posted Nov-26-2006 02:45 PM               

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posted Nov-29-2006 09:47 PM            

I finally went to a doc willing to cooperate. I told him straight: "I've been researching a lot about my symptoms and I would much appreciate if you could please rule out labral tear.

He totally agreed that it makes perfect sense and also wants to rule out muscle tear. So, on Tuesday I am finally having an arthrogram and seeing him later in the evening. Thankfully I work at a hospital and they were able to squeeze me in for the test and the follow up appt with the doc before my insurance expires.

Keep us posted about your progress!!! Very encouraging!

TY

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posted Nov-30-2006 11:55 AM               

I am a 40 year old casual runner who is fairly active. I have had pain in my right hip for 10 years and have been through multiple MRIs, PT, and doctors telling me i have bursitis/tendinitis but nothing wrong in my hip. In 1996 I had a hernia operation (which I think was misdiagnosis) from very bad groin pain.

Last summer a doctor ordered an MRI with contrast and a labral tear was found. I had an injection in August that helped relieve my pain for about 2 weeks. After a second opinion it was decided that arthroscopy would be a good solution.

I am having Hip Arthroscopy tomorrow morning and looking forward to hopefully relieving my pain.

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posted Dec-01-2006 05:44 PM            

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posted Dec-03-2006 09:35 AM               

My Doctor said it was the worst labral tear he had ever seen -- the back side of the labrum was shredded and the front part had a tear and large flap that was dislodged. He cut away and repaired the tears. The good news is that my doctor thinks my pain should be eliminated in the short run.

The bad news is that the damage was extensive and due to the years of rubbing on bone, there is arthritis and that I will need some type of hip replacement in the future. He thinks due to my age and relatively good joint structure it is likely that I would be a candidate for hip resurfacing or just placing a new cap over the joint rather than replace the joint.

The recovery has been much easier than expected. We got home around 2 pm Friday and I used crutches to get from the car to inside my home. I spent the rest of the day resting in bed and taking short walks to the bathroom without crutches. I took 3 sets of pills (oxycodone) friday afternoon and night to help me sleep.

Saturday I walked around without crutches and went up and down the stairs several times. I did not take any pills for pain. All I am taking now is 1 aspirin per day. This morning I woke up with significantly less pain.

I see the doctor a week from Monday to remove the stitches. He said that i can start to do some light exercises later this week.

I am glad to finally know after 10+ years that the source of my pain was real. I am hopeful to have some relief in the short run. I'll keep you posted on my recovery

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posted Dec-03-2006 01:55 PM               

Hi Everyone,
Since seeing Dr. Philippon (Steadman Clinic/Vail, CO), I kind of checked out from this post (which I first started this summer, I think). I kind of gave up and submitted to feeling completely overwhelmed trying to negotiate this. I have some updates, (and now I realize how stupid it was for me to drop out of contact because the people posting here are the ones who get it more than 99% of the folks in my world.)

Background:
The technical language for what my June MRI confirmed:

Tears through the lateral acetabluar labrum, some fluid, an edema in the right pubis symphysis, partial avulsion of that attachment of the tendon of the abductor longus muscle--

Dr. Philippon proposed this surgery: Right hip arthroscopy with labral repair, rim trimming (shaving my hip bone), and an osteoplasty.

I continued to run, not in the same compulsive fashion I was, but not intelligently either. I could have scheduled the surgery much sooner, but I wasn’t ‘suffering’ beyond changing my running distances, and I was fighting insurance (and still don't have an answer from them, but I'm going ahead with the surgery anyway.) However, about 12 days ago (Thanksgiving night) I ended up in the ER in more pain than I have ever been in my life--I was back the next morning and a shot of morphine and two pain pills got it bearable, but not good. For the last 12 days I have been on "bed rest" and drugs. I got fed up four days in and went to work for five hours and it was a huge mistake.

I have little idea what to do. I called the Steadman clinic but they are, at this point, not willing to re-consider my surgery date (March) and are referring to this as a "flare up." (?!) I'm seeing a sympathetic general prac tomorrow and she's hoping to call Steadman and advocate for them to at least see me, but I’m not too hopeful.

