Better Before—Better After

Abstract

Total hip replacement is considered a successful intervention for pain relief and improved function. However, poor presurgery physical function may increase the likelihood of delayed postsurgery recovery. The purpose of this study was to describe community-dwelling older adults' experiences with a prehabilitation program (preoperative exercise) before total hip replacement. Four participants were interviewed 13 and 15 weeks postsurgery. The interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed with systematic text condensation. Physical, mental, and social limitations were, to a higher or lesser degree, part of the participants' life presurgery. The results indicate that tailored close supervised training presurgery increased the participants' amount of and adherence to exercise, confidence, and sense of control. The participants had a positive experience of increased strength during the training period and gained motivation to perform progressive training. The exercise program helped the participants be physically and mentally prepared. The results indicate that close supervised prehabilitation in community-dwelling older adults undergoing total hip replacement can contribute to improved function and increase the level of activity and self-efficacy postsurgery.