Total hip replacement: its influence on spontaneous recreation exercise habits.

The effect of total hip replacement (McKee-Farrar or Brunswik prosthesis) on recreational exercise habits was evaluated with a retrospective interview of 539 patients operated on at the orthopaedic Hospital of the Invalid Foundation, Helsinki, Finland. The mean age of the patients was 63.8 years and the mean follow-up time 4.2 years. The proportion of those who engaged in regular walking increased from 2 to 55%, in cycling from 7 to 29%, in swimming from 13 to 30% and in skiing from 0 to 9%. Prolonged use of the prosthesis (up to 9 years) had no significant deteriorating effect on the intensity of the recreation exercises. The number of those who were able to cycle or swim preoperatively was greater than that of those who were able to walk at that time. Cycling and swimming are especially valuable forms of physical exercise after total hip replacement because the load placed by the body weight on the hip joint is reduced.