Femeroacetabular Impingement

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  • PipesPipes ✭✭✭

    Hello all. Loverunning - sorry to hear about the shoulder problems - hope it's just down to the swimming and doesn't need surgery.

    Keep us posted on your appointment, Mickster.

    I had my post-op check-up today (7 weeks).  Things had been going ok until I returned to work after the school half-term.  Then the recently done hip went noticeably downhill every day, to the point of returning to crutches. It's frequent sharp pains that happen when I try to walk fast or round a corner or put my foot down wrong - like a worse version of what I had pre-surgery. The surgeon is worried that a flap of repaired cartilage may have come loose and wants to see me again when it has had a chance to settle (in about 5 weeks).  If not, I'll have another scan and potentially, more surgery.  I got the impression that he thought this was quite unlikely but my husband, who was also there, thought otherwise. 

  • dav0dav0 ✭✭✭
    Bloody hell Pipes, so sorry to hear that. Really hope it settles down for you and that you don't need anything else doing...
  • Appointment with orthopedic surgeon today.

     

    He looked at my Xray (could not access MRI) and then physicallly manipulated me to reproduce the pain. He says its osteo arthritis and has referred me to someone else. On the xray my unaffected femur head looks spherical but the painful side looks a strange shape, kind of flat in one point.

     

    Hes suggests the answer is arthroscopy so they can have a look round and remove anything they need while they are there.

     

    Terrified about the thought of surgery but at least I feel like I am heading in the right direction after 3-4 years of misdiagnosis.

     

    Mick

  • Dav0 - never heard of hypermobility but looked it up and could well be. My body feels a complete wreck right now. Strangely looking forward to my next lot of surgery just to be able to have a rest!! commuting and a stressful full time job not helping and pain is quite severe at night in my hips, shoulders and upper back so taking tramadol to get a good nights sleep, but does make me very drowsy the following dayimage How I want my active pain free life back....Anyway, how are you doing?

     

    Oh no Pipes,not what you needimage Let's hope its just part of the recovery and that you don't need any revision surgery. Maybe its from doing too much too soon?

     

    Mickster, sorry to hear about your diagnosisimage We've all been through it on here  so here ti support you through it. Did they say how long until your arthroscopy?

  • loverunning - nope, waiting to see another consultant

  • Had appointment today with the shoulder specialist. Thinks I have impingement in my shoulders and that they are 'protracted'.

    Fortunately not the same pathology as my hips; most likley caused by posture and further aggrevated by swimming. Good news is he is hopeful a 12 week course of physio and an injection will sort the problem out. So, it's no swimming and rest for me for the forseeable future.

    Hope I get them sorted in time for my left hip arthroscopy which I've been advised will be January/February!

  • Better news the loverunin than feared- i guess you'll have to get out on your bike or on the exercise bike if the weather is too bad in the meantime!

    Got a cancellation for Dr Villers for later in the week for a 2nd opinion/consultation only, so over i go. With this in mind i decided to go for my first run in about 5 months tonight, so that i might cause a little pain in hips to point out to the Doc. 5 and a half miles oh my god it was lovely!! Truelly miss it cycling is alright but not as good as arun. Feel ok now, a few twinges in hips.

  • Hi folks, thought id let you all know i had my consultation with with Mr Gaston, and i asked to be put on waiting list for surgery, thankfully no further degeneration from 3 years past, i was told theres a 9-12 week waiting list so looking like early feb time, My surgeon is now doing these ops as day cases now, i dont know if anyone who recently has had the op was treated as a day case, further too that he did say it would be 2 years before he could determine whether the op is a success or not, hopefully that can give people some hope who are still suffereing pain post surgery.

     I'm a little apprehensive re my surgery as im a bit of a control freak and like to know whats going on and whats happening, dont think my boss is going to be too pleased as he was hoping for April time, however i want it over and done with and try to get back to normality.

     

    Its a shame too hear of all peoples pain and discomfort they have,

     

    Dav0 hows your rehab going, with you having similar challenges with work, im interested to hear how you adapted to work again.

     

    Everyone else, Keep the chin up, we've always got tommorow! image

  • Hi all

    Hope everyone is getting on well!

    I had my consultation today with Mr Conroy, thought they were going to recommend surgery, but they want to do  steriod injection first even though the mri showed a labrel tear....has anyone else had this?

