Total Hip Replacement (THR) Rehab with Blood Flow Restriction – Part 3/?

FYI, the present training was actually recorded at the same session as the footage from the previous post (Part 2), which is 2 weeks post the Total Hip Replacement (THR).

Nothing extraordinary stuff in his 2–3 weeks protocol besides the common rehab exercises spiced up with BFR glute bridges and BFR leg extension with the 30x15x15x15 reps protocol. Though, to avoid any unnecessary mechanical load or strain through the deep laceration at the surgical site Though Alex is using loads that are expected to be very low-load (-20% 1 RM).

It is also pertinent to consider the ongoing osseointegration at the femur (thigh bone) which is the bone-to-metal healing at the interface of biological bone tissue and the smooth titanium implant.

From the literature, it seems to take 4 to 12 weeks for full osseointegration and will continue to strengthen up to three years post-op.

As presented in the previous post, his operated side have a 30 mmHg lower LOP/AOP compared to the unaffected side. This 19% difference is expected to be the effect of lean muscle loss during the initial 2 weeks post-op, and the inherent activity modification before surgery because of pain.

Nothing revolutionary but the fact that leg extension is a tried and tested exercise to get those quads firing again and mitigate further atrophy.

Stay tuned for more posts on Alex’s path to full recovery.

Primary Source on osseointegration:
McCutchen et al. (1990) Osseointegration of titanium implants in total hip arthroplasty

Raju Karuppal (2016) Biological fixation of total hip arthroplasty: Facts and factors

Secondary Source:
Larsen et al. (2021) Blood-flow restricted exercise following ankle fractures – A feasibility study

Bittar et al. (2018) Effects of blood flow restriction exercises on bone metabolism: a systematic review