Here is an abstract from an interesting study from Denmark in the Journal of Arthroplasty. I tell all of my patients that they will be very tired after hip surgery, and that their ability to concentrate is definitely impaired for a while, and this study shows it to be true!

‘Optimized perioperative care after total hip and knee arthroplasty (THA/TKA) has decreased length of stay (LOS) but data on activity, sleep and cognition after discharge are limited. We included 20 patients ≥60years undergoing THA/TKA, monitoring them for 3days preoperatively and 9days postoperatively with actigraphs for sleep and activity assessment. Pain scores were recorded daily. Cognition was evaluated by 2 cognitive tests. Results showed a mean age was 70.5years and mean LOS was 2.6days. Actigraphs showed increased daytime sleep and decreased motor activity postoperatively. Early postoperatively cognitive decline and increased pain returned to preoperative levels by postoperative day (POD) 5–9. Despite the small sample size the study illustrated that post-discharge activity is decreased and daytime sleep is increased after fast-track THA/TKA, while cognition and pain return to preoperative levels by POD 9. Objective assessment of these recovery parameters may be valuable in future interventional studies to enhance recovery after THA/TKA.’