    ....hope to get there one way or another, just fed up now as its just one thing after another.... image

  • Well you can see from people's tales here why they might want to try something low-risk first! My MRI showed a small labral tear but I have managed with careful stretching and paracetamol and five years on it's no worse. Other folk here had much much worse symptoms and for them surgery was a risk worth taking.

  • Yeah, I agree that is the approach they are taking, although I don't want to be like this for years and years....is that what you were advised to stick with...are you happy that that was the advise....totally agree others are in a much worse position, feel for them really do.

     

  • I didn't wait for advice - I think once I had read a few of the more exciting accounts, I thought, "Really what is so bad about having a few paracetamol now and then, I'm not letting a surgeon near me until I'm desperate! ".

  • Fair enough, not sure I want to feel like i;m being stabbed all the time though and not able to walk very far, guess everyone has different types of pain.

     

    Hope its not too bad for you

  • dav0dav0 ✭✭✭
    Rebecca,



    I had a steroid injection into the joint as a precursor to surgery; it gradually knocked out the hip pain over about 8 weeks til it was almost non existent. It is only a temporary thing though.



    This is a conservative approach from Mr Conroy, and it can only be a good thing as the hip 'block' is a useful diagnostic tool in determining 100% that the hip joint is the pain generator. Trust me, like fido says, this surgery is to be avoided at all costs if you can; it is not something to enter into lightly, as this thread will attest to...



    Hope you get some relief from it anyway, and don't be fooled into abusing the reduction in pain like i did (I ran on it a bit after the hip block because i could, but the end result of this was a mega inflammed joint at surgery time which stalled my recovery!!)



    Hope everyone else is ok... Pipes, how are you getting on with that

    sharp pain?



    davo
  • Hi dav0

    Thanks for the advice.The concern I have is that, like you say it is only for a 'short' period of time. Did you get the stabbing pains return after a period of time? My concern is that it enables you to do more, but with the potential of overdoing it...

     

    Hope you are recoveing now

  • well howdy folks, hope all making progress.

    Saw the surgeon last week. He felt that given i was early stages and not much apparent damage to cartilage etc, i had an 80% chance of being better off, 15% the same, and 5% worse off with surgery.

    I have tried a couple of short runs - no good, researched and spoke to a lot of people, and have come to the conclusion iu have little option but to go for the surgery. Surgeon reckons i have cartilage tear and bone to shave off.

    Question - be good to hear all your advice about post op protocols - what to do/what not to do etc.How many days after the op should i have first physio session?

    Also, how bad is the pain and mobility post op?

    Best wishes, parklife

     

  • PipesPipes ✭✭✭

    Thanks for asking, Dav0 - things have settled down a lot in the past couple of weeks.  I am now feeling the occasional sharp pain, which probably still isn't perfect, but better than with every few steps.  I have another review with my surgeon on the 18th December.  Not sure whether I hope the sharp pains are still there, so that I can have an MRI on both hips to check there aren't any lingering problems, or that the pain goes completely so that I can get on with recovery as originally planned.  

    As things stand, and if the pains continue to disappear, I shall be going for a jog on 14th December.  Then I'll work out what I need to do to get myself out there again for a parkrun.

    parklife - those odds sound good - similar to what I was told. And the surgery is what I had.  I had my first (NHS) physio session 2 and a bit weeks after the op, but thought this was a bit too long.  First time round it was 10 days after.  I didn't find the pain that bad - I expected it both times and was pleasantly surprised both times.  The pain was worst at night, when I had nothing else to focus on and when I couldn't lie the way I wanted.  

    Mobility-wise, I was on two crutches for about 2 weeks (although doing little walks with 1), then down to 1 for a week (with little walks to the kitchen etc with none), then walking unaided 3 weeks post-op.  I still used my crutch for a couple of weeks after that when I was out and about, as I work in a secondary school and felt safer carrying it!  Being on 2 crutches is a nuisance - you realise how incapable you are of doing basic tasks like carrying a cup of tea!

    You'll get exercises from your surgeon - these seem to vary quite a bit.  I was allowed on the bike from 2 days post-op and given basic knee/ side leg raises, then these exercises progresses from week to week.  

    Things like taking enough pain-killers and icing the hip are probably obvious, but worth stating. And generally, come on here and ask about anything/ keep everyone updated as many of us have been through it now.  When I first came on here in March 2011, not many people had surgery experiences to tell.  

