A broken hip is a complete or partial break in the proximal end of the femur near the hip joint. Surviving and thriving after a hip fracture can be different for everyone. Some people heal quicker than others depending on age and genetics.
There are several kinds of hip fractures, most of which are repaired with a hip replacement. About 350,000 American are hospitalized each year for a broken him and about 150,000 hip replacement operations are done each year in the U.S., half of these under emergency situations. About 90%% of hip fractures occur in seniors over the age of 60.
A hip fracture is one of the most common orthopedic injuries in senior citizens and usually occurs as the result of a fall. Preventing elderly falls is especially important for people with osteoporosis, making them more susceptible to hip fractures as their bones are more brittle due to loss of calcium.
Depending on your age, health conditions before the break, and how bad the break is will determine your healing time. If you have a clean fracture that does not require surgery to fix you might heal in 6 to 8 weeks. However, if surgery is required you are probably looking at about 3 to 6 months of healing time. It is important to follow all your physician’s orders otherwise healing may take even longer.