After hip arthroscopy, you need loose-fitting clothes with elastic waistbands that you can pull on without bending your hip past 90 degrees. The right wardrobe choices make a real difference in the first few weeks, when getting dressed is one of the most physically awkward parts of daily life. Here’s what to plan for, from the ride home to physical therapy appointments and beyond.
What to Wear Home From Surgery
Pack your going-home outfit the night before surgery. You want loose-fitting pants with an elastic waistband, a roomy top, underwear, and socks. Generous sweatpants or shorts with an elastic waist are the go-to options. Avoid anything with buttons, zippers, or a stiff waistband that requires you to wiggle, twist, or reach down to fasten. Your hip will be sore, your range of motion will be limited, and you may still be groggy from anesthesia.
Shorts are a smart choice if your surgery is in warmer months, since they’re the easiest bottoms to slip on and they won’t rub against your incision sites. If you prefer pants, pick a pair with a wide leg opening so the fabric doesn’t catch on bandages or compression stockings.
Compression Stockings in the First Two Weeks
Your surgical team will send you home with knee-high compression stockings. These reduce your risk of blood clots and help control swelling in your feet and lower legs. Plan to wear them at all times for the first two weeks after surgery. You can take them off to sleep, shower, or wash them (hand wash, then air dry).
Because these stockings add a layer of bulk below the knee, factor them into your clothing choices. Pants with narrow ankles or tapered joggers can be difficult to pull over the stockings. Wide-leg sweatpants, basketball shorts, or anything with a straight or relaxed leg will slide over them without a fight.
Why Bending Limits Change How You Dress
After hip arthroscopy, sitting with your knees higher than your hips can cause pain or a pinching sensation at the joint. The general guideline is to keep your hips at roughly 90 degrees when seated, and avoid flexing deeper than that. This restriction directly affects how you put on pants, socks, shoes, and underwear, since all of those normally require bending forward or pulling your knee toward your chest.
The practical workaround is to dress your surgical leg first. Sit on the edge of a bed or sturdy chair, extend the operated leg slightly forward, and use a dressing stick or reacher to guide the waistband of your pants over your foot and up your calf. Then do the same for your non-surgical leg, stand carefully, and pull everything up. It feels clumsy the first few times, but it gets routine quickly.
Adaptive Tools That Make Dressing Easier
A few inexpensive tools can save you a surprising amount of frustration:
- Reacher or grabber: Picks items off the floor and helps guide clothing over your feet without bending.
- Dressing stick: Has a hook on one end and a pusher on the other, designed to help you pull on pants, skirts, or zip up zippers at a distance.
- Sock aid: A small plastic cradle that holds your sock open so you can slide your foot in without reaching down.
- Long-handled shoehorn: Lets you put on shoes while sitting or standing, no deep bending required.
Some hospitals provide these in a kit before discharge. If yours doesn’t, they’re widely available at pharmacies and online for under $30 as a set. Most people use them heavily for the first three to four weeks, then phase them out as flexibility returns.
Tear-Away and Side-Snap Pants
If you have regular physical therapy appointments, tear-away (or “breakaway”) pants are worth considering. These have snaps running down the full length of each leg, so you or your therapist can open them completely without pulling the pants over your feet. They provide full coverage over compression stockings or a brace, and they’re easy to remove and replace one-handed if needed.
People recovering from joint surgery consistently describe these as one of the most useful purchases they made. They’re especially helpful if you have limited upper-body strength or live alone, since you can put them on and take them off without assistance. Unisex sizing is common, and they look similar to standard sweatpants when the snaps are closed.
Choosing the Right Shoes
Falls are a real risk during hip recovery, and footwear plays a bigger role than most people expect. The best shoes for this period have a few specific features: wide soles for a stable base, a low heel, slip-resistant rubber outsoles with tread, and a secure fastening mechanism like velcro straps or elastic laces. Shoes with a slightly higher collar around the ankle also improve stability and reduce postural sway.
Avoid slippers, flip-flops, backless slides, or anything with an elevated heel. Slippers in particular feel tempting because they’re easy to slide on, but they offer almost no traction or ankle support. A slip-on sneaker with a rubber sole or a walking shoe with velcro closures gives you the ease of entry you need without the fall risk. A long-handled shoehorn makes any shoe easier to get on without bending.
Fabric and Fit Around Your Incisions
Hip arthroscopy typically involves two or three small incisions (portal sites) around the hip. While these are small, they’re bandaged and need to stay dry during the initial healing phase. Your surgical dressing is usually waterproof, but when showering, many surgeons recommend covering it with a kitchen plastic wrap (such as Press and Seal) as an extra precaution.
For everyday clothing, soft, breathable fabrics like cotton or cotton-blend knits are ideal. Stiff denim, rough seams, or tight waistbands that sit directly over the incision area can irritate the healing skin or shift bandages. If your pants have a waistband that lands right on a portal site, size up or switch to shorts until the incisions close. Most people find that mid-rise elastic waistbands sit comfortably below the hip joint without pressing on the surgical area.
If You’re Wearing a Post-Op Brace
Some surgeons prescribe a hip brace after arthroscopy, particularly after labral repairs. A brace can be worn directly on the skin or over form-fitting clothing. If you wear a layer underneath, pull the fabric tight and smooth out any wrinkles before strapping the brace on. Bunched fabric under a brace causes friction, and friction leads to skin breakdown.
Sweat is the other concern. Moisture trapped under a brace can cause irritation, rashes, and even infection. If you’re sweating, change the base layer more frequently than you think you need to. Thin, moisture-wicking athletic shirts or leggings work well as a base layer because they pull sweat away from the skin and lie flat under the brace hardware. Avoid cotton directly under the brace since it absorbs moisture and stays wet.
A Simple Recovery Wardrobe
You don’t need to buy an entire new wardrobe. A rotation of a few key items will carry you through the first four to six weeks:
- Three to four pairs of elastic-waist pants or shorts: Wide-leg sweatpants, basketball shorts, or tear-away pants. You’ll be doing laundry less often than usual.
- Loose, pullover tops: T-shirts or sweatshirts you can pull over your head. Avoid button-downs that require tucking in.
- Slip-on shoes with rubber soles: One reliable pair with good traction and a secure fit.
- Comfortable, breathable underwear: Stretchy, mid-rise styles that don’t dig into incision sites.
Lay out your clothes the night before, especially in the first week when dressing takes longer than you expect. Keep your reacher, sock aid, and shoehorn in the same spot so you’re not searching for them while balancing on one leg. The goal is to make getting dressed feel routine rather than like a daily obstacle course.