    When is your surgery likely to be, parklife?

    How are you coping without your swimming, loverunning? Are symptoms easing?

    Hello and sympathies to everyone else waiting for surgery or making difficult decisions about what to do.

  • Thanks for your answer pipes v helpful, surgery confirmed for 19 dec! Given the added waiting times for NI i felt i had no option but to go private, and this has the added benefit of being able to choose a specialist who appears to be at the forefront of this type of surgery. Did my sums and its a hell of a hit financially but on balance felt it was the only option?

    Funnily, my left hip (the supposed good one) has been playing up more and more. I predict this will worsen when depending on this hip whilst on crutches, as others have experienced.

    The date also makes a hash of Xmas! But it was either that or wait well into the next year for a date.

    I am going to aim for my first physio session on 27 Dec? or would it be beneficial on 24 dec?

    Pipes, did you go on the exercise bike every day? If so for how long and what sort of resistance, and did you grade the bike use up over time? And how essential is exercise bike to the overall rehab? I ask as this might be a little difficult for me as i dont have an exercise bike in the house, i use the local leisure centre, which obviously being on crutches will be difficult to get to.

    The specialist surgeon i would have to say was fairly upbeat about my recovery chances - said he works with professional sportspeople to a time frame of getting them back to their sport in 4-6 months. This was different to the NHS specialist who was a lot more circumspect. And ive just read through this thread again and reaffirms ive probably got a very hard couple of years ahead of me. That said i spoke to a girl from NI who went to same surgeon, whose hip was a much much worse mess than mine, affecting her day to day living, and 2 and a half years later she is able to do regular 10k's on the treadmill without hardly any probs.

    Thats pretty hopeful though Pipes that you are planning your first run and parkrun thereafter!! If thats the case you must be making pretty decent progress - what do you think the recent setback was caused by where you had to go back on crutches?

    Salutations to all! DavO how are you doing

     

  • Hi all

    Had steriod injection into hip yesterday, today seem to be in more pain, throbbing and stabbing more so than before...is that to be expected?

    DavO - I think you mentioned you had this injection...

    Going back to see Mr Conroy in two weeks - seems early to me...?

  • Hi all.  Just posted on labral tear thread and then saw this...not sure which I am best suited to! 

    I was diagnosed with labral tear and impingement on the left hip 4 years ago.  At the time I also had a Gilmore's groin issue and so had surgery on that rather than the hip and after 6 months of core work was able to get back running and not have the more intrusive hip surgery.  Have to say that everything was great and have been running 100 milers, doing Ironmans and the like.  However, the tear and impingement obviously do not repair themselves and so when I started to feel pain again a few weeks ago I started to fear the worst.  Went to see a sports doc with lots of experience in hips and following an MRI she is referring me to a consultant but thinks I will certainly need the labral tear repaired and the impingement shaved.

    I suppose I was expecting this but having started to search the net for others experiences I was horrified by the number of bad news stories.  My doc told me to expect up to 4/5 months without running (conservative), which I can live with as I like to bike as well, and that ideally i should not be looking to run marathon distances and up in the first 12 months.  I could also deal with this as long as I know I can get back to the ultra running at some point.

    What are people's experiences of getting back to the longer distance racing following FAI and tear surgery?  Am I crazy to be hoping that I can get back to running those distances.

  • Well Giggsy, sorry that you're in this club. I'm for the impingement shaving and labrum/cartilage repair surgery on 19 dec on right hip. A further worry is increasing pain over on the left hip (xray showed bony impingement but was largely asymptomatic at that time).

    Used to run marathons, now have just been using exercise bike to keep a bit of fitness. Will be doing core every day now until the surgery!

    Would love to get back to marathons but after the last 18 months i suspect ill have to lower my sights, will post as i go..Running pain free would be ace again!

  • PipesPipes ✭✭✭

    How did it go, parklife? Yes, I went on the bike every day, if I could. I tried to do it twice a day from a week or two post-op.  

    Hi Giggster. Don't know about getting back to distance racing after the surgery but am interested in finding out.  Impressed with your all your distance running.  Never done any ultras but have done 7 marathons.  I'd love to do another - not in 2013 but sometime the year after.

    I've been doing a bit of running in the past week (I'm now 3 months post-op). Most runs are 1-3 miles.  At the start of the week, I went very slow and stopped quite often to stretch and give the hips a rest; now I can run non-stop and at a comfortable pace that I'm surprisingly happy enough with at this stage (8-8:30 min miling).  Hope to do a parkrun in January.  

