| Author |
Topic: Hip Arthroscopy & Labral Tear: Please help! |
MichelleOz
Member |
 posted Jul-14-2007 11:11 PM
  
Hi everyone, this is my first post on this forum. I really want to add my story because reading everybody else's has been a great comfort to me.
I am scheduled for a hip arthroscope to repair a labral tear on 31st July.
My problems began in July 2006, when I thought I felt something 'pull' in my hip/groin area while out running. I was running about 40k a week at that time, and had never had any injury problems. I kept running although the pain didn't subside. I was getting terrible pain in my hip, although it normally didn't come on until I'd run a couple of k, although it caused me to limp afterwards. A couple of weeks later I realised I wasn't healing on my own, so I went to see an osteopath. He worked on me five or six times, said he thought it was possibly Bursitis, and prescribed anti-inflammatories. (to no effect, as it wasn't Bursitis) In this time, I had intermittent weeks off training, hoping to heal. Nothing worked, I got frustrated, so stopped going to the osteo. I was cutting back on my running, and just dealing with the pain, stopping when it was too bad. Also, about a month after the original injury I started getting a terrible pain along the side of my knee after I'd run a few k. This was worse even than the hip pain.
So there was a period of maybe a month where I was just frustrated, didn't know what to do, and wasn't seeing any medical professionals. (I really liked my osteo but didn't want to keep spending the money for no gain). Things got worse and I started having pain in my thigh, and all down the side of my leg. I went to my GP. He wasn't too interested, told me I'd probably 'torn some muscle', and told me to find a physiotherapist. I found a physio that a friend recommended. Because of the pain in my thigh and down my leg, he believed that a nerve might be impinged in my spine. I went and saw him for five or six weeks, running intermittently. Sometimes I would have a good run and could run about 5k with no pain. Sometimes the pain was terrible, especially if I was running two days in a row. I told the physio I wasn't happy, and he wrote a letter to my GP recommending a CT of my lumbar spine. This showed nothing.
By this stage, the symptoms of almost constant pain pulsing down my leg had confused the issue. I kept telling all these doctors that I felt it was my hip but found no agreement from them.
After the CT of my spine came back, the GP referred me to a sports physician. He found that I had trigger points in my back that were causing the pains down my leg, and referred me to a new physiotherapist (who is great, and I am still with) to sort out my back. By this stage, about six months into the injury, I could hardly run, and was even in a lot of pain just walking (all from the hip). I had no improvement in the hip or in my leg pain from anything the physio did, and he tried many different things.FINALLY, the physio listened to me properly and performed those simple hip rotater tests and confirmed that yes, I had an irritable hip! Based on his word, the sports physician ordered an MRI with contrast (yay!) and a cortisone injection into the hip, which I had on the same day. The injection caused an enormous amount of pain for about 24 hours, and I never had any relief from it. It just didn't work for me. The MRI showed 'Equivocal findings for a small partial thickness articular surface tear of the anterior superior labrum'. The equivocal bit had me stumped. I went back to see the sports physician about six weeks after the MRI and cortisone injection - he had wanted me to try and go for a run before going to see him, to see whether the cortisone had had an effect. I had a TERRIBLE run, the pain after about 1.5k was just horrible, and I came home and cried. However, at this consultation the doctor found that I had 'gluteal trigger points' which he thought were causing the pain down the side of my leg (which was now all the way down into my foot and toes, and was constant). He sent me back to the physio to work on that, and again the hip was put on the backburner. After another 3 or 4 weeks, I had no improvements from the physio (big surprise!). This time when I went back to the sports physician, he organised two things for me - an epidural in my spine as an analgesic for the pain down my leg, and a meeting with an orthopaedic surgeon. I had to wait about two months just to see the surgeon. In the meantime I had the epidural (expensive and uncomfortable) which unfortunately has also not helped with the pain down my leg. I have now had that time CONSTANTLY for six months. I have no relief whether sitting, standing, lying down, nothing. I can sometimes be distracted from the pain when I am walking, but only because I am then in a lot of pain from my hip! I spent nearly three months on anti-inflammatories, which never had any effect. When I finally got to see the surgeon, he looked at my MRI and said I definitely have a labral tear, and that he wanted to do an arthroscope. He had no doubts whatsoever, and explained that nothing but surgery can treat this problem. He also seemed to think that a lot of the other pain I get is probably related to the hip joint being injured. The back etc is compensanting, which from reading this forum seems to be a common problem. It may also explain the terrible pain I get alongside my knee when running (not that I have done that for about four months now!) I am quite concerned about the recovery from surgery but have no choice but to remain optimistic. My surgeon operated on a friend of mine, Trav, in late December 2006 (an arthroscope to clear up 'loose bodies' in the hip joint). We went camping for New Year's and he was already doing really well. However, he is an international level athlete so maybe his fitness level had something to do with his excellent recovery! There have been some very difficult things for me over the last year. 1 - the difficulties of diagnosis.