As far as what I'd beg any of you to hear—be careful if you have this injury! Even if it doesn’t ‘hurt’ right now. I did slow down my running, and in my mind I’d given up a lot of my neurotic training demands, but still, I continued to run on this, gently, maybe three times a week, a couple longer runs in the last 8 weeks (14 miles, 8 miles) and I didn't really feel too bad. This hit pretty suddenly (so it could for you, too!) Two weeks ago I came home from a shorter run (and pilates) and felt like something had 'changed.' Over four days, a new pain started, same exact area (I can feel exactly where my tears are) and this pain got worse and worse--At first I only felt pain when I was sitting in a erect position. This was the state I was in 24 hours before I ended up in the ER. I still don't know what happened, but I never experienced my initial injury like this (it was more an 'inkling' something was wrong after distance runs that sent me in for the MRI in June--but no kind of real sustaining pain.)

So, that's my plug for you to all be careful.

I'm also wondering if anyone can help me. I feel like I'm so far out of league in negotiating this world. Because this is so specialized, I can't get anyone to see me. People tell me to get a second opinion, but from who? People tell me to be careful of ‘experimental surgery,’ but what other options are there? I'm terrified right now b/c I can't stay in this state--bed rest and drugs-- until March. I'm wondering if I should push to get another MRI? I think my condition has dramatically changed. Also, is this just normal, to not be able to meet with these doctors or have much communication? Has anyone else ended up in the kind of shape I am now? I'm really scared not knowing what's going on with my body and what will be able to be done, and when. I also read this as being an 'experimental surgery' where we're not able to see what the results of this look like ten years down the road. Although, if one of you is running a marathon in six months, that might be all the hope I need for right now! So, any feedback would be heaven-sent.

I can't tell you how much it meant to read about those of that are running again--I literally started crying when I read that b/c it's hard to believe I'll be out there again. I woke up this morning and thought, Long runs on Sunday--no more. Thank you so much for reading this--I'll plan to be back on this post where the informed people are. It seems this exchange of information it pretty critical when it's not well discussed in the larger community (medical.) Any advice on how to navigates much appreciated--my two cents are to be really careful with decisions on how to train/run if you think you have this injury. I can't get to my coffee pot without vicoden and crutches now--for 12 days. So let me be the "after dumb choices" picture....Best, Laura

[This message has been edited by valleyrunner (edited Dec-03-2006).]

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posted Dec-03-2006 04:23 PM            

Laura - I am so sorry you are going through this and I can't believe they are giving you such a hard time to reschedule your surgery. I am in Boston and unfortunately could not give you any helpful input about your problem. just IMHO, if you were already diagnosed and it justifies surgery, I have a feeling that the insurance company might question the second MRI. Don't give up, fight for your surgery. If the initial place is not helping you, ask them at least to refer you to somewhere that could fix you sooner. I hope you get out of this nightmare soon.

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posted Dec-03-2006 05:43 PM               

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posted Dec-09-2006 08:01 PM            

Just found this thread (and website and it's a godsend...

I have "Extensive superior and anterior labral degenerative-appearing tears" and have had chronic pain for a long time. I'm in Boston and have just started the rounds of trying find a surgeon and others to help--definitely not an easy process.

Wondered if anyone had opinions on surgeons in the Boston area. I have an appointment with McCarthy in March--he seems like the gold standard, but I'm considered about having to wait so long (getting on his schedule for surgery will be another 4 months at least once I get to see him). Other guy I've seen so far is last name initials of V.F., and was not particularly impressed by him.

Also, I'd appreciate any guidance people could give on just how complicated this surgery is--do you definitely want the guy who has done the most number of surgeries, or is an up and coming guy who's smart, but less experienced, ok?