    Ok, so the hip is not totally pain-free, but it's getting better and better the more I run.  That may be because I'm so much better about doing my physio exercises when I know I can reward myself with a run.  I saw the surgeon again last week - he's happy that the recently operated hip has settled down, after the sharp pains of 7 weeks ago.  He's now being attentive to my complaints about the other side (operated a year ago), and agrees with me that it sounds like tendonitis.  He has referred me for a scan, with a view to doing a cortisone injection.

    Rebecca S - how was your injection and follow-up?

    Happy Christmas everyone. Hope 2013 is a better one for those, like me, who have had a bad running year in 2012.

  • Hi pipes and everyone , happy christmas!

    Pipes that is really positive that you can run 1-3 miles at that nice little pace, i'm sure you are loving it after all you've been thru. Just forget about marathons and the like for now.and enjoy that feeling, and a non-fast parkrun im sure will hit the spot.

    Well, im sitting here exactly 1 week post-op. I really don't want to scud myself but i'm feeling relatively optimistic about the whole thing and that i made the right decision to have the op, and to go private - the most ostentious thiing ive ever done but if your'e going to empty your savings it may as well be for your health and happiness than anything else.

    I felt the care i got was really top drawer. Very attentive professionals. On incision and sticking the camera in the surgeon diagnosed-

    1. labral tear at chondrolabral junction anterosuperiorly

    2. Chondral flap at chondrolabral junction anterosuperiorly

    3. Cam-type impingement lesion

    The following procedures were undertaken

    Partial acetabular labrectomy

    acetabular chondroplasty

    sealing of chondrolabral junction

    excision of cam impingement lesion.

     

    In laymans terms i believe there was a tear in the cartilage on or beside the labrum, and that the cartilage had been pulled off the bone a bit and was 'flapping'. There was also a bony abnormality on the, er, bone. So the surgeon went in and repaired the tear and using glue stuck the cartilage back on the bone, and shaved 3mm off the bone.

    Pain wasn't too bad, i was reducing on painkillers by day 3-4, and could have almost done without any pkillers today. I was able to walk on both crutches the next morning My mobility and ROM has improved a little bit day on day, i can get about a little without any crutches at the mo, though with a bad limp - i am gen using both crutches.

    I have a number of little exercises to do such as squeezing glutes, holding the bad leg in air, the pilates based transversus breathing exercise etc. Due to see my own physio tomorrow.

    I went to see my GP 5 days post op and she was very surprised at how well i was doing at that time. She gave me a 3 wek sick line for work. Im not getting carried away, too many times over the past 18 months have i thought i'd turned a corner only for another hurdle to be put up, and i have a little concern about my other hip, which has been dianosed with FAI but isn't particularly painful - is the little bit of pain i feel there due to overcompensation or a build up of FAI symptoms in that hip?? 

    Flight home was good fun, i got a friend to fly over and escort me home, apparently i was talking 'up the left (effects of tramadol) but the nice budget airline people were more than happy to put me on an earleir flight on one of the busiest travel days of the year.

    Hows everyone getting on ?

     

  • PipesPipes ✭✭✭

    I loved reading the detail in your post, parklife.  You sound very positive about it all, which is brilliant.  I hope your recovery continues to go really well.  Your op, exercises, mobility, time off work all sound pretty smiliar to mine (except for the 'flapping'/ glue stick bit).  How are you doing now? Have you been cycling?  I continued to take ibuprofen for a few weeks, even after I felt I didn't need it anymore, as I was told it helped reduce the inflammation.  

    Sounds like you were lucky with the flight (and having a nice friend) as well!

    I got a cc'd letter from the surgeon to my doc saying he was really pleased with the progress in my recently operated hip, after the little setback.  It also named the pain in the left hip as iliopsoas tendonitis - good to have a name for it (although it's what I'd already suspected after googling symptoms).  The scan will be an ultrasound and they should be able to do the injection at the same time, which is good.

  • Hi Pipes and everyone happy new year!

    12 days post op. Had my first downer yesterday. I had been improving incrementally day on day, doing my exercises (which seemed like quite a lot), going about on crutches though often down to 1 crutch and sometimes none(walking about kitchen leaning onto worktop etc).

