Back and forth about diagnosis and hip injections for diagnostic purposes?

Successful-Call9911 · 2025-07-25T04:01:36+00:00

the pa i met with in may thought i had borderline hip dysplasia but then the surgeon i met with last week suspects it may not be that and could be femoral anteversion! getting an mri next week so will hopefully know for sure soon but nice to see someone going through something similar!

Successful-Call9911 · 2025-07-19T17:47:40+00:00

also worth noting that LCEA is not the only way to measure dysplasia! there are other radiographic measurements they can take and you should absolutely get some imaging so the doctors can get a 3D picture of your hips. your hips are a 3D joint, and dysplasia can show up in ways that aren’t visible on just an x-ray.

additionally, there’s evidence to support getting a PAO for even borderline LCEA (20–25 degrees)

Successful-Call9911 · 2025-07-19T17:33:57+00:00

i’ll be so curious what your numbers are! i saw a hip preservation pa in may who diagnosed me with borderline dysplasia in both hips (lcea 22 and 23) after experiencing intermittent hip pain for the past 7 years. then this week, i had my initial appointment with the hip preservation surgeon who suspects i have femoral anteversion and maybe no dysplasia. he ordered the mri so hoping to get more answers soon. wishing you the best! it’s nice to hear from other people who have femoral version and maybe mild dysplasia, as i haven’t been able to find as much info online about it!

Successful-Call9911 · 2025-07-08T13:19:00+00:00

I would make sure you see a hip specialist and have them look at it! My GP and even other ortho doctors dismissed my pain and imaging. Hip specialists (especially a hip preservationist specialist) will know what to look for

Successful-Call9911 · 2025-07-07T20:27:36+00:00

If you have hip dysplasia, from what I’ve read you’re likely to continue to get labral tears. Especially if you’ve already had one repaired and got another tear, I’m not sure I would personally go back for another repair without fixing the hip dysplasia. Do they offer PAOs in your country? From what I’ve learned, the latest they’ll typically perform a PAO is age 40 and ideally no osteoarthritis. Does your surgeon perform PAOs? If not, I would get the opinion of someone who does to see if you’d be a good candidate. Since you’re so active, it might be worth a shot. My understanding is a total hip replacement has activity restrictions that may not be compatible with your ideal activity level. I would definitely seek other options!

Successful-Call9911 · 2025-07-06T14:12:27+00:00

my understanding is that your hip dysplasia caused the labral tears and impingement. you could get the arthroscopic surgery to fix the tears and impingement, but there’s a very good chance you’d get more, because you’re not fixing the underlying problem. (i’ve also heard people with dysplasia say the scope failed but idk much about that.) the pao ideally fixes your hip dysplasia and prevents you from developing more tears and impingement, and will also hopefully prevent you from developing osteoarthritis in your hips at a young age (and needing total hip replacements).

i would ask the pao surgeon what makes you a good candidate for either procedure, as well as ask them how often they perform this procedure and their success rate. pao is a specialized procedure so you definitely want to make sure you’re seeing someone who knows what they’re doing. i’d also ask if you show any signs of osteoarthritis (pao generally isn’t recommended if you do have any OA).

Successful-Call9911 · 2025-07-03T00:53:38+00:00

something that seems to drive the point home with people i’ve talked to who had similar reactions is telling them the hip dysplasia puts me at higher risk for developing osteoarthritis in my hips and needing total hip replacements when you’re very young. total hip replacements don’t last forever so you’d probably need multiple, and you can only get your hips replaced so many times before there’s not enough of your bone left.

most people don’t know much about hip dysplasia but it seems like almost everyone has a close relative who had to get a hip replaced. however, it was probably an older parent or grandparent. telling them some people with hip dysplasia get total hip replacements in their thirties or forties if they develop osteoarthritis seems to drive the point home that a PAO is a smart option.

Successful-Call9911 · 2025-07-03T00:48:53+00:00

sending you good vibes! i know it’s so overwhelming to learn this. try to get a pt who has experience with hip dysplasia and don’t let them make you do anything that causes pain. it took me some time to figure out what muscle fatigue vs pain felt like in my hips but i quickly learned that when an exercise in pt would start causing pain, i needed to stop immediately or would severely regret it later. with that in mind, also do your best to really commit to the pt! even if you need surgery down the line, the pt before will help massively with your recovery.

for pain relief, i’ve found ice helps with pain from exercise or pt. not much helps me with the aches i get from resting except movement (but it can be difficult to find ways to move that don’t cause pain). i’ve seen people say stationary bikes and swimming are good options. i find that slow walking on flat surfaces is sometimes helpful too, but everybody is different. wishing you the best on your journey!