Thanks in advance,

Jon

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posted Dec-11-2006 11:48 AM               

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posted Dec-23-2006 01:10 PM            

Thanks,
L

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posted Jan-17-2007 09:43 PM            

I feel awful, I never intended waiting this long to check back in. I’ve been reading/writing intermittently and still haven’t had a chance to finish so I’m posting what I have so far.
I was delighted to see how many have joined in this thread and are sharing their personal experiences. I’m looking forward to finish reading the newer postings.
First and foremost, my surgery went well and I have no regrets. It’s the 3½ years of compensating that is holding me back. Having a really frustrating time right now. Today is one of my bad days. My right pelvis just won’t release – it “thinks” it still has to protect the area. With the right pelvis still out of alignment, so are the muscles, tendons, ligaments, nerves, etc. So I continue to compensate, can’t activate those muscles because they aren’t where they’re supposed to be. I’m at a loss right now of what to do. Web searches produce next to nothing, and offer no solace. I’ve had no progress with PT in the last four weeks. My two most recent session I left feeling worse. Today is one of my worst. I’m in tears... again. I don’t know what more I can say or do for these doctors and phys therapists to listen/understand. My body is torqued. After my PT session today, my right pelvis is so far forward and the bony part of the rear pelvis is protruding out of my lower back – just as it was before surgery. He basically put it back where it was at its worst. The pelvis is the “kingpin” holding pretty much the upper and lower body in place. I’m completely twisted. My pants feel crooked on me even though they aren’t. Please forgive me, I realize I’m venting right now. I get this nod from my PT on my way out as if “you’re fine, what we did today was in the right direction” (i.e. that’s all I had time and attention for you today and despite that you live in your body and have been living this out the past 4 years yada yada)… I went back to work, fighting tears, my skin crawling because I left even more mis-aligned. I looking forward to going back to my Pilates class this evening and couldn’t.
Although deep down I know this isn’t true… in this moment, I’m feeling as though I was better off before surgery, happier. I was at least exercising, not on meds, sleeping better and regularly, not crying every other hour. I’m living a sedentary lifestyle now. I’ve gained a pant size. Muscle lost. I don’t even recognize my body – how it looks and even more so, how it feels. I’ve never watched so many movies (at home). Going out socially isn’t much of an option. Bar stools, movie theatre seats, restaurant chairs are not comfortable to sit in. Recreational opportunities aren’t an option. Most of this I expected given that I was having surgery, and the body needs time to heel. But I just haven’t seen that turning point yet… and by yet, I’m obviously still hopeful.
I feel like such a downer. Often I don’t even want to go to PT because it makes me ill saying “no change” “feel worse”, etc. And knowing they won’t really listen. I’d love nothing more than to go in with a 1,000-watt smile reporting progress. And I’m tired of dealing with this… almost 4 years now. I feel like a broken record. I’m out of words when asked how something feels in a PT session.
I’m ready for another surgery with pins in my pelvis to hold it where it’s supposed to be.

My apologies for the long-winded, verbose venting. I hope to be writing with better news soon.
My best to everyone,
Carissa
Some of what I had written back in December…

runNYtrails - Thanks so much for your well wishes.

Ty- Thank you. Yes, it was the right decision, and I think you should adamantly pursue ruling out a labral tear, ligament tear, anything further than the normal injuries. How did it go? Any answers? Hope so!

dsm2112 – I’m so sorry to hear about the damage incurred over the years. My doctor confirmed we caught mine just in time. Only a very small portion of the articular cartilage was beginning to wear away. Any longer, and I’d be looking at similar issues… arthritis, hip dysplasia, etc., and possible future hip replacement. Not to mention the damage from my body overcompensating for the injury (biomechanics all off). Through out the past years, that has probably caused me the most frustration, tears, and “heartache” if you will. And still is. I continue to remain hopeful that my body will sort its self out. Both my doctor and physical therapist reaffirm that it with time and retraining the muscles, ligaments, tendons…

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posted Jan-18-2007 10:51 AM            

As far as how to diagnose this, I think the MRI is the only real sure bet. As far as the tear not getting worse, that wasn’t my experience. Actually, after a Saturday where I went to pilates and then did a short run (5 or 6 miles), it was four days later I was in the ER with only, on the second visit in 12 hours, a morphine shot cutting the pain. 12 days of pain meds. So, based on my experience—I’d get the MRI and consider serious modification. The good news is that it’s apparently a very rare injury. They found a weird bone ridge on my hips that might have made me more prone.