    Got up yesterday morn and did my exercises, found the bridge exercise difficult and have always had diffs with hamstring stretch. I felt these 2 aggravated the operation site - the place where ive always had pain - and also started getting a little pain at the top of my adductor just below the great trochanter. Very offputting when youve had 12 'improving' days on the trot.

    Anyway, took a couple of ibprofen (haven't had any painkillers in about a week), and rested. Wasn't as bad this morn, but luckily i had physio arranged today and feel much better for it. Basically, my adductors have been tightening due to more being asked of them and also due to me being overprotective of my right leg when i hobble on crutch. Time spent by physio massaging this area (was lovely) and then her moving leg out to angles to stretch the adductors and other muscles in that leg. Seems to have soothed it, and am to back off on the bridging.

    A lesson ive learned - the rehab protocols are important but shouldn't be adhered to rigidly if your body is telling you something else. At times the exercises have seemed a little on the strenous side.

    Have started exercise bike cycling - just 10 mins a day now to go up by 2 mins a day. After i get stitches out (in 2 days time) physio very keen for me to do swimming pool exercises next week.

    Pipes - i note with interest your longer term marathon running hopes. Ive had interesting converstaions with my physio about this. My surgeon had told me i would be able to do marathons in the future and that i should be running at 4 months. However,my physio said that marathons should be out for me due to long term hip preservation needs - said that 'no physiotherpist' would recommend me to do marathons in the future. I pressed her (i have her head turned about this tbh) and she said shorter distance, mid tempo running would be possible, but this is 1 year away. she felt 5 miles x3 weekly would  be my absolute upper limit and she was a little reluctant about this. However, she said that cycling, long distance, should be fine.

    I'm a little gutted about this but after the past 18 months i guess ive been in a process of adjustment.  I had been cycling 60 miles on a saturday (round strangford lough) and using the exercise bike so it looks like i may embrace this and join a cycling club, though 25 miles on a bike does not make me happy in the same way 5 miles running does. I guess getting back to parkrun would be good, just no sprint finishes. Am reading cycling books whilst laid up - just finished brad wiggins - they are good but just doesnt inspire me the way running does!

    I have to say i'm minded to trust my physio over the surgeon on this issue of longer term aims. I have found this physio to be excellent, she sorted out groin problems before the hip prob was exposed, and she is very reassuring and grounds all her work in theory. Unlike a first diabolical physio i went to. I guess the surgeon could be strictly correct - its possible that i could be running in 4 months and could do a marathon in the medium term and he would be right and his surgery a success, but with little thought given to longer term needs or effect on my hips.

    Happy New Year!

     

  • dav0dav0 ✭✭✭

    Hope everyone had a good xmas and all that, sorry it's been a while since I've posted but I have still been checking back on occasion...

    Parklife - what you've had done is pretty much exactly the same as me (even the tear is in the same spot - anterosuperior chondrolabral junction - though I didn't have the flap issue).  Glad to hear it went well - I take it you went with Richard VIllar in the end as the surgeon?  Please remember that this is a marathon and not a sprint, and that overdoing it can be counterproductive at this stage.  You are spot on with the rehab guidelines being just that - guidelines!!  Everyone responds to this differently, I guess...

    I don't know if you know how badly inflammed your joint was at the time of surgery (synovitis), but I would urge you to keep taking the anti-inflams as a precautionary measure for a little while yet as, with the benefit of hindsight, I think I came off mine too soon and basically further inflammed an already inflammed joint (the surgery adds to the inflammation, unsurprisingly), thus causing me the massive issues I've had post op.

    Sounds like you have a clued up physio (equally as important as the surgeon selection, I think) and this is half the battle.  The soft tissue massage is really important and it helped me immensely with hip flexor tendinitis.  You are going to be on a rollercoaster with this for the next few months, but dig deep and you will get through it!  Hope it continues to get better for you, and enjoy all the glute and core work!!

    Pipes - really pleased that you are over that issue now and that things are heading in the right direction for you.  From research, it seems that very few people get away from this op without some form of residual tendinitis (adductor/rectus femoris/psoas), but it does go eventually apparently...

