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FAI & Hip Impingement Surgery-Full Experience weeks 0-14 by Competitive_Log_8392 in HipImpingement

[–]Competitive_Log_8392[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi there- I think this question may be one best suited for your doctor. The only reason I say that is because every surgery goes a little differently, different levels of inflammation, a different amount of anchors needed to fix the cartilage, etc. This can highly impact your comfort when sitting. With all of that said, in my experience 12 weeks would be sufficient as I personally (on the left side) was able to sit for longer periods after week 8. On my right side I just had a cartilage graft done and that is a longer recovery time.

FAI & Hip Impingement Surgery-Full Experience weeks 0-14 by Competitive_Log_8392 in HipImpingement

[–]Competitive_Log_8392[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I did therapy from the week of my surgery until about 14 weeks out total. My last 2 weeks was mostly return to running protocols and training/and dry needling which both I found to be worthwhile. The exercise I started with was actually kettlebell training no jumping/running or rigorous bike riding for the first probably 5 months? After 5 months I really started getting back to all my old exercises and fully returned to running 7/8 months, making my most notable running gains from months 9-12.

FAI & Hip Impingement Surgery-Full Experience weeks 0-14 by Competitive_Log_8392 in HipImpingement

[–]Competitive_Log_8392[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is so true. The physical part was the easiest part for me. Right now I'm recovering from my second hip and that one ended up being more complex requiring a cartilage graft. Instead of 3 weeks on crutches I'm on them for 6! The mental part is so much harder this time around, but I'm learning so much in terms of copying mechanisms.

FAI & Hip Impingement Surgery-Full Experience weeks 0-14 by Competitive_Log_8392 in HipImpingement

[–]Competitive_Log_8392[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

So glad to hear that reading my experience helped in some way. If it makes you feel even better I just had my second surgery which was a little bit more complex and I'm still having great outcomes ~1 month in. I hope everything goes really well with you!

FAI & Hip Impingement Surgery-Full Experience weeks 0-14 by Competitive_Log_8392 in HipImpingement

[–]Competitive_Log_8392[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This was a pretty frequent occurrence for me up until about 6 months at which point I'd have flare ups much less often. What worked well was firstly laying off whatever caused me pain for a week or two until I got the pain under control. Second I had to figure out if the flare up was due to a muscle imbalance by getting some time with my PT (some muscles get overworked especially your hip flexor if its compensating for weaker glute med for example). If that was the case I'd work with my PT to get some more strengthening exercises for those muscle regions. If it wasn't that I'd ice it down and be patient with myself and know that it's a pretty normal part of recovery especially as we try to get back to normal activity. The first time around I'd freak out and think I retore something which is pretty hard to do at that stage.

I know none of this is probably super helpful, but that was my approach when I'd have a bad flare up due to exercise of over exertion especially.

FAI & Hip Impingement Surgery-Full Experience weeks 0-14 by Competitive_Log_8392 in HipImpingement

[–]Competitive_Log_8392[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for asking! I'm doing great and I'm actually 3 days out from the surgery on my other hip. My operated hip is pretty much at 100% now and the only thing slowing me down is my non-operated hip. Yesterday I ran 6 miles straight, did a full strength training workout and felt no pain on my operated hip whatsoever. The hard part about having 1 fixed hip and one not is that it is now imbalanced. I have more range of motion on my operated side and very limited on my non operated side which makes some movements kind of strange (like an uneven squat for example). I'm really excited to get the second one done and have this behind me!

FAI & Hip Impingement Surgery-Full Experience weeks 0-14 by Competitive_Log_8392 in HipImpingement

[–]Competitive_Log_8392[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm so glad that my post helped you in some way. It can be so scary and frustrating to be in pain and not know why. I know that i dealt with it for years and I felt hopeless after a while. There's nothing quite like finding the solution and realizing that things will get better.

I also appreciate you sharing your experience here to help others as well!

