It is common to experience pain after major surgery on your hip. Is the thought of sleeping after arthroscopy causing you anxiety?
Sleep on your back if possible. When you become uncomfortable, it’s ok to sleep on your side, but you must place a pillow between your legs. It is important not to cross your legs or ankles. This will place undue stress and tension on the surgical site.
How to sleep after total hip replacement surgery?
The thought of how to sleep after hip arthroscopy can be concerning to patients, and rightly so. Although you may experience some pain, it is still possible to get a relatively decent night’s sleep if you follow your doctor’s advice.
You will need to avoid crossing the surgical leg( the side you had your arthroscopy surgery) over your body. You may not realize it, but sometimes you use a leg for momentum when turning on to your side.
Crossing your surgical leg over your body will place tension on the surgical site on the bones. To avoid this, it is advised to sleep with a couple of pillows between your legs, even when lying on your back.
The pillows will prevent you from inadvertently swinging a leg to change position. However, it is possible to sleep on your side, provided you are not crossing your legs over the centerline of your body.
Do not be tempted to cross your ankles even when lying on your back. This will cause pain and discomfort in the hip.
How to sleep after hip surgery
Hip surgery is a major deal, and coming home after surgery can pose some problems for the patient. Of course, one area of concern is how to sleep after hip labrum surgery?
However, it need not be as bad as you expect if you follow the doctor’s orders.
Manage the pain with the pain relief your doctor has prescribed; your body will need all of the help it can get after surgery, so make sure you have your pain relief on your bed stand with a glass of water.
Take the pain reliever as prescribed, which maybe every four hours. If needed, set the alarm to wake you to take your meds on time.
You will need to put some protective or specialized sheets to catch potential blood from any drainage from the surgical site.
Sleep on your back, use as many pillows as you wish but be sure to have two pillows between your legs.
You need to avoid crossing the surgical leg across the centerline of your body to avoid placing the surgical site under stress.
This even applies to crossing your ankles while lying on your back. It’s a big no.
You can side sleep, providing you do not cross the centerline of your body with the surgical leg.
You will need to sleep this way for a minimum of 7 days or otherwise instructed by your doctor.