    As for me, I have made it back to front line duties after passing a fitness assessment (6.4 on the bleep test, so nothing too strenuous) last month and I feel like it continues to get better with each passing week (I am now 7.5 months post op).  For me, the turning point was finding a clued up physio who could address my issues, comprising mostly of a weak core, poor glute activation and cranky hip flexors.  It has been a hard slog with me putting in 2hrs + of rehab work each day - hard when you're working 12hr shifts etc - but it has been worth it.  At the moment, I am not back to recreational running in any form, but use the elliptical and cycle and am still focusing on building up my lower limb strength to previous levels (mostly glute work, I am obsessed with them, they are key to hip issues it would seem!!) before I make a concerted effort with running.  I could probably go back to it now, but I'm being cautious and am in no rush at the moment.

    The jury's out about the long term prognosis until I go back to see the surgeon in the New Year, but I have resigned myself to the fact that I will probably not reattain my previous running form, but instead will be happy with a 'plod' every now and again...  The way I see it is that to do so would only probably serve to accelerate the destruction of the joint over a prolonged period, and at the moment I am thrilled to be able to sit, walk, stand, cycle, drive, work and do all the normal things we take for granted without pain.  So, for me, as much as I would like to go back to running sub 40 minute 10ks, the reward isn't worth the risk, if that makes sense?

    Thanks for all the support I've had from people on here, and I wish you all the best for the New Year.  Will let you know how I get on with my next appointment!!

     

  • Hi everyone and Happy New Year.

    I saw Mr Conroy just before xmas, he has agreed to do the surgery, so hopefully it should come up around April.

    The alternative was to just live with it, but I want to at least try something rather than do nothing, hope I have made the right decision.

     

    How are you all doing, Pipes, sounds like you are doing well post op.

  • PipesPipes ✭✭✭

    How are you doing this week, parklife?  Have you been in the pool yet?

    Dav0 - I'm inspired by your core work and will do my glute work even more religiously based on your recommendation.  Thanks, too, for your reassurance that tendonitis is common after these operations - I do find that relieving.  It has, strangely, eased up this week more than it has done since the op last December - I wonder whether the running is helping. I also wonder whether is would clear up completely without the injection. Hmmm...another decision to make.

    I managed to run parkrun this morning in around 23 minutes.  Loved it and felt no bad effects. I'll see how I feel tomorrow.

    I hear what you are both saying, dav0 and parklife, about possibly having to settle for the occasional 'plods', but I (stupidly? short-sightedly?) don't think I can just to accept the possible risks to longer term health of the hip.  Knowing me, I will probably push that little bit further/ harder, until I know for sure that I can't do (for example) another sub 40 10k.  I won't step up too quickly, though, as I realise I have a lot of weaknesses to address first.  

    Rebecca - Good to hear that you and Mr Conroy have agreed on a course of action and hope surgery time comes quickly for you. Keep us posted.

  • Hello everyone and a happy New Year!!  Let’s hope 2013 is the year we all get back to doing what we really want to do.  It has been a while since I last posted, I have had a sneaky peak a couple of times but didn’t want to bore you all with the seemingly never-endingness of my situation. Pipes, I’m v impressed that you are back running, you must be so pleased that you are back doing the thing you love even if it isn’t quite at the speed you long for at the moment.  I’m just a little bit jealous if I’m honest with you!! 

    So for an update – beware, it’s long, very long …. well for those that don’t know, I had a second hip arthroscopy on my right hip in April 2012 (the first was done in 2004) with Mr Villar and, reading back this thread, basically had the same done as Parklife (including the flap bit which, yes, they do apparently stick back to the bone using glue!!)  It was in the same place as Parklife and Dav0 as well.  The only difference was that my impingement was caused by a lump of fatty tissue as opposed to bone, so no bone shaving for me!  Anyway, surgeon’s office pleased with progress at 6 week post op check-up but suggested more work was needed on glutes.  So did more glutes exercise under guidance from physio.  2 weeks afterwards in late May got an intense ache in RHS groin to be followed by a less intense ache in LHS groin about a month after that.

    Surgeon’s office determined it to be illiopsoas tendontitis and bursitis so I stopped all exercises for a period of about 4 months (as everything seemed to aggravate it) in the hope it would clear up – this included having a jab of steroid into the illiopsaos sheath at  the end of July but made no difference to the pain levels.  Desperation, in terms of both the level of pain, and an inability to sit down, sent me back to see the surgeon in mid-Sept and we agreed that I should try introducing some exercises for a couple of months, monitor the pain levels and if no improvement be booked in firstly, for a jab of steroid guided by xray directly into the bursa (at this stage I could quite clearly feel what felt like fluid sacs both sides which hurt more on flexion), and if still no change then a more major op which would remove the bursa and look at the same time to do a soas release if needed.

