Furniture Raisers

Designed to help people with difficulties bending furniture raisers are an absolute essential piece of equipment for hip replacement patients.

Unless you already have high seats you will need to consider using them on all your chairs and on your bed. After your operation you will be asked to keep to a set of hip precautions one of which is the rule of 90.

The Rule of 90: Don't close the angle between your body and thigh to less than 90 degrees

Why do I need furniture raisers?

It is very, very easy to break this rule if your furniture is too low - and almost all furniture is.

Before surgery your Occupational Therapist (OT) will advise you on the correct height for your furniture (normally around 18" but depends on how tall you are) and may supply furniture raisers for you.

A word of warning the OT may send a technician around to adjust your furniture. Their goal is to make sure you are safe and not to worry about how your furniture looks. If they suggest something you don't like, for instance something that'll damage your furniture, then consider buying your own equipment. This is also the best solution for people who will be using the equipment long term.

What type of furniture raisers are available?

The short answer to that is quite a few!

Cone shaped furniture raisers that fit over castors. These have non-slip pads to hold the castors still
Adjustable furniture raisers - which can have a number of inserts that you can add in to adjust the height or have adjustable internal platforms
Bed raisers that screw in between the leg of the bed and the castor (you'd need someone to fit these)
Ones designed to fit unusual leg shapes
And so on

Cost vary from about £20 for a set of four to about £60 though I'm sure you can find cheaper and more expensive ones if you hunt around.

Elephant Feet

This is one of my preferred brands of furniture raisers. The wide base makes them really stable and they are super-easy to fit.

Other Furniture

The other real problem you'll have concerning 'furniture' height is your loo. But that has its own issues and aids so I've covered them on their own page toileting aids

Going Out

Getting out of the house for the first time is a great moment in your recovery but often spoiled because there's no where safe to sit down. Be sure to check out the chair, quite often wooden, high backed chairs are of the correct height and, with care you can sit on these safely. It's also a great idea to take a firm cushion out with you or ensure there will be one available if you visit friends or family.