Hip Resurfacing Recovery
Hip Resurfacing Arthroplasty
What hip resurfacing is
Rather than removing the ball at the top of the thigh bone and replacing it with one on a stem, resurfacing caps it — the worn surface is trimmed and a smooth metal cap fitted over it, matched to a metal socket. The natural ball and the neck of bone beneath it are kept.
Why it is chosen
It preserves bone, and the larger ball it produces is very stable in the socket. It suits particular people — generally younger, more active, with strong bone and good anatomy — rather than being an option for everyone with a worn hip. Your surgeon will have weighed whether your hip is one of them.
The one thing that shapes the early months
Because the neck of bone beneath the cap is kept, it can fracture in the months before the bone remodels and strengthens around the implant. That risk is small but real, and it is the reason the early loading is more careful than the way you feel would suggest. Most people feel able to do more than they are allowed to for the first couple of months.
Weight through the leg
Most people are up and walking quickly, though your surgeon may ask you to protect the leg to some degree for a period. Impact — running, jumping, anything with a jolt — waits considerably longer than ordinary walking does, and that gap is deliberate.
Precautions
Because the ball is larger than in a standard replacement, the hip is generally very stable and positional precautions tend to be fewer and shorter. What replaces them is the loading caution above. Your surgeon will tell you which apply to you.
What the first weeks usually feel like
The arthritis pain is generally gone on waking, replaced by surgical soreness that fades over weeks. Most people are walking without aids within a few weeks. Bruising down the thigh is common and looks worse than it is.
The incision
The incision is usually longer than for a standard hip replacement, because more room is needed to work around the preserved ball and neck. It stays tender for a couple of weeks and numbness along one side is expected, often fading over months.
Why the outer hip muscles matter
The abductors on the outer side of the hip are what keep the pelvis level with each step, and they weaken during the years of arthritis beforehand. Rebuilding them is what turns walking from possible into normal, and it is the difference between a hip that works and one you stop thinking about.
Returning to sport
This is usually why resurfacing was chosen, and it is a realistic goal — but on a timeline. Cycling and swimming generally return within a couple of months, running and impact activity considerably later, commonly around six months to a year, and always on your surgeon''s judgement of how the bone has responded. The programme finishes with conditioning and agility work for that reason.
Driving
Driving generally becomes reasonable once you are off stronger pain medication, can get in and out of the car unaided, and could perform an emergency stop without hesitating. For many people that is within a few weeks.
Returning to work
Desk-based work is often possible within three to four weeks. Physical work involving lifting, climbing, or impact waits longer and is guided by how the bone around the implant is responding rather than by comfort.
Follow-up over the years
Resurfacing implants are followed more closely over time than standard replacements, sometimes including blood tests and periodic imaging. Your surgeon will explain what applies to your implant. Keeping those appointments matters even when the hip feels entirely normal.
Physical therapy
Therapy focuses on walking pattern, hip abductor strength, and balance, then progresses to loading and eventually to sport-specific conditioning. The later phases look more like athletic training than rehabilitation, which is appropriate for the goal.
How the first year usually unfolds
The first two weeks centre on walking and comfort. Weeks two to six generally bring walking without aids and most daily activity. From six to twelve weeks strength builds and the limp usually resolves. Between three and six months loading progresses properly, and impact activity typically returns in the second half of the first year.
Staying in touch with your care team
Recovery varies with your bone quality, your starting strength, and what your surgeon found. They know those details and what your implant needs. If something about your recovery is worrying you — particularly new groin pain when you had been doing well — contact your care team rather than waiting.
Exercises for Hip Resurfacing
An illustrated, phase-by-phase exercise program for this procedure. View the Hip Resurfacing exercise program.
Recovery education · Condition guides · Exercise programs
Are you a clinician? See how orthopedic practices use JointBooklet.
This guide is general education and doesn't replace evaluation by a licensed provider. Recovery and treatment vary by person — follow the guidance of your own surgeon or care team.