Episode 25 - What's Your Plan for Recovery After a Hip Replacement?

November 01, 2025

Hip replacement recovery doesn’t end with surgery—your long-term results depend on the plan you follow next.

Hip Replacement Recovery: Why You Need a Real Plan After Surgery

Life After Hip Replacement: How to Build a Recovery Plan That Actually Works

Hip replacement recovery, hip replacement rehabilitation, and life after hip replacement don’t magically fall into place after surgery.

In this episode of The Hip Replacement Podcast, host Chris Bystriansky—author, athlete, and double hip replacement patient—dives into one of the most overlooked but critical topics in hip replacement recovery: having a real plan for life after hip replacement surgery.

Many hip replacement patients assume the recovery process ends after surgery and a few weeks or months of physical therapy. But for most people, that’s when uncertainty begins. Pain questions, stiffness, setbacks, confidence issues, fear of movement, and confusion about what’s “normal” often appear long after formal physical therapy ends. Without a plan, many patients stall, struggle, or plateau.

In this episode, Chris explains why hip replacement recovery is not a passive process and why the patients who do best long term are the ones who intentionally create a recovery plan.

Drawing from his own experience more than a decade after bilateral hip replacement surgery, he shares why progress accelerates when patients stop “winging it” and start thinking strategically.

You’ll hear a powerful story from the golf course that illustrates how hiring help, setting clear goals, and compressing learning time can dramatically improve results—not just in sports, but in hip replacement recovery and overall quality of life. The same principles that help people improve faster in golf, fitness, and business apply directly to post-hip replacement recovery.

This episode covers why relying only on surgery and short-term physical therapy often leaves patients stuck, why lingering aches and uncertainty are common months after surgery, and why guidance from someone who has actually lived through long-term hip replacement recovery can make a massive difference.

If you’re preparing for hip replacement surgery, currently recovering, or years removed from surgery but still not where you want to be physically or mentally, this episode will help you rethink your approach. Hip replacement surgery is not the finish line—it’s the starting point.

With the right recovery plan, life after hip replacement can be stronger, more active, and more fulfilling than before surgery.

New hips. New you. Let’s go.

Thanks for joining THE HIP REPLACEMENT PODCAST.

-Chris

LINKS & RESOURCES

Download my Top 12 Tips for Hip Replacement Patients here

Get my book, NEW STEEL here - available in hardcover, paperback, eBook and audio versions

For more information, or to send a question or comment, visit The Hip Replacement Podcast website

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Episode Transcript

Episode 25 – What’s Your Plan for Recovery After a Hip Replacement - Transcript

Welcome to The Hip Replacement Podcast, where recovery meets motivation and healing leads to a whole new lifestyle. I’m Chris Bystriansky, your host. I’m an author, athlete, and double hip replacement patient. I’ve been through the surgeries, the setbacks, and the comebacks, and I’m here to help you do the same.

Each week, I’ll bring you tips, tools, expert advice, and inspiring stories to help you take back your life one step at a time. Thanks for joining The Hip Replacement Podcast. New hips, new you. Let’s go.

Welcome back to The Hip Replacement Podcast. I’m Chris Bystriansky, your host. I’m also a double hip replacement patient, more than 10 years out from one and more than 12 years out from the other. I’m here to share my experiences with you. So, let’s go.

I went out for a walk the other morning. I’m in central Florida in the U.S., and it was pretty brisk out. It was about 50 degrees Fahrenheit, which is about 10 degrees Celsius, and that feels pretty cool for me. I like the change. Normally it’s 80 or 90 degrees, and it just cooled off like winter or fall got here overnight. I’ll enjoy it for a little while, maybe a week, but then I’ll be yearning for that 80 or 90 degrees again. I love the heat.

The walk was no big deal. It was just a few miles. Honestly, once in a while it really hits me how far I’ve come. I remember when a few miles was a monumental deal. I remember not being able to walk 10 feet. Then, as I was getting better after the surgeries, maybe a five- or ten-minute walk was a big deal. Eventually, years later, miles were no big deal.

I didn’t know if that was ever going to be possible again. Now it’s striking how easy it is to tack on mileage years after surgery. If you’re struggling, know that it’s going to get better. It may seem difficult at first—your first few weeks, your first few months, maybe even your first year—but it’s going to get better. Hang in there.

We talk a lot on this podcast about things you can do to help move recovery along. I know there are a lot of people out there struggling. I pop into different Facebook groups from time to time. I don’t post much, but I read, and I see people struggling. There are a lot of questions and uncertainty. My heart breaks for a lot of these people.

That’s one of the reasons I created this podcast. I can do more good here, getting a message out to more people, rather than commenting in those groups all day. If you find this helpful, share it. You may change someone’s life because they hear something at the right time.

A few weeks ago, I was out golfing. I got paired with a husband and wife. They were between 50 and 60 years old and at least 50 pounds overweight. Where I golf, everyone walks, and it’s about a three-mile walk for nine holes. I was inspired that they were even out there doing it.
They admitted they were beginners. The husband was bad, the wife was worse, and that’s totally okay. We all start somewhere. I remember being a beginner golfer. One time, I took a practice swing and accidentally hit the ball sideways into a lake. It was my last ball. I was embarrassed and had to ask for a ball. We all come a long way.

Now I can play multiple rounds with the same ball. That mirrors my hip recovery. I couldn’t walk five feet, and now I walk miles without thinking about it.

I like engaging in meaningful conversations on the golf course. Before we even left the first tee, I asked them why they started golfing at their age. Their answer was incredible. They wanted more exercise, more time outside, and more time with friends. They didn’t want to be left behind.

They also hired a coach to get better faster. That hit home for me. They had a plan.
So let me ask you: if you have a challenge like a hip replacement, what’s your plan? You have surgery, do some physical therapy, and then you’re pushed back into the world. What’s the plan after that?

I’ve hired many coaches in my life. College, law school, business school were great, but my real growth came when I hired coaches for very specific things. After my hip replacements, I did formal physical therapy for several months, then continued on my own. But after six months, I felt like I was on my own, figuring things out.

Over the past 12 years, I’ve learned a lot, and I share it here, but there’s so much more than I can fit into a podcast. People need help. I see it. I read it. I get messages.

That’s why I created the New Hip Recovery Challenge. There’s a link in the show notes. If you want a proven path to physical and mental growth and want to exceed your own expectations for recovery, this is it.
Be like that couple on the golf course. Know what you want. Have a goal. Develop a plan. Get help from someone who’s been there so you can condense the time it takes to get there.
Have a plan. Get help. Take action.

You can do this.

Thank you so much for tuning into The Hip Replacement Podcast. Until next time, I wish you the best recovery possible. Take care.

Episode 25 - What's Your Plan for Recovery After a Hip Replacement?

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