What exercises help recovery & strength after hip replacement?

@oregonjan Reading your description makes me think something else is going on. An in person PT or chiro consult might pick up something else like a nerve impingement or a spine issue. Water PT might help too. If the cane is an issue (I cannot use one due to arthritis) a forearm crutch or an upright walker are options. Please pursue this as the longer it lingers, the harder recovery gets.
Sue

Thanks, Sue. I am definitely going to keep looking at causes until I get a better answer. (I tried forearm cane but it placed my wrist in a very uncomfortable position. Wish it had a greater angle so that forearm could bear some weight) . I hate the thought of any kind of walker as that seems like a step backwards (I was off the walker within a week after surgery) but I'll try all options. Am hoping a lift in the left shoe is not the next step as that was a failure several years ago -- made back pains worse. Getting old (80 in 2 days) is sometimes a bummer!! Will see if I get in-person PT visit next!

Thank you, klarnold. I am cycling although it's recreational. Still, it's good exercise that does not aggravate my hip. Like you, I wish someone, anyone, would have said that it will take more than a few months to get back to where I was a few years ago when I could be more active. And yes, listen to your body. I wish you all the best, klarnold, at work in your nursing job and at play.

@oregonjan If you decide to go with a shoe lift, here is what I was counseled (I had a 1/2" difference, reduced to 3/8" after surgery). The lift should only correct 1/2 of the length differential. The lift should be worn gradually, beginning with 1/2 hour, then 1 hour, etc over several weeks until your body adjusts to it - it took your body years to adjust to the length difference, so going the other way takes a long time too. Then, if there is still an issue, a little more lift can be added.
Also, even though a walker seems like "going backward" maybe it is better than not being able to go at all? I was thinking of the forearm or upright type to avoid additional stress on your hand and wrist (I was 61 at my last hip revision, and couldn't use a walker because of my wrists - forearm crutches were what I could manage.)
Just thinking out loud. Good luck.
Sue

I am also back to PT for my post hip replacement surgery. It’s going slow, but finding small improvements every week. Also battling lower back problems so strengthening that as well. Keep it up!!

Lots has happened in the past 2 months: PT exercises definitely increased general leg strength but very little improvement in full weight-bearing on right leg. After one phone visit and an in-person visit with my surgeon during that time, I have done much more in-depth research. All along I have known about a small displaced fracture of the the greater trochanter but surgeon always said THAT would not be the reason for weakness and it would pose no problem unless it caused pain. Early on he vaguely mentioned that it COULD be repaired by going back in and inserting a plate but that he didn't recommend that and I basically dismissed that idea and forgot about it. At this last visit, he now says that, because it has taken this long to regain weight-bearing strength, he doubts any further improvement with PT and the only options he sees now are to accept permanent use of a cane or to undertake the surgery (which he describes as complex and resulting in a "big metal plate on the hip which would be felt under the skin" , with unlikely improvement in gait and with the danger of infection due to having to expose the prosthesis to open air, after it all healed safely.) He says he will be bringing the issue to the next joint review with his colleagues He also says he has only performed that (rare !) surgery once!!
But--- surely the surgeon's knowledge of anatomy would mean that all along he was aware of something I only realized after long, involved research into weight-bearing weakness in hip abductors: The muscle responsible for holding the opposite hip up during waking and with one-leg stance is the gluteus medius....whose point of tendon attachment to hip-bones is at the piece of displaced bone fragment, meaning it would currently have no real anchor and is only supported by the other gluteus muscles and tendons. Some of Mayo's own papers describe those various facts.
I am left concluding that my surgeon, all along, has had a very good idea we would arrive at this point but was hoping against hope I could somehow overcome the weakness. He does say there has been a little improvement in tests of my hip abduction but I think I know why he didn't recommend PT all along.
I am next scheduled for a phone visit with the surgeon in 6 more weeks and he will tell me what his colleagues' opinions are at that time. Unless I have managed to make major headway with strengthening in the meantime, I am going to say I want an MRI to determine exactly what is what with the gluteus medius! As far as that surgery -- NO WAY! Too little chance of desired results. I am still trying to remain positive about discarding the cane one day.......

