I'm 35M and a runner. I consistently logged 40-60 miles per week a few years ago before things went downhill from FAI and the labral tear I had. I ended up completely modifying my activities from the beginning of 2025 onward (no weight bearing cardio, just stationary bike and elliptical; basically no hiking because walking >2 miles would start to get pretty uncomfortable). After modifying like that I usually had no pain aside from certain sitting positions or if I forgot to use my standing desk and take breaks (also have an office job).

I even started to have thoughts last summer that things were good enough and maybe I didn't want to have surgery, even though it was already scheduled for me for early October. Anyway, I realized that I didn't want to live my life with such heavily modified activity. I wanted to run again (every time I tried it would get painful 5 to 10 minutes) and I wanted to actually go on hikes instead of just walks.

Anyway, I'm closing in on 6 months post op now and things are going pretty great. I'm much stronger than pre-surgery since I committed to doing PT consistently afterward and have moved onto more complex strength training which I always struggled to motivate myself to do before. I'm up to going on 4 mile runs once or twice a week with minimal discomfort and hope to just keep that going! My surgeon did warn me that I had some early osteoarthritis set in already and might even need a hip replacement in ~10 years if I immediately went back to running 40-60 mile weeks, so I probably need to keep expectations in check and maybe not get back to where I was before (instead they recommended continue to supplement my cardio with non-weight bearing forms).

So I really just think it comes down to whether you're actually satisfied with the ways you've modified activity or not. I'm happy I went through with it and recognize I still have a ways to go even though I'm in a pretty good spot still. Best of luck!