🎯Three Content Types · One Force Field
Every square belongs to one of three content types — not three levels you climb. Track progress in your Course and Skills Lab.
📘 Learn It Content type
Concepts to absorb.
🛠 Live It Content type
Daily skills and habits.
📣 Share It Content type
Teach, advocate, carry forward.
🛡️Your Force Field — 16 Squares
Deeper detail lives in the Prepared Patient Hip Fracture course.
What a Hip Fracture Is
Break of the femoral neck, intertrochanteric, or subtrochanteric region. Surgery almost always.
Learn ItWhy Bone Meds Matter
Second fractures are common without treatment. Bisphosphonates, Prolia, or romosozumab.
Learn ItSpot Red Flags
Sudden SOB (PE) · severe new hip pain · fall with severe pain · 911.
Learn ItRecovery Triggers
Overexertion, missed PT, infections, dehydration, new medications.
Learn ItSurgical Type Matters
Pinning vs partial vs total hip — different restrictions, different recovery.
Learn ItAnticoagulant
Usually weeks of blood thinner post-op. Strict adherence.
Live ItPT & OT
The single biggest determinant of getting your life back.
Live ItHome Modifications
Raised toilet, grab bars, no rugs, lighting — non-negotiable.
Live ItFootwear & Walker
Non-slip soles. Walker height correct. Don't lean on furniture.
Live ItMake Every Visit Count
Bring pain log, PT progress, surgical staples/incision status.
Live ItYour Care Team
Orthopedic surgeon, PT, OT, geriatrician, bone health doctor.
Live ItTelehealth
Some PT can be telehealth. Wound checks usually in-person.
Live ItInsurance & Cost
Surgery + rehab + bone meds all generally covered.
Live ItTeach & Mentor
Pre-op patients have lots of fear. You’re evidence recovery is real.
Share ItAdvocate
Falls prevention saves lives. Push for screening and home modification coverage.
Share ItResearch & Trials
Better implants, anti-resorptive timing, regenerative medicine.
Share ItThree things to learn before you actually need them.
Workflow lives in the Prepared Visit Tool. Trackers in your Course.
Which door do I use?
Hip fracture recovery is the rest of your life. The ladder catches what could undo the surgery.
Handle at home
- Following PT/OT schedule
- Walking with assistive device per instructions
- Pain controlled
- No fever
Log it. Do your exercises. Bone density matters now.
Call the office / message the portal
- New pain at the surgical site
- Mild fever (low-grade)
- Wound looking different
- Anticoagulant questions
- Running low on bone meds
Same day. Hardware issues develop slowly but matter.
Urgent / Acute care
- Persistent fever
- Wound drainage, redness spreading
- New leg swelling (DVT risk)
- Sudden inability to bear weight
- Severe new pain
Urgent care. Bring surgical history.
ER NOW / call 911
- Severe new pain in operated hip
- Sudden shortness of breath (PE risk in first weeks)
- Fall with new severe pain
- Fever >101°F
- Confusion or stroke signs
- Chest pain
Call 911. Tell them you had hip surgery on [date].
How to describe a new symptom in 30 seconds
What is it?
Plain words.
How bad?
0-10.
When did it start?
Time + what you were doing.
What made it worse?
Movement · food · meds.
What helped?
Even a little.
What else was new?
Fever · med · supplement · stress. The forgotten detail often shifts the diagnosis.
“Hip pain at the surgical site, a 6, started 2 days ago, worse with weight bearing, ice and pain meds help, and I have low-grade fever and the wound looks pinker today.”
Questions worth asking
Four for every patient, every condition, every visit:
- “Could this be a side effect of one of my medications, a supplement, or something else I’m doing — and should we change that?”
- “Would any non-drug therapy help — physical therapy, meditation, rest, ice or heat?”
- “If I can’t afford this medication or this test, can we talk about samples, alternatives, or a social worker who can help?”
- “What should I be watching for between now and my next visit — and when do I handle it myself, when do I call your office, when do I go to urgent care, and when do I go to the ER?”
Questions specifically for Hip Fracture:
- “Am I on the right bone-protective therapy to prevent another fracture?”
- “What’s my anticoagulation duration post-op — and when does it stop?”
- “Is my PT/OT plan still right for me?”
- “What activity restrictions apply — for how long?”
- “Falls prevention plan — what home modifications, balance training, vision check?”