2 - family and friends not understanding the injury (how could they, when even the doctors couldn't explain it)
3- the pain obviously.
4 - To go from running 40k a week & training for and competing in fun run's and absolutely loving it, to not being able to run at all, has been so depressing. I did start doing pilates, and swimming, and some other things, but none give me the joy that running did. My apologies for making this post so ridiculously long, but I just wanted to get my story out there. I especially hope that it might help with anyone else who is having trouble with diagnosis. I am happy to answer any questions.
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sofia
Member |
posted Jul-15-2007 09:41 PM
I had surgery a few weeks ago. I'm now having soreness in the groin. Has anyone else experienced this a few weeks into their recovery?
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blkaykay8
Member |
posted Jul-15-2007 11:25 PM
Sofia,I had the same problem the third week after surgery. I was told to stop being aggresive with the hip and therapy and to take a week and to try and calm it down. During that time, I went back to icing and elevating it like I did right after the surgery. I was told to take 2 alleve in the morning and at night to see how that worked. If that does not work call the doctor. I called them and they gave me a prescription medicine. Let me know if you have any other questions.
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mtnmuse
Member |
posted Jul-15-2007 11:52 PM
Jentheroadrunner,Thanks for your reply. You are probably right about the tear. I just can't get behind the surgery yet without more proof that it is my only real option. I haven't heard from anyone who had a tear confirmed in surgery that didn't show up on the MRI +Contr. At first I was excited that the MRI didn't show a tear. My doctor says that imaging technique is too new on this problem to rule out a tear. Now I feel a little like I'm in limbo. Anyway, I was thinking of trying the steroid treatment since I have to wait a month anyway to see the surgeon and also to get the second opinion. I haven't seen too much encouraging about the steroid treatment though. I guess if it doesn't help, it is one more piece of evidence that there might be a tear. -Sue
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aj2673
Member |
posted Jul-16-2007 10:27 AM
lakeview- thats awesome that you are recovering so well!! my surgery is scheduled for aug 3 and i was wondering if you had any suggestions for pre-op? did you do any specific stretching? my pt says to do almost no stretching or it will become irritated?
sue-
i think the most important thing right now is for you to attempt to schedule a surgery. i had to wait 6 weeks (it wsa supposed to be 8, but i was on a cancellation list), and i am sooo impatient at this point. did they do this test- lie on your back with hurt leg bent, dr kind of bends your knee a little more and then starts rotating around the hip joint? its a pretty specific point where it goes from no pain to pain. i think they can tell if the torn part of the labrum catches.
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gburgdiscus
Member |
posted Jul-16-2007 09:53 PM
Like many of you I have been struggling with a torn labrum for a long time. I am a 20 year old college track athlete who was injured at a track meet about 18 months ago (which seems like forever). Since then I have had chronic achy hip pain and been trying everything to get rid of the pain.I went to an orthopedist at school last October who told diagnosed me with "tendonitis, bursitis, ?" and sent me to PT. After PT was unsuccesful he told me that I needed to look at my life and decide if I wanted to continue in college athletics because "It's not like you're a division 1 athlete". Needless to say I was frusterated with his response and decided to power through my track season (October - May).
For the last year I have been trying anything to relieve my pain. This has included PT, lots of NSAID's, ice, heat, stratching, chiropractic medicine, accupuncture, non-weight bearing exercise, anything the athletic trainers would offer me (e-stim, massage, ultrasound), and serious activity restrictions. After coming home from school in late May I decided to really give it a rest and see if doing no athletic activities would help- it only made it feel worse. My parents realized that something really wasn't right and made me an appointment with a new orthopedist. Within 10 minutes he told me he thought I had a torn labrum. An MRI w/ contrast confirmed his thoughts, the tear was so obvious I could see it clear as day. My surgery is now 9 days away. I'm not too nervous because I have been working in an OR all summer as a student intern. I pray that the doctor will be able to fix the tear and that this will be the beginning of the end for my hip pain. For anyone who is reading this and frusterated with their own hip pain, hang in there!! I was so mad at the beginning of the summer because I thought there would never be an answer to my hip pain. I am too young and too active to have this for the rest of my life. Good luck to everyone, I'll keep you updated after surgery. Jane
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jentheroadrunner
Cool Runner |
posted Jul-16-2007 10:24 PM
Hey everyone!Jane - best of luck w/your surgery. Hang tough! Sue - as far as the cortisone injection goes it may only provide temporary relief or if it's something else it may get you over the "hump". I have had two in the back (one for my SI joint the other for a disc). The first one worked for about 3 weeks and the 2nd one did nothing. It's worth a try if you are still aprehensive about the diagnosis... I don't know who was talking about groin pain at about 3 weeks but yes, I experienced the same thing at the 3 week mark exactly. I called the doc freaking out thinking that I did something because I hadn't had any pain or sorness in that area. I was actually JUST beginning to put weight on that leg (20% of body weight) and it wrecked havoc on the groin/outer part of my leg/incisions. It is now MUCH better (I am at 4 weeks 3 days today). It is amazing to me that the weight of my foot (I'm a size 11) could hurt so much. I do the aleeve trick 2x morning and night and it seems to help... To everyone else, things are getting better. I feel better this week than I have since my diagnosis even though I am STILL on crutches for two more weeks (6 total). I'm getting an x-ray on the 25th to check out the area where the bone spur was. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that everything keeps on track...
