Thinking about hip replacement surgery? You may not want to postpone the inevitable.

Hip replacement surgery may be recommended when pain and lack of mobility affect quality of life, often as a result of osteoarthritis, which is a form of arthritis in which a person gradually loses cartilage of the joints. This condition usually affects people after middle age.

A study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society found that older adults with osteoarthritis who underwent total hip replacement surgery were twice as likely to improve in physical function and self-care compared to those who did not have the replacement.

But after the surgery, exercise is necessary to regain function.

During the study, 12 people who had total hip replacement surgery were assigned to an eight-week, unsupervised, home-based exercise program. Another 11 people were assigned to an eight-week supervised program conducted at a rehabilitation center.

Researchers found that it didn’t matter where rehabilitation took place—at home or at the rehab center. The important point is that rehabilitation was taking place.

Both groups significantly improved in their ability to climb stairs and in their quality of life. They also improved in the timed get-up-and-go test, which measures how easy it is to get out of a chair and move forward—a task often difficult for people with aging and ailing hips. Study participants also improved in their six-minute walk tests—walking speed and cadence, step length, and double-support time.