A hip replacement is unusual among common operations in that the shopping list is not really optional. After a knee replacement you can improvise. After a hip, you will most likely be told not to bend your hip past 90 degrees, not to cross your legs, and not to twist on the operated leg, for somewhere between six weeks and three months.
Those three rules are what generate the list. You cannot reach your own feet without breaking the first one. You cannot sit on a low toilet without breaking it either. Almost everything worth buying exists to work around that single restriction.
This guide is organised by when to buy, because timing matters more than people expect. Some things need to arrive and be installed before you go in. Others can wait until you know whether you need them.
The links below are Amazon affiliate links. If you buy through them we may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. We only list things that are genuinely useful during recovery.
First: ask what you are being given
Before buying anything, ask your pre-operative assessment team two questions. What equipment will I be issued, and which precautions will apply to me?
The second question matters because not every hip replacement carries the same restrictions. An anterior approach often has fewer precautions than a posterior one, and some surgeons now use very few restrictions at all. Buying a full precaution kit when your surgeon does not use precautions is a common and avoidable waste.
Typically issued to you, so do not buy: crutches or a frame, compression stockings, and in many cases a raised toilet seat and a perching stool, particularly in the UK where an occupational therapy assessment often precedes the operation.
Buy three weeks before: the things that need installing or trying
A raised toilet seat. The single most necessary item on this list. A standard toilet seat sits at a height that forces the hip well past 90 degrees. A riser of four to six inches brings you back inside the safe range. Buy the type with arms if you can; they double as the thing you push up through. Measure your toilet first, because bowls come in round and elongated shapes and the wrong one will not clip on.
A perching stool or shower chair. You will not be standing for a full shower for a while, and you cannot lower yourself into a bath. If you only have a bath with a shower over it, you need a bath board or a transfer bench so you can sit on the rim and swing your legs over rather than stepping in.
Grab rails, if you are going to fit them. These need someone with a drill and a free weekend, which is why they belong at the three-week mark rather than the day before. A suction rail is a reasonable temporary alternative on tile, provided you test it every single time before putting weight on it.
Shop these: Raised toilet seat · Perching stool · Bath board · Grab rail
Buy two weeks before: the reaching kit
This is the group of items that exists purely because you cannot bend to your own feet. Most people buy them as a single kit, which is cheaper than buying each piece separately and means you are not missing one on the day you need it.
A hip kit normally contains:
- A grabber or reacher, typically 26 to 32 inches, for picking things off the floor and pulling clothing up
- A sock aid, a plastic or fabric cradle you post the sock onto and pull up with cords
- A long-handled shoe horn
- A dressing stick, for hooking trousers and pushing sleeves
- A long-handled sponge, for washing your lower legs and feet
- Sometimes a leg lifter strap, for moving the operated leg onto the bed
Practise with the sock aid before your operation. It is not obvious, everyone is bad at it the first time, and the day you come home from hospital is a poor moment to learn.
Slip-on shoes with a firm back. Buy these now and wear them in. You will not be tying laces, and backless slippers are a fall risk. Shoes with an elastic or a wide opening are far easier than anything you have to work your foot into.
Shop these: Hip recovery kit · Grabber reacher · Slip-on shoes
Buy one week before: seating, bed, and the trip home
A firm cushion, or two. You need every seat you use regularly to be high enough that your hips stay above your knees. That includes the car, where a low seat and a deep recline are the two things that make the journey home uncomfortable. A wedge cushion in the passenger seat, with the seat slid back and reclined slightly, makes a real difference.
A knee separator or abduction pillow, if your surgeon has said not to cross your legs. It is a foam wedge that sits between the knees at night and stops you rolling into a position you are not allowed to be in. Not everyone is told to use one, so check first.
A bed rail or grab handle, if getting in and out of bed is already hard for you. It slides under the mattress and gives you a fixed point to push against.
A bag you can wear. With crutches you have no hands. A small rucksack or a bag that clips to a frame solves carrying a cup of tea, which is otherwise genuinely impossible.
Shop these: Car wedge cushion · Knee separator pillow · Bed rail
Buy the week of, or ask someone to: food and the boring essentials
Ten easy meals in the freezer. Standing at a hob is tiring, carrying a hot pan on crutches is not sensible, and your appetite in week one is unreliable. This is the highest-value preparation on the entire list and it costs an afternoon.
A stool softener and simple pain relief, as advised by your team. Constipation after a hip replacement is close to universal, caused by the combination of opioid pain relief and sudden inactivity, and it is far easier to prevent than to fix. Start whatever your team recommends on day one rather than waiting to see. Our guide on relieving constipation after surgery covers this properly.
Fibre and fluids. Same reason.
Ice packs. Hip swelling is less dramatic than knee swelling but still real, particularly around the thigh and down towards the knee. Large flexible gel packs work better than small rigid ones.
Shop these: Fibre supplement · Reusable gel packs · Water bottle with straw
What most people waste money on
A second raised toilet seat for upstairs. Tempting, and usually unnecessary. Most people settle into using one bathroom for the first few weeks.
A hospital bed or a riser recliner, bought in advance. Both are expensive and neither is needed by most people after a routine hip replacement. If after two weeks you are genuinely struggling to get out of your chair, buy then, having learned what you actually need.
A knee scooter. Wrong operation. Those are for foot and ankle surgery where the leg cannot bear weight.
A grabber that is too short. A 26-inch reacher sounds long until you try to pick a sock off the floor without bending your hip. Buy 32 inches.
Anything to help you get in the bath. You will not be having a bath for several weeks, and you should not be soaking the wound at all until your team says the incision is fully healed. Shower arrangements only.
The minimum list, if you buy nothing else
A raised toilet seat with arms. A hip kit with a long grabber, sock aid, shoe horn and long sponge. Something to sit on in the shower. Slip-on shoes. A firm cushion for the car and the chair you sit in most. Food in the freezer.
That is roughly a hundred pounds or dollars of equipment, most of which you will use every day for six weeks and then never again, which is why the second-hand market for hip kits is so healthy. It is also worth asking friends: someone in your circle almost certainly has a grabber and a sock aid in a cupboard.
This guide is part of our hip replacement series. See hip replacement precautions for the rules these items are designed around, and the full product checklist for more detail on each item.
*Always follow the specific guidance of your surgical team about which aids and equipment are right for you, as precautions and advice vary by surgical approach and by individual circumstances.*