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sofia
Member |
posted Jul-17-2007 08:35 AM
jentheroadrunner,
I've you been on crutches the whole time? I've been off mine for about 2 weeks but I'm thinking of getting on them again. I've groin pain now and it's probably due to doing too much after getting off the crutches. Did you slow down with your rehab after you got groin pain?
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blkaykay8
Member |
posted Jul-17-2007 04:29 PM
Sofia,I was on crutches for 7 weeks after my surgery because of the groin pain. For 2 of those weeks, I was on one crutch. I am completely off the crutches now but am still getting pain but they think mine is from the hip flexors. Do you happen to notice alot of swelling in your hip?
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sofia
Member |
posted Jul-17-2007 05:01 PM
I've not noticed any hip swelling yet. The hip is tight and the groin sore. I also have a click in my hip now that I didn't have before surgery. Has anyone had that happened?
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Daisymtnbiker
Member |
posted Jul-17-2007 11:19 PM
I am about ready to get my hip operated on...went and was accepted as a patient at Steadman-Hawkins...the surgery has been twice cancelled/rescheduled and I am not getting any response about a rescheduling. I am looking for another doctor for the surgery because I want to get this taken care of sooner rather than later. Any thoughts of good doctors in the Denver area? What should I anticipate after the surgery? Does everyone use the CPM machine, braces, and foot guards? Also, I was told that because now I am experiencing some arthritis, I may still need a hip replacement later on. Any thoughts/opinions on this? I am 44 and an ex-runner. My issue wasn't diagnosed for over 5 years.Thanks. ------------------
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jentheroadrunner
Cool Runner |
posted Jul-17-2007 11:40 PM
Daisybiker -
I would reccomend Leslie Vidal at Orthopedic Associates in Denver at Rose Medical. She's great, my PT has gone smooth and this is what she went to school for. She is young but I have had a good recovery so far (4.5 weeks out). Her husband also specializes in the surgery in the Boulder area. I trusted my PT's reccomendation as well as another surgeons and opted to stay in Denver...couldn't be happier. You can do PT in Cherry Creek with their group...have been there off and on for numerous reasons now 2+ years and have been taken care of each time for hip/back. After surgery - they will not keep you over night but will give you an ice belt that circulates ice water over your hip 24/7. I used this w/out taking it off except to go to the bathroom for 3 days straight. I took the pain meds, slept a lot, and watched some movies. I was non-weight bearing for 2 weeks and on day 4 I was stiff/sore, swelling in the foot and toes but managed to make it to my classes (M-F 8:15-4:15, a lot of sitting). I was off the pain meds by the 3rd day, switching to Aleeve. I went to the post-op followup appt. 6 days later and drove, started PT 8 days after. I had to wear a brace when sleeping for 4 weeks and I have PT 2x a week (with daily exercised I do at home and in the pool). However, I do know recovery time varies for everyone...it depends if they can re-attatch the tear or if they just clean the area up as well as where the tear is (groin side or buttock side). Whew...hope that helps  Sofia - I would call the doc...could be scar tissue, it is hard to say as each injury is different. I haven't been allowed OFF my crutches yet because of the location of the tear/re-attatchment...I'm on them for 6 weeks. But yes, I did get some groin pain around the same time, no clicking. Jen
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ralphie88
Member |
posted Jul-18-2007 04:38 PM
. I'm lost as to what I need to do. I need some help if anyone has suggestions or has similar symptoms. I have been in pain since about 2002 when I was playing soccer in college. My pain started as what felt like a cramp on my left hip where your tendon is right in front. As the season continued, it got worse. About 6 months later I was to the point where I couldn't cross my legs, sit indian style, and was in constant pain. I started with an orthopedic surgeon and he prescribed me celebrix and gave me a cortisone injection. That didn't help. I then had to switch to a different doctor because my school paid for that. When I went to this new doctor they had me going to pt, take a steroid, had and mri, and injections into my to my hip joint. I had 3 of these before one of them finally worked. I was pain free and could do anything I wanted for a full year. About a year later I was having the same pain again. This time it wasn't quite as bad but it still limited me on what I did. I went back to the same doctor and he ordered me to have another injection into the hip joint. This didn't work so I had another one. That one didn't work either. At this point I was sick of doctors not being able to help me so I quit going. Now all these years later I have just lived with the pain and I cant handle it anymore. After having my daughter in August of 06 I decided to do something. I started seeing a chiropractor and after 8 weeks with him he referred me back to the original doctor I was seeing and did another mri and came back with nothing. He has suggested that I get it scoped but trying to find a doctor that is familiar with this is hard. I'm in Omaha NE so if anyone has any suggestions please let me know.
