Massage after a hip or knee replacement
There are a lot of new hips and knees in this county, and the plan you come home with assumes you can get yourself to appointments. If you can't yet, start here.
Never had a massage? Read this first.
There are a few things worth checking first
Your surgeon sets the limits
Ask them two things about soft-tissue work. When you can have it, and how close to the incision I can go. Bring me their answer and I'll work inside it, including staying well away from the joint itself if that is what they prefer.
If they want a written note after each session, they get one.
The other leg is doing all the work
It's usually the side they didn't operate on that gets forgotten, because the good hip, the good knee, the low back and the arms have been doing everything with a walker or a cane. That is often where the day-to-day ache is, and it is usually the first place a surgeon is happy for me to work. Ask them, and tell me what they said.
The light work, and how you lie
Manual lymphatic drainage is one of the techniques I practice, and in the first weeks after a replacement it is usually the one I use. It's very light and very slow. If you have been diagnosed with lymphedema, that is a clinical specialty of its own, so you want a certified lymphedema therapist. You do not need a table for any of this either. A bed, a recliner, a kitchen chair, any of them work, and side-lying with pillows is usually the most comfortable way to do it.
How it goes, for this
Before
What your surgeon cleared
Timing, and how close to the incision, are their call. Tell me what they said and I will not go past it.
At the house
The other leg first
The side they did not operate on, plus the low back and the arms that have been doing all the work with a walker. That is usually where the day-to-day ache is.
After
The light technique
Manual lymphatic drainage, which is very light and very slow. That is what most sessions look like in the first few weeks, though diagnosed lymphedema needs a certified lymphedema therapist.
Can't get onto a massage table? Pick what you have, and I'll tell you how it works.
I can get on a massage table
Then that's what we'll use. At the studio it is set up and ready before you walk in. At home, for my regulars, it goes up and comes down again inside the hour, and there's nothing for you to arrange.
Only my own bed
That's fine, and it's common. I work alongside the bed and set the positioning to suit you, with pillows under the knees or side-lying if lying flat is not comfortable. A hospital bed makes my job easier.
My recliner
Good. Neck, shoulders, arms, hands, feet and lower legs all work well in a recliner, and for a lot of people that's where the pain is.
I use a wheelchair
We can work in the chair, or move to a bed or table if you transfer easily and want to. Tell me which on the phone and I'll bring what suits.
A kitchen chair is all I have
That is all I need. I bring a seated setup, you stay fully clothed, and it's the same work through your neck, your shoulders, your back.
I am asking on behalf of someone else
Call me and skip the booking page, because I'll want to know what they can and can't do, whether there is a hospital bed, and who will be there. If they have a guardian, a healthcare surrogate or a power of attorney, tell me who holds it. You're welcome to stay in the room the whole time.
If you're still not sure, call me and describe the room. It takes two minutes and costs nothing.
Questions
How long after the operation can I have a massage?
Ask your surgeon and tell me what they said, because it is their call and I will not guess at it for you. Ask them when soft-tissue work is appropriate and how close to the incision I can go. Most people ask at the follow-up appointment, once the first two weeks are behind them.
Can you work on the leg that was operated on?
It depends on where you are in recovery and what your surgeon says. Even when I cannot, there is plenty of useful work in the other leg and in the back and shoulders.
Can you come to rehab, or to my apartment in a community?
Usually yes, with the facility's permission. Some of them have their own rules about outside practitioners, so call me before you arrange anything and I'll find out what theirs are.