Ordination Dr. Maximilian Kasparek
MK Orthopädie Währing
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29. September 2025

Sports, Yoga & Se­xua­lity af­ter Hip Sur­gery – What is Al­lo­wed, What is Advisable?

A hip re­pla­ce­ment of­fers many peo­ple a new qua­lity of life: less pain, grea­ter mo­bi­lity, and more ever­y­day safety. Ho­we­ver, with this new free­dom of mo­ve­ment, ques­ti­ons also arise: How much exer­cise is al­lo­wed? Which yoga mo­ve­ments should be avo­ided? And what about se­xua­lity af­ter the sur­gery? In this ar­ticle, you will re­ceive well-foun­ded in­for­ma­tion on sports, yoga, and se­xua­lity af­ter hip re­pla­ce­ment – tail­o­red, safe, and pro­fes­sio­nally aligned. 

Why Mo­ve­ment is So Im­portant Af­ter Hip Surgery

Mo­ve­ment plays a cen­tral role in the long-term func­tion and du­ra­bi­lity of a hip re­pla­ce­ment. The goal is to streng­then the sur­roun­ding mus­cles, im­prove ba­lance, and safely uti­lize the new mo­bi­lity. Si­mul­ta­neously, ex­treme mo­ve­ments and im­pro­per loa­ding must be avo­ided, espe­ci­ally in the first few months. 

Sports with a Hip Re­pla­ce­ment: What is Allowed?

Many sports can be re­su­med af­ter suc­cessful re­ha­bi­li­ta­tion. Ideal ac­ti­vi­ties are joint-fri­endly ones that pro­mote coor­di­na­tion, en­du­rance, and mus­cle strength wi­t­hout over­stres­sing the prosthesis. 

Re­com­men­ded Sports with a Hip Replacement:

  • Swim­ming (wi­t­hout dive starts)
  • Cy­cling (sta­tio­nary or on flat terrain)
  • Nor­dic Wal­king & Hiking
  • Er­go­me­ter Training
  • Golf, Cross-coun­try ski­ing (af­ter consultation)


Sports with Cau­tion / Only in Ex­cep­tio­nal Ca­ses:

  • Ten­nis, Ski­ing, Jog­ging (only with good phy­si­cal condition)
  • Ball and Cont­act Sports
  • Mar­tial Arts
With the right choice of sports, you streng­then your new hip – not its limitations.
Yoga Af­ter Hip Sur­gery: Yes, but Adapted

Yoga can be very hel­pful af­ter hip sur­gery to im­prove mo­bi­lity, breathing, and body awa­re­ness. It is im­portant to avoid cer­tain pos­tu­res that lead to ex­ces­sive fle­xion, in­ter­nal ro­ta­tion, or crossing mo­ve­ments.What to con­sider:

  • No crossing mo­ve­ments of the legs (e.g., Lo­tus Pose)
  • No ro­ta­tio­nal mo­ve­ments from the hip wi­t­hout stabilization
  • Use al­ter­na­tive va­ria­ti­ons (e.g., block, bols­ter, wall support)

Not Re­com­men­ded:

  • Half-Floa­ting Crane (Ardha Bak­a­sana): This pos­ture is not re­com­men­ded af­ter hip re­pla­ce­ment, as it re­qui­res strong hip fle­xion and in­ter­nal ro­ta­tion – both of which can in­crease the risk of dislocation.
  • Bet­ter to avoid or re­place with more sta­ble va­ria­ti­ons – only af­ter me­di­cal cle­arance and un­der guidance

Dis­cuss your exer­cise sel­ec­tion with an ex­pe­ri­en­ced yoga in­s­truc­tor or phy­si­cal the­ra­pist who is know­led­geable about endoprosthetics.

Yoga with a hip re­pla­ce­ment re­qui­res no ren­un­cia­tion – only awareness.
Se­xua­lity with a Hip Re­pla­ce­ment – What to Consider?

Se­xual ac­ti­vity with a hip pro­sthe­sis – what to con­sider?
Re­tur­ning to a ful­fil­ling sex life is pos­si­ble even af­ter hip pro­sthe­sis sur­gery – and is an im­portant to­pic for many pa­ti­ents. Key fac­tors are the right ti­ming and an ad­apted body pos­ture to avoid the risk of lu­xa­tion (dis­lo­ca­tion of the ar­ti­fi­cial joint).
In the first 6–8 weeks af­ter the ope­ra­tion, in­tense phy­si­cal in­ti­macy should be avo­ided, as the hip is not yet fully sta­ble du­ring this phase. Af­ter this, se­xual ac­ti­vity is ge­ne­rally per­mit­ted again – but un­der cer­tain conditions. 

Con­side­ra­ti­ons for wo­men:
Po­si­ti­ons in­vol­ving strong hip fle­xion or ro­ta­tion, bent legs, or crossing the legs should be avo­ided. A side-ly­ing po­si­tion with pil­lows for sta­bi­liza­tion can of­fer si­gni­fi­cantly more safety and comfort. 


Con­side­ra­ti­ons for men:
Here too, po­si­ti­ons that stron­gly bend or in­tern­ally ro­tate the ope­ra­ted leg can be pro­ble­ma­tic. Su­pine po­si­ti­ons with the leg ex­ten­ded or sta­ble sup­port are usually more com­for­ta­ble and less risky. 

Open com­mu­ni­ca­tion, a mindful pace, and see­king me­di­cal ad­vice help to re­duce un­cer­tainty and res­tore a po­si­tive body image.