I’ll keep everyone posted. I’m feeling very scared, especially since I’m not hearing anyone else who’s doing this massive 6 week PT w/machine thing…Okay—late for work!

~cololaura

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posted Jan-21-2007 10:56 AM               

Hello kcstone,
I was just going through the posts b/c my surgery is, in theory, scheduled for Feb 8. I'm fighting insurance and five thousand related factors with scheduling, etc. BUT, your post makes me nervous! One aspect of this surgery that concerns me is that it's new in that there are not long term results. I'm wondering if you'd be willing to let me know more--such as:
What surgeon did you go to?
What were the names of the injuries your MRI confirmed?
What were the names of the procedures that the surgeons did?
And, are you able to exercise now?

I've been a little disturbed (understatment queen here) about the goals for the results of this surgery--my reasoning behind it is so that I can run again. I'm hearing some folks that sound like they're back out there on the trails--did you doctors indicate what they predicted your long-term running abilities to be?

And, finally--I am so sorry for your struggles. It sounds terrible. To be feeling as if you're not making progress after such an ordeal. Are you feeling any progress? Hang in there! I'm so glad we all have this thread.
Best, Laura

quote:

---

Originally posted by kcstone017:
Hello all,

I feel awful, I never intended waiting this long to check back in. I’ve been reading/writing intermittently and still haven’t had a chance to finish so I’m posting what I have so far.
I was delighted to see how many have joined in this thread and are sharing their personal experiences. I’m looking forward to finish reading the newer postings.
First and foremost, my surgery went well and I have no regrets. It’s the 3½ years of compensating that is holding me back. Having a really frustrating time right now. Today is one of my bad days. My right pelvis just won’t release – it “thinks” it still has to protect the area. With the right pelvis still out of alignment, so are the muscles, tendons, ligaments, nerves, etc. So I continue to compensate, can’t activate those muscles because they aren’t where they’re supposed to be. I’m at a loss right now of what to do. Web searches produce next to nothing, and offer no solace. I’ve had no progress with PT in the last four weeks. My two most recent session I left feeling worse. Today is one of my worst. I’m in tears... again. I don’t know what more I can say or do for these doctors and phys therapists to listen/understand. My body is torqued. After my PT session today, my right pelvis is so far forward and the bony part of the rear pelvis is protruding out of my lower back – just as it was before surgery. He basically put it back where it was at its worst. The pelvis is the “kingpin” holding pretty much the upper and lower body in place. I’m completely twisted. My pants feel crooked on me even though they aren’t. Please forgive me, I realize I’m venting right now. I get this nod from my PT on my way out as if “you’re fine, what we did today was in the right direction” (i.e. that’s all I had time and attention for you today and despite that you live in your body and have been living this out the past 4 years yada yada)… I went back to work, fighting tears, my skin crawling because I left even more mis-aligned. I looking forward to going back to my Pilates class this evening and couldn’t.
Although deep down I know this isn’t true… in this moment, I’m feeling as though I was better off before surgery, happier. I was at least exercising, not on meds, sleeping better and regularly, not crying every other hour. I’m living a sedentary lifestyle now. I’ve gained a pant size. Muscle lost. I don’t even recognize my body – how it looks and even more so, how it feels. I’ve never watched so many movies (at home). Going out socially isn’t much of an option. Bar stools, movie theatre seats, restaurant chairs are not comfortable to sit in. Recreational opportunities aren’t an option. Most of this I expected given that I was having surgery, and the body needs time to heel. But I just haven’t seen that turning point yet… and by yet, I’m obviously still hopeful.
I feel like such a downer. Often I don’t even want to go to PT because it makes me ill saying “no change” “feel worse”, etc. And knowing they won’t really listen. I’d love nothing more than to go in with a 1,000-watt smile reporting progress. And I’m tired of dealing with this… almost 4 years now. I feel like a broken record. I’m out of words when asked how something feels in a PT session.
I’m ready for another surgery with pins in my pelvis to hold it where it’s supposed to be.