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jentheroadrunner
Cool Runner |
posted Jul-18-2007 07:47 PM
Out of curiosity - when they did the MRI did they inject the dye into the joint? http://arthritis.webmd.com/Arthrogram-Joint-X-ray
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ralphie88
Member |
posted Jul-19-2007 10:30 AM
No they didnt use the dye on either one.
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jentheroadrunner
Cool Runner |
posted Jul-20-2007 08:33 AM
If they do not use the dye, it is my understanding that they cannot see the tear. Your symptoms sound like one of a labral tear, (keep in mind I'm not a doc), I was told if they do not use the contrast dye they cannot see into the joint. A really good indicator for me that it was torn was if I rotated just my foot out far to the right or in far to the left - searing pain. That was the first test the Doc did on me and it just continued to get worse for a year prior to surgery.
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gburgdiscus
Member |
posted Jul-26-2007 01:40 PM
I had my hip arthroscopy yesterday. It was supposed to be at 8:30 am so I was at the hospital bright and early. Unfortunatley they had double booked the traction equipment between me and a younger child with bone tumors. Clearly the child won, so I was sent home to wait. It was a long day of being thirsty, but I laid low and waited to go back. I was finally called back into the hospital about 3:30 and went into surgery around 5 pm. When I came out of surgery my hip was pretty sore and I was groggy. They gave me grahahm crackers and gingerale, which I scarrfed down, took some more pain meds, and off I went.
I was home by about 8:30 and went right to the recliner. (My sister was already on the couch because he broke her nose yesterday at soccer camp, we're a mess!) The pain wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. So far I'm more than 12 hours post-op and I've only taken 2 pain pills. I even put some weight on my leg going downstairs this morning and did all the post op exercises they told me to do. I am also surprised they I haven't been nauseas, because I was in bad shape after I got my wisdom teeth out a few years ago. Anesthesiology put a naseau patch on my neck which has been working wonders. I was able to eat jello and french toast last night and a normal breakfast this morning. I would definatley reccomend asking about anti-naseau meds.
My Dr. said they my tear was over 3 cm! I'm not sure how that compares so others, but I feel like over an inch is a pretty big chunk. So don't be too nervous, I'm doing great!
Hope everyone else is doing well, Jane
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jentheroadrunner
Cool Runner |
posted Jul-26-2007 07:36 PM
Sounds like you are doing great! I'm officially down to one crutch - six weeks today post-op. The pain is pretty intense and my leg is WEAK but the muscle memory should be kicking in.Take it easy - do exactly as the doc tells you...you want to HEAL and not screw up what they just repaired !!
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warrantyexpired
Member |
posted Jul-27-2007 06:10 PM
Anyone know of a doctor in Portland,OR area? Dr. Ellis at OHSU was recommended to me, but during the 1.5 years I've been trying to convince my insurance company's clinicians to order an MRI arthrogram, he has moved on to Ohio.
I am so frustrated by the never-ending process of being given stretches, orthotics, heel lifts, etc,etc. A physical therapist told me months ago that he thought it was FAI, but I can't get any clinicians to listen (and I work in the field of pain management for this same company!). From my symptoms and all I read - a labral tear/FAI sure seem to fit. Meanwhile I keep being stupid and trying to keep active - I find there really is no aerobic activity that is not painful, so I just keep trying to run anyway. thanks!!
