What is a hip brace?
A hip brace is a support for your hip. It limits the movement of your hip joint to reduce the risk of dislocations. This can help:
- With the healing process
- Reduce pain or discomfort
- Prevent further damage
- To act as a reminder to avoid/limit certain movements
How long should I wear it for?
Your doctor or consultant should discuss with you how long the brace needs to be worn for. The wear time will depend on your diagnosis.
Can there be complications?
The brace is not able to limit all of the movement in your hip. In some cases additional or alternate treatments might be required. If required, these will be discussed with you by your doctor.
Moving from lying to standing
Roll onto the side without the brace and bring yourself to the edge of the bed. Drop your legs over the edge of the bed and at the same time push with your elbow to lift yourself up to a sitting position.
Sleeping
You will need to speak with your doctor about wearing your brace for sleeping. If your brace is needed when you are sleeping, you may need to check your skin more often to reduce the risk of pressure sores.
Washing instructions
Do not shower or bathe with your brace. We recommend a strip wash whilst stood (unless previously advised otherwise by your consultant/doctor).
Hygiene advice
We recommend wearing the brace with your underwear over the top of the brace to make toileting easier.
As the brace fits close to your skin, there is a risk of rubbing and pressure sores. We recommend keeping your skin clean and dry. This is to reduce the risk of rubbing from the brace.
Regular skin checks are recommended when the brace is in use. If red marks are found on the skin, remove the brace to check the skin. If red marks last longer than 30 minutes, or your skin breaks down and causes a wound, please contact the Orthotics department for an appointment. Please contact your GP if you have any open wounds and dress them appropriately.
Putting on and taking off the hip brace
The brace can be taken on or off in a standing position. We advise you to position yourself in front of a mirror to help you put on and take off the brace.
The brace consists of:
- One large wrap around fastening
- Two thumb loop lumbar tightening pull cords
- One lower leg fastening
To put the brace on:
- Position yourself in a wide stance. Your feet should be positioned just wider than shoulder width apart.
- Wrap the large wrap around your stomach and fasten securely.
- Line up the joint of the brace with your hip joint. You can feel your hip joint on the upper outer side of your leg.
- Fasten the lower leg strap around the lower thigh just above the knee.
- Stand up and pull the thumb pull cords. Fasten them to the front of the brace.
To take the brace off:
- Loosen the thumb loop pull cords.
- Unfasten the lower leg fastening.
- Unfasten the large wrap around fastening around your stomach.
- Pull the brace away from your body.