the bottom of the chair for support.
Raise your right foot off the ground, and start to make circles, backward to forward, with your knee. Move through these circles slowly, and allow them to be less wide than they might have been pre-surgery.
Complete 3-5 rotations, and then reverse the direction of your circles for 3-5 more rounds.
Repeat this same sequence on the left side when complete.
Benefits:
Once you are a bit further along on the road to recovery from hip replacement surgery, hip circles can help reduce stiffness, improve circulation, and restore mobility in the hip joint.
#6 Seated Fire Hydrants
Steps to Practice:
Turn to face the right side of the chair. Your right leg should be bent straight in front of you, with your foot planted firmly on the ground. Your left leg should rest off to the side.
Hold the back of the chair with your right hand, and hold the bottom of the chair with your left hand for stability.
Exhale, try to lift the left leg up to the side, keeping the knee bent. Don't worry about how high your knee lifts, just try to feel engagement in the outer edge of your hip.
Inhale, release the left leg back down.
Complete 3-5 repetitions, and before moving on to repeat the same process on the right side.
Benefits:
Seated fire hydrants are an excellent way to strengthen the hip abductors, which play an important role in stabilizing the hip as you return to your day-to-day activities.
#7 Chair Warrior I
Steps to Practice:
Sit in your chair, and turn so that your left leg and chest are facing toward the left side of your chair.
Extend the right leg out long behind you and hold onto the back of the chair with your left hand for support.
Inhale, bring your right hand up and overhead.
If this feels easy, you have the option to press both feet down into the ground and try to lift your hips off the chair. It doesn’t matter whether you get up, just that you’re pressing against resistance.
Hold this pose for 3-5 slow deep breaths and repeat on the other side.
Benefits:
Once you are fully or almost fully recovered from your hip replacement, chair warrior I can be an excellent way to strengthen your quads, hips, and core muscles. This is important to help build stability in the hip and prevent gait issues.
Practice Note: If you eventually have the strength, you can advance from the seated variation of warrior I to the standing variation. For practice instructions, please refer to my previous blog post.
#8 Chair Warrior II
Steps to Practice:
Sit in your chair, and open your left leg out to the side. The inside of your left knee should be touching the right edge of the chair. Hold onto the chair for support.
Extend your right leg out to the left side of the chair with your toes pointing toward the long side of the mat.
Inhale, if you feel steady, lift your arms out to the side in line with your shoulders.
If this feels easy, you have the option to press both feet down into the ground and try to lift your hips off the chair.
Hold this pose for 3-5 slow deep breaths and repeat on the other side.
Benefits:
Similar to warrior I, warrior II helps build strength in the hips, thighs, and glutes. However, because the hip position is different, warrior II also helps increase flexibility and range of motion in the hips.
Practice Note: If you eventually have the strength, you can advance from the seated variation of warrior II to the standing variation. For practice instructions, please refer to my previous blog post.
#9 Seated Pigeon
Steps to Practice:
Come to sit in your chair with your feet planted firmly on the ground.
Gently, bring your right ankle over the top of your left thigh or knee. The closer your ankle is to the knee, the harder this pose will be. Make sure you keep your ankle flexed to stabilize the knee.
Inhale, bring your right hand on top of the right knee.
Exhale, gently start to press the knee and the hand against one another in opposite directions until you feel a stretch in your right hip. Start will only about 50% of your max and slowly increase the resistance. Never go past 80% of your limit when stretching.
Hold this pose for 3-5 slow, deep breaths.
Inhale, release the posture and return to the starting position. Repeat the same process on the left side.
Benefits:
Seated pigeon is a great way to start to regain flexibility in the hips once you are fully recovered from hip replacement surgery. Creating resistance between the hand and knee, rather than bending forward, helps you better control the intensity of the stretch as you reintegrate pigeon pose into your chair yoga practice.
#10 Chair Cow Face Pose
Steps to Practice:
Come to sit in your chair with your feet planted firmly on the ground.
Gently cross your right leg over the top of the left, and grab opposite elbows behind your back. Make sure your left foot is still rooted firmly on the ground.
Inhale, lengthen through the spine, and squeeze through all the muscles in your glutes, thighs, and hips.
Exhale, keep your chin lifted and slowly start to hinge through the hips and bend forward. Stamp your left foot down into the ground and continue to squeeze through all the muscles in your lower body.
Hold this pose for 3-5 slow, deep breaths.
Inhale, lift the chest back up, and return to the starting position. Repeat the same process on the other side.
Benefits:
Chair cow face pose, or gomukhasana, is an amazing stretch for your outer hips and glutes. However, it is only safe to perform after full recovery from your hip replacement. Engaging through your lower body as you bend forward helps stabilize the hip joint when you are first reintroducing this pose into your chair yoga practice.
Get your FREE Printable Chair Yoga After Hip Replacement Surgery pdf
Are you ready to start an active road to recovery following your total hip replacement? Well, I have the perfect tool to support your return to yoga practice.
I've created a FREE printable chair yoga after hip replacement guide for seniors. This guide is complete with step-by-step instructions and pictures, teaching you the top 10 chair yoga poses for total hip replacement recovery. The pdf guide will also walk you through how to slowly incorporate each chair yoga pose at the appropriate time following your surgery. PLUS, you'll also get a 28-day chair yoga challenge to help keep you motivated.
Are you ready to start living life free from hip pain? Click the button below to download your FREE printable chair yoga for seniors pdf!
Let's Stay in Touch!
Thank you for taking the time to read all the way to the end of this blog. I truly hope you got value out of this post. Here at Haiden's Yoga Practice, it's my mission to promote wellness for seniors. I share regular blog posts teaching different chair yoga poses and discussing various topics related to senior health. Join my newsletter to be notified anytime new content goes live and to get more free chair yoga guides delivered straight to your inbox!
As always, if you have any questions, feedback, or would like me to cover a specific health topic, you can email me directly at info@haidensyogapractice.com.
To learn more about my paid chair yoga and mindfulness services for senior citizens, you can visit my website or book a FREE consult call to learn more about how we can work together to achieve your goals:
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Again, thank you for taking the time to read this blog post. I wish you a wonderful rest of your day, filled with mindfulness and ease.
