I am 22 days from a total hip replacement due to breaking my hip in a bicycle accident. This was just after I bought my 2016 Mini Cooper S. Due to the rules of bending and sitting in a chair the Mini Cooper seat is too low for me to get into. I was given the approval today to drive. I went out and raised the seat as much as I could so I can sit without much lowering my butt before swing my legs into the driver side floorboard.

Question is ... anyone out there had this same replacement and was able to continue to drive their Mini Cooper later on? I'm getting anxious to get back behind the wheel.

 

I got my MINI in December 2018 and my wife had a total hip replacement in February! She was able to sit in the passenger seat by April.

 

not only back in our MINI but despite being told 'never', I'm back in my '79 too . . .

 

One thing I can say about rehab from an injury... baby steps. You may feel great on Monday, so you try to push to the next level on Tuesday, and on Wednesday you're in the kind of pain you had 3 weeks ago. So try to take it easy, really easy. Think of improvements in terms of a week at a time, not each day. If things are working well, keep at that level for a week.

How about a pillow under your butt to make the seating position higher? Or do you run into the headliner then? Maybe once you get seated, you can then lower the seat? Raise it again to get out? Just spitballing here. You gotta figure out what works, without doing any harmful movements. It's your hip, don't screw it up =)

 

Thanks for the reply. 60 days seems to be pretty consistent where a lot of activity returns to normal.

 

That has been the hardest part of this recovery, Day 24 today. Being a cyclist the surgeon was aware of "pushing yourself" and not to do it. I've been able to maintain that most of the time. There has never been a time so far where I thought I just did too much. I think the PT, the MD and the Surgeon warned me about feeling the same way that you just described. They said they have many return clients because they did too much because they felt great.

I have raised the seat and took a look at it to see if I could slide into it without breaking the 90° rule they gave me for bending. Also they wanted me to sit in chairs where my knees would be lower than my butt. I have a 4" orthopedic seat cushion that should help a lot where it would be a 'level' slide into the car. I have been able to get in and out of a Jeep Liberty with no problem since they day I was picked up at the hospital. I'll use the same technique to get in the Mini as I have the Jeep.

In keeping with your "keep it at that level for a week" ... I've backed off the number of daily steps this week in exchange to spend more time resting and letting the hip heal. 3 days of that and I can tell a big difference in the way my new hip feels.

Thanks for your reply and advice, a nice reminder not to get ahead of myself.

 

Awesome !!!!

 

Right on. I'm currently healing up from a lumbar disc herniation, which is quite a process. In the past I went to PT for tendonitis (too much computer). Different injuries, but my big takeaway from both is 'baby steps'. I'm one to really jump on top of a problem and throw all my effort at it. Which I think is the right attitude for an injury as well, except for the physical part. Gotta keep the throttle at a nice even pace. Keep it at 50%, and don't go past that. Good luck!

 

Just an update --

I have driven the Mini on a couple of short trips in town on Day 33 post op. Yesterday was the first time I drove any distance and above 70mph on my way to Bisbee AZ ... car felt great, my hip felt great. I love being back in a Mini Cooper S 2-door.