Pain-Free Living

Activity Recommendations After Total Hip or Knee Replacement

Return to main article: Give Your New Joint a Sporting Chance

The recommendations for activities after total joint replacement surgery shown in the two tables below are based on surveys from the Hip Society and the Knee Society respectively. They were reported on in The American Journal of Sports Medicine, May 2001. The “No conclusion” columns list activities the orthopedic surgeons surveyed were unable to agree on.

AFTER HIP REPLACEMENT

RECOMMENDED/ ALLOWED	ALLOWED WITH EXPERIENCE	NOT RECOMMENDED	NO CONCLUSION
Stationary cycling	Road cycling	High-impact aerobics	Speed walking
Swimming	Low-impact aerobics	Jogging	Ice Skating
Walking	Hiking	Racquet sports	Inline skating
Doubles Tennis	Canoeing	Singles tennis	Downhill Skiing
Golf	Cross-country skiing	Contact sports (hockey, soccer)	Stationary skiing
Ballroom dancing	Bowling	Basketball	Rowing
Shuffleboard	Horseback riding	Volleyball	Weight lifting
Horseshoes		Rock climbing	Weight machines

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AFTER KNEE REPLACEMENT

RECOMMENDED/ ALLOWED	ALLOWED WITH EXPERIENCE	NOT RECOMMENDED	NO CONCLUSION
Stationary cycling	Road cycling	High-impact aerobics	Inline skating
Low-impact aerobics	Speed walking	Jogging	Downhill skiing
Swimming	Hiking	Racquet sports	Weight lifting
Walking	Doubles Tennis	Singles Tennis
Golf	Canoeing	Contact sports (hockey, soccer)
Bowling	Cross-country skiing	Basketball
Horseback riding	Stationary skiing	Volleyball
Ballroom Dancing	Rowing	Rock climbing
Shuffleboard	Weight machines	High-impact aerobics
Horseshoes	Ice skating

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