Wow! The Vancouver Coastal Health Guide blew me away. I had a right THR on Feb.19 and my surgeon said they're not recommending any PT for THR's now and to just continue the (very few!) post-surgery exercises (glute clinch, knee tightening, lateral leg slide and bent-knee slide) because walking is the best exercise for recovery. During surgery, there was pertrochanteric fracture of the femur head during insertion of the prosthesis, which was secured with a coil. In the X-ray at 3 weeks. all looked stable and normal, but at 7 weeks there was a bone displacement along the fracture line. My surgeon said it was nothing to worry about and that it wouldn't require any surgery to correct unless it started causing specific pain. He said I could do whatever activity I wished, as long as I "kept my knees apart".
The problem is that I still cannot put full weight on the right leg without pain from groin out to outer hip and am continuing to have to use a cane, but doing so is causing much pain in my left hand (arthritis), arm and shoulder. I am walking on the treadmill as long as the hand can tolerate providing some support (barely over 1/8 mile so far) and using a pedal exerciser. Walking outdoors would be fine except for the pains in the hand and arm and the excess energy it takes just to use a cane for much distance.
I am nearly 80 years old but in very good health otherwise and am really frustrated with the inability to discard the cane. I have another X-ray next week and then a telephone visit (due to COVID) with the surgeon but am not hopeful that he'll say more than "some people take longer to heal" and shrug it off. I would like to at least get one PT appointment to see if they have any suggestions. Seems a bit late to start all the exercises in the V.C.H Guide 12 wks after surgery!
I have tried to research recovery time after a femur fracture during THR but can't find anything except info about such fractures resulting from falls. Has anyone else had experience with this sort of fracture (and displacement?) I am not even sure if the hip pains are due to the fracture or why they aren't going away!

Finally I've found someone who experienced a femur fracture during THR. 6 months ago my left femur fractured during surgery and the surgeon used a wire "zip tie" around the femur. I've been suffering with continual pain in my thigh (day and night) along with a strange taste/breath essence since surgery; severe fatigue; blurred vision and fogginess. All CTs show the hip is in place and no clear problem. Because of my continued issues and inability to get a diagnosis (so many doctors including immunologist/allergist), I've sent blood samples to Germany (MELISA) and learned I'm highly allergic to Nickel. I'm seeing a new surgeon to get learn what kind of test is available to view the tissue in my leg and see if the wire can be removed since I'm certain it is the cause of my pain and other problems. Also, I've since had elbow surgery to fix a pinched "ulnar nerve" in my right arm with numbness down my arm and fingers (from surgery). I'm not sure what kind of MRI I'll get since I have the new hip but surely there's some way to see what's inside because I cannot live like this anymore.

It sounds like you're making great progress! I am getting frustrated with mine (or lack of?).It was 4 months post-surgery before I got ANY exercise program and that was only after I finally got a PT referral. On discharge after surgery, I was given NO exercises to do except that my surgeon said to "just walk" (my P. Therapist says I "fell through the cracks" on early exercise). I have been doing progressive balance (not a problem) and strengthening exercises but to this day, 5 months after surgery and after nearly 2 months of PT, I still cannot bear full weight on the operated side and am having to use a cane. Due to severe arthritis in the hand/wrist using the cane, I am not able to walk for more than about 1/8 mile before my hand and wrist get too painful ( I do wear a wrist brace). The same pains prevent using the treadmill for more than about 1/8 (SOMETIMES almost 1/4) mile. As for the THR itself, x-rays show it has healed just fine and my surgeon has "signed off" unless the joint itself has any trouble.
I have only seen my PT for video visits and she cut those back from weekly to semi-weekly due to lack of weight-bearing progress (which she can't understand the cause of). My range of motion is nearly back to normal and I think the sit-stand exercise, the stand abduction with resistance band and side-stepping along 15' of counter while in semi-squat MUST be adding strength to my glutes but I still cannot get the last 20 lbs of my weight shifted onto that leg. The muscles just can't support it. There is no pain just continued weakness. I have been using a pedal exerciser and a gravity rider and my endurance is improving but I can't see any improvement in weight-bearing although friends say I'm walking more evenly with the cane now.
I don't know if it has an effect, but the operated leg was always about 1/4" longer than the other and I think that has increased as it looks it on the standing x-ray with height scale. At any rate, I am going to request an in-person visit with the PT to see if that will give her a better idea of what else I should be doing to get weight onto that leg. I'm now 5 months post-op and the PT doesn't know why I can't stand on that leg yet. It's hard to stay positive.
I appreciate all the tips and encouraging posts on this thread!