Se­xual ac­ti­vity is en­ti­rely pos­si­ble even with an ar­ti­fi­cial hip joint – with a little pa­ti­ence, com­mu­ni­ca­tion, and at­ten­tion to pro­per posture.
Con­clu­sion: Mindful Movement

Sports, yoga, and se­xual ac­ti­vity are per­fectly com­pa­ti­ble with a hip pro­sthe­sis – with a little cau­tion, pa­ti­ence, and the wil­ling­ness to ad­apt ha­bits to the new bo­dily si­tua­tion. Those who seek ad­vice and gra­du­ally be­come ac­tive again can safely en­joy their new free­dom of movement. 

Seek per­so­na­li­zed ad­vice – to un­der­stand what is best for your new hip. Please feel free to sche­dule an ap­point­ment at my practice. 

10 Com­mon Ques­ti­ons about Hip Pro­sthe­sis, Ar­ti­fi­cial Hip Joint, and Movement

1. When can I re­sume sports af­ter sur­gery?

Light exer­cise such as wal­king or cy­cling on an exer­cise bike is usually pos­si­ble af­ter 4 to 6 weeks. Joint-fri­endly sports can be star­ted af­ter ap­pro­xi­m­ately 8 weeks. More in­tense ac­ti­vi­ties should only be star­ted af­ter cle­arance from the doctor. 

2. Which sports are par­ti­cu­larly sui­ta­ble with a hip pro­sthe­sis?

Joint-fri­endly sports such as swim­ming, cy­cling, hi­king, or Nor­dic wal­king are ideal. These place only mo­de­rate stress on the hip while si­mul­ta­neously pro­mo­ting mus­cle strength and mobility. 

3. Is strength trai­ning per­mit­ted with an ar­ti­fi­cial hip joint?

Yes, tar­ge­ted strength trai­ning is even re­com­men­ded. It is im­portant to avoid over­loads and jerky mo­ve­ments. Trai­ning should be done un­der gui­dance and with a fo­cus on core, glu­teal, and thigh muscles. 

4. Do I need to pay at­ten­tion to spe­ci­fic mo­ve­ments in daily life?

Yes. Mo­ve­ments in­vol­ving strong hip fle­xion, crossing the legs, or jerky ro­ta­ti­ons should be avo­ided. An er­go­no­mic sit­ting pos­ture is also important. 

5. Which yoga po­ses are un­sui­ta­ble with a hip pro­sthe­sis?

Po­ses in­vol­ving strong overst­ret­ching of the hip, such as the Lo­tus Pose or deep lun­ges, can be pro­ble­ma­tic. Al­ter­na­ti­ves should be dis­cus­sed with a trai­ned yoga instructor. 

The yoga pose “Half-Floa­ting Crane” (also known as Ardha Bak­a­sana or so­me­ti­mes “Baby Crow”) is only very con­di­tio­nally re­com­men­ded for in­di­vi­du­als with a hip pro­sthe­sis – and should only be per­for­med af­ter ex­pli­cit cle­arance from the trea­ting phy­si­cian or the­ra­pist. Here is the as­sess­ment from an or­tho­pe­dic perspective: 

6. Is se­xual ac­ti­vity pos­si­ble again af­ter hip sur­gery?

Yes, ho­we­ver, stre­nuous mo­ve­ments should be avo­ided in the first few weeks. With a little pa­ti­ence, com­mu­ni­ca­tion, and con­side­rate po­si­tio­ning, ful­fil­ling in­ti­macy is well possible. 

7. Can sports lead to loo­sening of the pro­sthe­sis?

With pro­per loa­ding and sta­ble an­cho­ring, sports pose no risk. Ho­we­ver, ex­treme stres­ses, such as jum­ping or cont­act sports, can lead to long-term problems. 

8. When can I drive again af­ter hip pro­sthe­sis sur­gery?

As soon as you can safely ope­rate the ve­hicle and are no lon­ger de­pen­dent on wal­king aids – ty­pi­cally af­ter 4 to 6 weeks. Re­ac­tion ca­pa­bi­lity must be fully restored. 

9. What can I do to avoid com­pli­ca­ti­ons?

Re­gu­lar check-ups, tar­ge­ted phy­sio­the­rapy, pain-free mo­ve­ment, and con­scious pos­ture in daily life help to pro­tect the pro­sthe­sis long-term.

10. Are there gen­der-spe­ci­fic dif­fe­ren­ces in ma­na­ging a hip pro­sthe­sis – for ex­am­ple, with cer­tain mo­ve­ments, sports, or se­xual ac­ti­vity?

Yes, be­cause ana­to­mical dif­fe­ren­ces and in­di­vi­dual mo­ve­ment ha­bits can lead to cer­tain po­si­ti­ons or mo­ve­ment se­quen­ces be­ing dif­fer­ently stre­nuous for wo­men and men. For ex­am­ple, hip fle­xion, leg gui­dance, or pos­ture af­fect the joint dif­fer­ently de­pen­ding on gen­der. Per­so­nal me­di­cal ad­vice helps to find sui­ta­ble mo­ve­ment stra­te­gies – ad­apted to one’s own body and the re­spec­tive daily life situation. 

If you en­joyed this ar­ticle, you might also be in­te­res­ted in other posts from our blog.

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Priv.Doz. DDr.
Maximilian Kasparek, MSc
haelsi Gesundheitszentrum im Achtzehnten Theresiengasse 46/2 1180 Vienna

+43 1 399 08 63
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