My apologies for the long-winded, verbose venting. I hope to be writing with better news soon.
My best to everyone,
Carissa
Some of what I had written back in December…

runNYtrails - Thanks so much for your well wishes.

Ty- Thank you. Yes, it was the right decision, and I think you should adamantly pursue ruling out a labral tear, ligament tear, anything further than the normal injuries. How did it go? Any answers? Hope so!

dsm2112 – I’m so sorry to hear about the damage incurred over the years. My doctor confirmed we caught mine just in time. Only a very small portion of the articular cartilage was beginning to wear away. Any longer, and I’d be looking at similar issues… arthritis, hip dysplasia, etc., and possible future hip replacement. Not to mention the damage from my body overcompensating for the injury (biomechanics all off). Through out the past years, that has probably caused me the most frustration, tears, and “heartache” if you will. And still is. I continue to remain hopeful that my body will sort its self out. Both my doctor and physical therapist reaffirm that it with time and retraining the muscles, ligaments, tendons…

---

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posted Jan-21-2007 11:02 AM               

Are you still running as strong as you sounded in this last post? I'm getting some mixed feedback because my understanding is that I'm having this so I can return to running (granted, I'll be a bit more sane about my training schedule). Did you understand that to be the goal? Would you be willing to tell me the exact names of your injuries and the procedures they did? Did your post-op involve machines and boots? And how are you now?

Thanks for helping those of us who are, hopefully, pre-op. Insurance, insurance....Best, Laura

quote:

---

Originally posted by runNYtrails:

If it is of any comfort or gives you any hope for recovery, I must add that I have had this surgery also and have had good results. I am back to running at least as many miles as I did prior to the surgery though now I pretty much stick to softer ground and avoid pounding the downhills as much as possible. Initially my Ortho doc told me 'no running' again. Ever.
But I have made a better than expected come back and hope to be at it for a long , long time. Post operatively I did not do any weight bearing activity for 1month and then was able to start walking after that. I think I was running a little bit w/in 2 months. I was recovered enough to run the marathon distance w/in 6months and have since done some runs exceeding that distance. Good Luck, i hope it goes well for You too !

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posted Jan-25-2007 02:04 PM               

I was wondering, what do you do for victims of labral tears? Any info you can provide is greatly needed. Thanks.

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posted Jan-25-2007 02:48 PM               

I'm a labral tear victim too. I found your account fascinating and could I ask you, how much running or exercise of any kind were you doing during those 10 years? Do you recall any sort of injury that might have started your tear? Have you investigated possible dysplasia or impingement? Thanks.

Brownie 'Cool Runner'
brownehn@yahoo.com

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posted Jan-25-2007 03:44 PM               

I know this response is late (I'm responding to your post 6th December) but your story hits home with me and I wanted to reach out quickly even though much or all of what I say is now out of date. Of course I also sincerely hope your situtation has at least held up if nor improved.

First, take a sigh of relief as far as your planned surgeon is and all this stuff about being 'experimental.' Philipon is one of the finest in the world. He can't talk much because he is awful busy. But he is an expert on labral tears. The main problem is the rest of the orthopedic profession has yet to catch up on hip arthroscopy, though it's gaining. Doctors consistently MISSED this injury until the early 90s and too many of them still do. So many of our fellow athletes go through OS after OS, PT after acupuncture or this or that, to no avail. Labral tears do NOT show up on radiographs and are USUALLY missed even by MRIs--that's right, and even MR artrhrograms, which are pretty good, can miss 'em too.

I feel your agony because my situtation is similar, though my tear is a small one that started and grew insidiously. But like you I am an avid workoutaholic. I'm not a pure runner, I've had to relegate it to a minor supporting role to my predonimant cycling and swimming. But my workout routine was central to my life for some 25 years and I only missed on rare occasions until finally, on January 9th, I decided I better shut things down completely, the first time in my life I ever did something like that. Huddled over my computer in my cold dark house I too was in both tears and disbelief, searching one of my few companions, the internet, for answers. There are no qualified OS types out here (Mojave desert SE CA.) I don't have health insurance either. I felt by staying in that superb shape and health I might not need health insurance but now about the only thing I dare do is go 'crutching' and as you might well imagine that's not easy plus your legs aren't getting anything meaningful.

