Exercises To Boost Recovery After Hip Labral Repair Surgery

What does my recovery look like after hip labrum repair surgery in Melbourne? 

 

Phase 1: Prehabilitation 

Recovery starts before the surgery itself. Prehabilitation has been shown to improve post surgical outcomes in those undergoing hip surgery. Working with your physiotherapist to improve the strength, flexibility and control around your hip joint, within your pain limits, is imperative so that you are as strong as possible for your recovery. 

Exercises would be prescribed on an individual basis but may include: 

• Paloff press variations to keep a strong trunk 

• Side planks to keep a strong trunk and lateral hip 

• Groin squeeze bridges to keep a strong back and groin

• Hamstring curls to keep strong hamstrings 

• Split squats in restricted depths to keep strong glutes and quads

 

Phase 2: Early post-operative phase 

In the early post-operative phase, the aims are: 

• Appropriate loading through the joint (use of crutches early on) 

• Normalise gait/walking pattern with crutches 

• Minimise muscle atrophy through use of exercises, hydrotherapy when wound allows and tall seat cycling. 

How long you use crutches for is usually guided by your surgeon but could range from 2-6 weeks. Your physiotherapist will be able to guide you through initial exercises. Bending the hip above 90 degrees is generally avoided in the initial weeks post operatively. 

 

Phase 3: Regain strength and mobility

Generally after 6 weeks, most if not all restrictions are lifted and you can progress into harder exercises guided by your physiotherapist. 

Exercises you may be doing could include: 

• Partial squats 

• Side lying abductions 

• Bridge variations 

• Partial RDLs 

• 4 point kneeling hip extensions 

• Hip hitching 

You will start to feel much stronger in this phase and be preparing for returning to athletic activities.

 

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Phase 4: Strength restoration and run preparation 

In this phase the goal is to get good strength symmetry between legs and start exercises that prepare you for the impact of running. Timeframes differ for everyone on when this can be achieved. This is because time alone does not govern our return to running timeframe. Movement and strength competency is a huge factor with this. For example, just being 6 months post labral repair does not graduate you to running. 6 months with competent strength, flexibility, control and spring does. We will get into what that looks like later. 

In this phase your physio may help you go through exercises like: 

• Split squats

• Single leg RDLs

• Deadlifts 

• Lunges 

• Pogos 

• Squat jumps 

• Drop jumps 

 

Phase 5: Return to run and change direction 

Most people get to hit this stage 4 months post operatively but again, time alone does not govern your ability to return running. 

Your physio will help you gradually build up your running volume and speed exposure but also look at preparing your hip joint and surrounding muscles to change direction in sport. 

This may be done through exercises like: 

• Curtsys 

• Side lunges 

• Twisters

• Paloff presses

• Rotational med ball slams 

• Skaters 

 

Phase 6: Return to sport and mitigation 

Once sufficient time has passed from a healing perspective, your surgeon is happy and you have proven your strength and movement competency to your physio, it is time to get back doing the sport you love. 

We can make sure you are ready by testing you on our VALD performance kits which measure things like peak force output in a muscle, how springy your jumps are and how well you can produce force under fatigue. Depending on your sport, there are different strength values we look for. 

For example, if you want to return to long distance running, we would want your calf producing a minimum of 1.6x body weight in force. 

Hitting these markers gives us confidence not only to return to your chosen sport, but return to performing in our sport and keeping our hip performing well going forward. 

How do I get my hip mobile and strong after surgery? 

 

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How and when do I return to my sport after hip labrum repair? 

Above we have discussed the phases of return and each athlete differs on their return timeline. Most can get back to sport within 4-6 months. The key point is that time alone does not guarantee you a successful return. You must prove strength and movement competency before returning. 

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