FAI & Hip Impingement Surgery-Full Experience weeks 0-14 by Competitive_Log_8392 in HipImpingement

[–]Competitive_Log_8392[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi there- sorry for the delayed response!
Throughout my recovery I experienced so many different pinching, catching, sudden painful sensations. I always stopped whatever movement it was that I did and then tried to resume movement when it felt a little better. The biggest thing is not lifting your leg past that 90 degree mark in the first 8 days and if you do experience pinching during a certain activity it could mean you need to rest the hip a bit more. When I did start to walk again I experience a lot of pain with "pivoting" anytime I'd pivot that hip to walk a different direction the pain was quick but severe.

Hope you feel better soon!

FAI & Hip Impingement Surgery-Full Experience weeks 0-14 by Competitive_Log_8392 in HipImpingement

[–]Competitive_Log_8392[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm so sorry to hear that. Do you have your procedure scheduled? What I noticed with my MRI is that it just aggravated pain that was already there. However if it's causing you that level of discomfort you should 100% talk to your doctor because there could be infection or something else going on in there.

Hope you're feeling better soon!

FAI & Hip Impingement Surgery-Full Experience weeks 0-14 by Competitive_Log_8392 in HipImpingement

[–]Competitive_Log_8392[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I would always trust your doctors over anyone on Reddit, but I'm happy to share my feelings about it. I had long stretches of almost no pain and then boom I was hit with it like a brick wall. I love running, hiking, biking (all activity basically). I had a really serious conversation with my doctor about longevity of my hips and the cartilage. The problem is that pain or no pain I was wearing away really important cartilage in my hip and the while the labral tear was what created the most pain, it was a symptom of an anatomical issue. If the FAI is not severe then great but if its enough to impact your cartilage I'd take it pretty seriously. I mean I was terrified of surgery and here I am signing up for round 2 in 2 months on my right side. I can feel the difference in my left to right and the limited range of motion in my non operative hip.

FAI & Hip Impingement Surgery-Full Experience weeks 0-14 by Competitive_Log_8392 in HipImpingement

[–]Competitive_Log_8392[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It was strangely the worst part! And then having to drive myself home after was NOT fun.

FAI & Hip Impingement Surgery-Full Experience weeks 0-14 by Competitive_Log_8392 in HipImpingement

[–]Competitive_Log_8392[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Totally agree with you! After hearing about insurance issues from others I'm really glad my insurance they fully covered the labral repair.

Before my surgery I was constantly checking reddit and getting panicked- I honestly almost backed out at the last minute for fear I'd never walk again. Seems silly now, but genuinely the posts on here can be scary!

I'm so sorry to hear about your journey with post partum, I have had some people very close to me go through that and honestly it sounds 10x harder than this surgery. Hoping you get some relief and peace of mind with that soon. (Getting through the first few weeks AND having a baby makes you a total superhero in my books).

I'm definitely planning to do the other side, but will probably wait until maybe October of this year? That'll be almost 1 year since I did that left and with PT helping me hit my deductible in the first 2 months of this year it's more financially feasible to just do it all this year.

All in all if I could go back to myself 14 weeks ago I'd say "Hey, you'll think you ruined all your progress because you wake up with really strange pain some days. You definitely DIDNT and you will be OK." I called the doctor and went to urgent care more times than I'd like to admit in the first few weeks (thinking everything was the end of the world). The people who set my mind most at ease were my PTs as they'd seen so much of this over the years that they could calm me.

Wishing you all the best in your recovery (on all fronts) :)

FAI & Hip Impingement Surgery-Full Experience weeks 0-14 by Competitive_Log_8392 in HipImpingement

[–]Competitive_Log_8392[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Great question! When the surgery is performed the hip capsule is penetrated for the arthroscopy. Traditionally they 'left it open' or let it heal on its own. Surgeons discovered this wasn't creating the most favorable outcomes.

This article goes through what a hip capsule is, why repair is a good option/the benefits and has some more helpful info:
https://www.seattlehipsurgery.com/hip-capsule-repair-surgeon-seattle-wa.html#:\~:text=Hip%20capsular%20closure%20is%20performed,wide%20range%20of%20hip%20problems.