    I have to say that the thought of more surgery just frightened me silly, not least the additional complications that could arise and also the logistical nightmare of looking after my 5 year old son whilst on crutches for a period of time again. 

    I had a particularly bad week in early November when I decided enough was enough so having spoke to Mr Villar’s office, sourced a new physio (I hadn’t seen my existing physio since June, deeming it to be pointless) who I started to see at the end of November.  She’s taken a completely different approach paring everything back.  Interesting, she doesn’t think the pain stems from the illiopsoas specifically, but is being caused by a severe muscular imbalance resulting from the two hip scopes, childbirth (I ran throughout my whole pregnancy) and long term back problems from 2 decades of competitive racket sports that were never resolved.  She also identified a lateral pelvic tilt which is hopefully now corrected but only served to add to the imbalance.  I have little glute functionality, non-existent core muscles which, along with the tilt, resulted in overloading the hip muscles / tendons causing the groin pain.  Ramping up the glutes exercises was the straw that broke the camel’s back!

    So Dav0, your post above is of great interest to me. It is great to hear that you are feeling better and your hip is feeling stronger as

  • Hello all, good to hear from everybody!

     

    Dav0 - that is brilliant about you being able to get back to a normal life with your work and being pain free-congratulations because you bloody well suffered!. You must be made up about it. Good advice about the anti-inflams am now taking 400mg ibprofen after my main evening meal and its doing no harm, and also about rehab protocols. Yes i went with Dr Villar.

    Bumble - very interesting reading as we both had the same surgeon, and very similar issues with FAI/labral tear. It hits home what you say about physio - I have a lot of confidence in my physio, I saw her previously for a number of sessions earlier in the year before my FAI was diagnosed and my pain was thought to be solely groin issues. Well it was partly groin issues caused by a poor core - poor transversus abdominus and poor right glute - this physio noticed these problems with a thorough first assesment and got work on them straight away teaching me pilates-based strenghthening exerises as well as glute work. The result was that 3 areas of groin pain reduced to 1 lingering area which eventually turned out to be the hip causing this. So, as well as sorting the groin, i hope that this work serves as a sort of 'prehab' to aid the FAI surgery recovery, and minimizes risk of bursitis etc. Going by Davo's overall story optimum physio really is very important.

    What also strikes a chord about your story, Bumble, is your ineffectual first physiotherapist and how this has contributed to your problems, which the 2nd physio had to fix. I too had a useless first physiotherapist who was a bluffer and a bullshitter and didn't know anything about groins or hips, in hindsight. With being off work at the moment and having a little time I think I will do a separate thread on this website about this. Watch out for it!

    And Pipes your progress is great! How I look forward to a return to parkrun though I will have to make to with slower times i think! Keep posting as I am interested in post op running abilities.

    As for me, am wary of jinxing myself and am aware from this thread that problems may ensue post op, but am relatively pleased with how things have gone, at 18 day or 2.5 weeks post op. I have now largely dispensed with the crutches, and walk with a limp but a limp which i think has reduced slighly from yesterday.I can't say I am in pain, get the odd twang but generally OK. Get the odd twang in an adductor or two, and a sensation in my greater trochanter. Hope it settles further thus.

    Pipes, I do 20 mins on exercise bike with no resistance, and today was my second day in the pool. Do simple walking in water, then do some stretching exercises (that i have thus far been doing on dry land), some holding on to side of pool and kicking exercises as per front crawl. I also go into the deep end, and without moving my legs, tread water to do a wee bit of CV and upper body. On dry land am contining with glute squeezing and other exercises.

    I also continue with physio where they are happy enough but notice my adductors tightening, they massage and stretch these for me. God himself only knows what that 1st physio clown i went to would attempt to do.

    My (good) left hip I have this feeling will end up being scoped.

    Am reading a lot of cycling books, just finished 'the flying Scotsman' by Graeme Obree great story would recommend it. My head is pondering how to get that long distance endurance buzz I used to crave. I will pester my physio again tomorrow for her opinions on my future running limitations.

    Just a question for people to mull over - so we have had this bit of bone jagging into labrum/ cartilage and destroying it. The bone is now gone, the cartilage repaired. Logic would dictate that no more damage can be done to the hip in this way as the bony per

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