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ch8198
Member |
posted Jul-27-2007 06:52 PM
Hi all, Unfortunately while training for my first marathon, I began to develop left groin pain. It started as a stiffness that would ease up during a run and progressed to so much pain that I couldn't run without limping. My orthopedic surgeon ordered a MRI and arthrogram which was positive for an anterior labral tear. I've now had about 4 weeks of rest and I feel much better (like I want to go out and run), my doc says no running and marathon training is out for now. I'm referred to Dr. Boucher in Baltimore (anyone heard of him?) for hip arthroscopy. I only hope at this point that I can run again and train for a marathon after surgery. Any words of wisdom?------------------
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runnersk8ter
Cool Runner |
posted Jul-28-2007 04:57 PM
quote:
Originally posted by warrantyexpired:
...but during the 1.5 years I've been trying to convince my insurance company's clinicians to order an MRI arthrogram...
Any chance you can pay out of pocket for the arthrogram? I know they're expensive, but if the test is positive, would your insurance then pay for the arthroscopy?
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marathon15
Member |
posted Jul-28-2007 07:12 PM
Hi Jane-discus thrower!!
Small world that we would meet at a graduation party! So glad you 'survived' the surgery!! Keep us posted on your recovery. Make sure you listen to what the Doc and the PT tell you to do.I am having my surgery in less then 3 weeks. I've had a little complication with numbness in my calf and foot-my surgeon has said I have to see a back specialist prior to the surgery. So I have an appt to see about a pinched nerve on August 6th!!I just don't want this surgery postponed. At this point in time, I am pretty uncomfortable. Good luck with your recovery. Does he have you on a CPM (continuous passive motion) machine? And are you wearing a brace?! Any information will prepare me well for what is coming up. Good luck, Jane. I'm glad I had a chance to talk to you and meet you. I hope your recovery continues to go well. Sue
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gburgdiscus
Member |
posted Jul-29-2007 07:28 PM
ch8198- This sounds similar to my issue, I had an anterior inferior tear that was over 3 cm. Did you have a time that you remember injuring it, or did it just creap up on you. I would definatley go for surgery. I kept thinking mine would get better, and at points during the last 18 months it did. There'd be weeks that would be better and weeks that would be worse. I'm a college track athlete so trying to balance pain and training was always a struggle. But overall, it was just no fun. I had hip arthroscopy 4 days ago and I'm doing better than expected. I was even walking around this morning without crutches (which made me sore, bad idea). I'm expecting to be on crutches about another week and I start PT on Tuesday. I don't know anyone in the Baltimore area, but I would suggest surgery because I did just about everything else and nothing worked. I'm petrified that my pain will come back after surgery, but it's the best shot I've got. Sue- Crazy that we met at Andrew's party, small world. I'm doing pretty well. I'm not on a constant motion machine, but I do have exercises to do 5 times a day! They hurt the first few days, but not they're not too painful. Overall it's sore, tight, and full feeling. As I said above, I'm so scared that my pain will be back- it makes me skeptical of everything I feel. But I'm doing well. I only took pain killers the day and now I'm taking Aleve. I have my post-op appt. tomorrow and then start PT on Tuesday. Be patient and have a few ice packs, that's my best advice.
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sammyc314
Member |
posted Jul-31-2007 03:43 PM
I am 6 months post-op from sugery to repair a labral tear along with debriment of the femoral head and edge of the socket (acetabulum?). The head of my femur was flat on one side, pinching in the socket.My symptoms began about 5 years ago with the inability to pull my leg through my stride an hour into a run. Following an litany of evaluations, months and months of PT, yoga, Pilates, Rolfing, chiropractic, etc., the finally decided it was my hip. I started running 12 weeks after the surgery and have seemed to plateaued at about 20 minutes of running. Although I'm trying to keep myself flexible (I am an old runner), my glute med is still quite tight, which I think contributes to knee pain. Has anyone out there with this same surgery experienced this difficulty in regaining the proper muscle firing needed for running? It feels like my pelvis just doesn't know what to do anymore. My core is strong, but my right butt/hip is still weak. My family will be moving to Boulder in the Sept/Oct timeframe. Does anyone know of a good PT that has dealt with this type of injury?
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jentheroadrunner
Cool Runner |
posted Aug-01-2007 01:12 AM
Hi Sam - I am about 7 weeks post-op. My butt is tight, but I am happy to just be off the crutches right now. I live in Denver and Dr. Leslie Vidal performed my surgery here in town. However, her husband Dr. Armando Vidal is in Boulder and I have heard great things about him as well. They both studied under Philapon (spelling) and I would call his office to see where he sends his patients to PT in Boulder. They should be able to refer you to a specific PT who would deal with this and hopefully get you running for longer then 20 minutes! My big toe is still numb...I understand about things not firing "quite" right. It's annoying Hope this helped a little...
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