Laura, until your surgery you simply must stop doing what you were doing. Our bodies are not immortal machines. To run--and running is a lot harder than cycling or swimming and I've read many stories from runners who mess themselves up--we have to have enough parts functioning or some of us might destroy ourselves. It sounds like you were in pretty bad shape by Dec. 6. You may have more injuries than just one tear. You may have underlying abnormality: the first thing you must investigate is whether or not you have impingement or dysplastia but by going to Philipon that will be taken care of.

I very much understood you when you said you canNOT tolerate lying in bed taking pain killers. I too cannot sit still. I'm learning to play the piano (although it's uncomfortable sitting on that bench) and, of course, endliessly searching the internet where you'll always find more than you expect if you know how to dig. But you must begin to build brand new routines slowly and carefully, remembering we all must crawl before we walk and respecting the rule of physics and health. We are not alone, I've found several people like us and I can direct you to other threads if you want.

I hope you're doing better and take care.

Brownie 'Cool Runner'
brownehn@yahoo.com

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posted Jan-25-2007 06:31 PM               

I'm responding to your December 23 post on 'Cool Runner.' Apologies if this is outdated.

DO NOT REMOVE THE LABRUM. If this is what your surgeon intends, go somewhere else.

Labral tears could be the most under-diagnosed injury in sports, not even coming into recognition until the 90s. Not many surgeons can do hip arthroscopy, although it's growing (I read it's up to about 15K last year but compare that with about 220K knees). Therefore, you don't want to fool around with anyone but the best. One way to figure out how good, is find out if they'll do labral repair, a relatively recent practice which will distinguish the leaders. Recent studies suggest labral repairs are even better than debridement but the labrum plays too important a role to the overall superb engineering of the hip-joint so unless you plan to be sedentary the rest of your life don't remove it unless it absolutely has to (and I've not run across that situation yet.)

This list is not comprehensive but here's some names I've gathered from my research -- some of the very best.

Philipon - Vail, CO (Steadman-Hawkins)
Bryan Kelly - NYC
Byrd - TN
Surina Baharam - NYC?
Kevin Mansmann - Paoli, PA
Sampson - SF
Klapper - LA (Cedars-Sinai)
Lawrence Dorr - LA

Good luck.

H. Browne aka 'Brownie' on 'Cool Runner'
brownehn@yahoo.com

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posted Jan-27-2007 10:27 AM               

I just can’t imagine my life without running—my original goals were ultras. On Wednesday I thought that the insurance wasn’t going to work with me at all and I drove home, holding back tears, and then saw a runner out in our Colorado snow and knew his feeling—running ‘against the wind’ and I lost it….

It sounds like right now you don’t have insurance? It’s only because I easily see this being a brief stretch in my life when I do have insurance, I feel I must take advantage of it. I know that if I didn’t have health insurance, this wouldn’t even be an option to consider—It’s an absolute that getting this surgery done would be a death-wish if you go to anyone outside of the eight surgeons in the US who do this. I foolishly had bought into this idea that since the labrum is torn from one acute incident, that I could continue to run on it without worsening it—so over the next six months I ran two 1/2 marathons and one full and kept up hard-core with the weight training, and the pilates, which is a great strain to the hip-flexors. So, yes—if you’ve got this and can’t, for now, get a surgery—it does seem to bring us to the crossroads of: What else? You mentioned playing piano and I’ve also had folks tell me that I need to find something else that gives me what running did. I also loved middle-eastern dance and obviously can’t do ‘hip circles’ without even more pain than running would bring. In theory, I’m a ‘writer,’ and I’ve been trying to re-focus energy there, but it’s a whole different outlet. Still—I think any ‘art’ is the alternative. I’d love to hear how that’s going for you.

