Home Recovery Checklist After Hip Replacement Surgery: Equipment You'll Actually Need

The best time to prepare your home for hip replacement recovery is before surgery, not after. Most of the equipment on this list is inexpensive relative to the difference it makes, and setting it up in advance means you (or the person you’re caring for) come home to a space that’s already safe, rather than improvising in the first painful days.

Hip replacement recovery comes with specific movement restrictions — most surgeons ask patients to avoid bending the hip past 90 degrees, crossing the legs, and twisting at the hip for the first several weeks. Every item below is chosen with those restrictions in mind, not just general mobility.

Before You Even Go to the Hospital

• Clear walking paths of loose rugs, cords, and low furniture — anything that could catch a walker or a foot.
• Move frequently used items (in the kitchen, bedroom, bathroom) to waist height so there’s no bending or reaching overhead.
• Set up a “recovery station” near a firm chair with arms: phone charger, water, medications, remote, and a reacher tool all within arm’s reach.
• If stairs are unavoidable, plan which floor you’ll actually live on for the first couple of weeks — most patients minimize stair use early on.

Mobility Equipment

A walker or rollator. Nearly every hip replacement patient uses a walker for the first 1–3 weeks, transitioning to a cane as strength and balance return. A rollator (with wheels and a seat) is worth considering if you’ll need to walk longer distances or want to rest partway.

A gait belt, if a caregiver will be assisting with transfers — it gives them something secure to hold onto rather than an arm or waistband, which reduces the risk of a fall during the highest-risk moments (standing up, sitting down).

A cane, for later in recovery once your surgeon clears you to progress past the walker.

Bathroom Equipment (the highest-risk room, especially with hip precautions)

A raised toilet seat with arms. This isn’t optional for most hip replacement patients — standard toilet height puts the hip well past the 90-degree bend restriction. A raised seat with locking arms keeps the angle safe and gives support for standing.

A shower chair or transfer bench. Standing in the shower, or stepping high over a tub wall, both risk violating hip precautions or losing balance. A transfer bench lets you sit down outside the tub and slide across without lifting a leg over the wall.

A long-handled sponge and a sock aid or dressing stick. Bending to wash feet or put on socks is exactly the motion hip precautions restrict — these tools let you manage both without bending past the limit.

Non-slip mats, inside and outside the tub or shower.

Bedroom and Seating

A firm, higher chair with armrests for daytime sitting — low, soft couches make standing back up difficult and can encourage exactly the hip angle you’re trying to avoid.

A wedge or extra-firm pillow, if your surgeon recommends keeping a pillow between your knees while sleeping (common guidance to prevent the legs from crossing at night).

A reacher/grabber tool, so dropped items, clothing, or things on high shelves don’t require bending.

Optional but Genuinely Useful

A cold therapy / ice machine that circulates cold water through a wrap — more consistent and longer-lasting than bagged ice, and widely used for post-surgical swelling control.

An elevated seat cushion, if you have a favorite chair or car seat that sits lower than ideal — an add-on cushion can raise the seat height without replacing the furniture.

A Rough Timeline

• Week 1: Walker for all mobility, raised toilet seat and shower/transfer bench in daily use, most time spent resting in a firm chair or bed.
• Weeks 2–3: Walker use continues but often with more independence; some patients begin short unassisted stretches at home if cleared by their surgeon.
• Weeks 3–6: Many patients transition to a cane, with continued use of the raised toilet seat and bathroom equipment until balance and hip strength are fully restored.
• Beyond 6 weeks: Follow your surgeon’s specific clearance — recovery pace varies significantly by age, overall health, and surgical approach.

Every recovery timeline is different, and your surgeon or physical therapist’s specific instructions should always override general guidance like this.

Related Reading

See our full bathroom safety and fall prevention checklist, our comparison of canes, walkers, and rollators for when you're ready to progress off the walker, and — if you're preparing for a different kind of recovery — our stroke recovery equipment checklist.

Shop this checklist: browse Walkers and Mobility Aids for walkers, rollators, and canes, raised toilet seats and shower chairs in Bathroom Safety, and Patient Care for reachers, sock aids, and cold therapy equipment. Ordering before your surgery date means everything is already set up and waiting when you get home — not something you’re scrambling to find on day two.

This article is educational and general in nature. Always follow the specific post-surgical instructions given by your surgeon or physical therapist, which take precedence over general guidance like this.