Anyway—I go up to Vail on the 6th, a full day of pre-op stuff on the 7th, and then three days of surgery and PT before I come home with my ‘machine’ and daily PT here. I’ve focusing on hydrating, supplements, juicing, and Epsom baths… My other concerns have been this anti-biotic resistant infection epidemic, but Steadman said they had one infection out of 4,000 cases. Additionally, because this is a ‘new’ surgery, there aren’t long term studies and I can go into a lot of fear about a ten-year affect on the body, but—I’ve certainly played higher stake games in my life before, so here I go.

I’d love to hear more—You mentioned other threads? I can’t express how much I appreciate the support I get on this forum and the hands outstretched. Hopefully I'll be of service to others after I go through this process--I just hope I have a positive outcome to report...

I'm finally out of 'insurance' mode and just getting really scared of this surgery, and the choice I'm making with my body in Pillipon's hands--less than two weeks...
Best, Laura

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posted Jan-29-2007 03:43 PM               

People like us need to re-focus our minds. Below are some excellent threads, dominated by runners. You get the impression (no surprise to my experience, I could never sustain large amounts of running even when healthy) that running is awfully hard on the body. I know EXACTLY how you feel when you see things like that runner in the snow and so, too, do most of the people in these threads. I've had exactly the same types of experiences. Not only this, I feel the complete lack of exercise now constitutes a threat to our health--I don't have time or space but people who exercise steadily (within limits) have all kinds of health advantages including things you would never suspect such as (believe it or not) resistance to Alzheimer's disease. I've been trying to use crutching as exercise, and so far the net result is I've slightly re-injured the left knee (the bugger who started this disaster in the first place), I have a slight problem in my right shoulder which threatens to get worse, and it doesn't seem, after almost three weeks of mostly laying and sitting, that my labrum has overall gotten any better, though I am so cautious I don't dare 'test' it, really, I'm not sure what to do (and you're right, I DON'T have insurance AND there's no one within a hundred miles of this place that is qualified to treat this anyway) and I may wind up in a state of desperation if it becomes painful to even lie on the floor which thankfully it isn't now and my sleep is good but you need to move around at night and I swear I really wonder if the only thing that has a prayer of getting it to start rebuilding (a topic for later) is COMPLETE, exruciating immobilization. . .which I don't know if I can do, you still need to cook and eat and so on. .

I wouldn't waste too much time on what the rehab is, just do it, Philipon is probably as good as it gets. Yes repair is new but articles I've read both on surgery overall and, newest of all actual repair, where they suture stuff back together, really do look promising, like the meniscus in the knee (which btw is where I injured on the left side.) No I don';t thinjk it's just those 8 surgeons, those are just the ones I've heard solid things about (a few more but they were too far away for me to bother recodin' 'em), a recent article listed about 15K hip arthroscopies last year, growing though still small compared to about 220K knee arthroscopies, 160K hip replacements, and so on.

To me the only thing that makes sense is to, sort of like, go back to being a baby that hasn't even learned to walk yet, then begin a long, patient, rebuilding process that builds into something new and viable, which if it can be with running, in your case, great, but if it has to be with something else, such as writing, that's okay too. Pay attention to JagRunner in one of these threads, for example. I can sure this with confidence: for long-term viability, nothing beats cycling and swimming, my mainstays for the 25 successful years I had before I was cut down by this wretched little tear in perhaps one of the worst places imaginable. And these are also excellent workouts, will get you in every bit as good of shape and health as running. And Lord, don't that become painfully obvious as I try to use crutching--whew, that is hard, hard work and every time your shoulder tires you start leaning it onto the crutch--UGH!--it pulls it out of joint. .

Henry

http://forums.runnersworld.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/678106477/m/256107577/p/1

http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=00BilS

also Yaoo! has a 'labralicious' group and another one Hip related

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posted Jan-30-2007 10:47 AM            

surprised there is no one in the Boston area on your list--is there anyone you'd recommend?

Quote:

Philipon - Vail, CO (Steadman-Hawkins)
Bryan Kelly - NYC
Byrd - TN
Surina Baharam - NYC?
Kevin Mansmann - Paoli, PA
Sampson - SF
Klapper - LA (Cedars-Sinai)
Lawrence Dorr - LA

Good luck.

H. Browne aka 'Brownie' on 'Cool Runner'
brownehn@yahoo.com

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