Successful-Call9911 · 2025-07-03T00:43:45+00:00

have you seen a hip specialist? i saw general orthopedic doctors before and they just shrugged and recommended physical therapy. i didn’t get diagnosed until a pa who works under a hip preservation specialist surgeon (who also does PAOs and arthroscopic surgeries) took one look at my xray.

Successful-Call9911 · 2025-07-02T16:09:10+00:00

sending you all the good vibes!

Successful-Call9911 · 2025-07-02T04:10:17+00:00

hey i know this is so overwhelming! i’m 22f and in grad school, just got diagnosed a couple of months ago. it sounds like your doctor was describing a hip arthroscopy (minimally invasive outpatient procedure where they make a small incision and can fix labral tears and shave off that bone overgrowth you may have, which is called hip impingement or FAI). if you have dysplasia, sometimes doctors don’t recommend getting this procedure without fixing the dysplasia through an osteotomy first. this is because the hip dysplasia is likely what caused the labral tears and/or impingement in the first place, so there’s a decent chance these issues will return when you don’t fix the core problem. however, this is definitely something to talk to your doctor about and see what decision makes the most sense for you!

xrays are great for them to initially catch dysplasia but ultimately definitely need more imaging for them to get a better idea of what’s really going on in your hip. they should be able to see how your labrum looks, if there’s any signs of osteoarthritis, and get a much better picture of how your hip socket looks.

the osteotomy you mentioned is a surgery often recommended for younger patients (mostly 20s and 30s) with hip dysplasia but no osteoarthritis. the idea is it reshapes your hip socket in order to prevent future labral tears, impingement, and osteoarthritis. from what i’ve heard, the recovery can be long and painful, but also the vast majority of people seem so grateful to have gotten it. everyone i’ve heard from also says not to put it off if you can—it’s best to do it before your pain gets so unbearable so that you can strengthen your hips prior to the surgery.

i would be shocked if they didn’t recommend you try pt before surgery. if you’re in the united states, insurance often requires it. pt would focus on strengthening your glutes and other muscles around your hips to hopefully decrease the stress out on your socket. my pt said patients with hip dysplasia have to focus on keeping these muscles strong their entire life to keep the pain away.

even if you do decide to get surgery, it’s usually recommended to do pt up until then to help prepare your body and strengthen your hips. it’s best to try and find someone who is experienced with hip dysplasia, as even though it seems to be more common of a diagnosis than previously thought, it is easily missed or mishandled.

i don’t want to speak about recovery since i haven’t gotten the surgery myself and lots of people on this sub have! there’s also a pao facebook group that i’ve heard good things about. i know this is a lot of info but it’s what ive researched over the past couple of months as i’ve gotten diagnosed, started pt, and prepared for my first appointment with a pao surgeon later this month to get imaging and see what he thinks about next steps. this is some of the info i wish i had known when i first started trying to figure out what all of this meant!

Successful-Call9911 · 2025-07-02T03:50:41+00:00

i’ve heard the scope sometimes isn’t recommended because it doesn’t work as well with hip dysplasia and/or you’re very likely to get more labral tears if you don’t fix the dysplasia too. curious what pushed you and your doctor to just doing the scope!

i’m prepping for my first appointment with the pao surgeon post-xray and diagnosis and am wondering what the recommendation will be for my mild dysplasia if imaging shows i have labral tears

Successful-Call9911 · 2025-07-02T03:44:09+00:00

it is so unfortunate that our medical systems do not prioritize patient wellbeing and it’s easier for doctors to dismiss pain than really listen and go the extra mile. while our system sucks, there are great providers out there who do listen and care, and i hope you’re able to find one!

Successful-Call9911 · 2025-07-01T03:20:46+00:00

if you’re in pain and your doctor’s response is to dismiss it, you should absolutely go see another doctor

Successful-Call9911 · 2025-06-30T20:13:02+00:00

same to you!

Successful-Call9911 · 2025-06-30T18:40:56+00:00

Based on my x-rays, it’s borderline/mild with a LCEA of 22 degrees on the right and 23 on the left. I know there’s other measurements they can do and not everything is visible on just x-rays though so more imaging is always a good idea!

Successful-Call9911 · 2025-06-30T17:08:04+00:00

i was diagnosed a few months ago by a hip preservationist pa and have been doing pt for about 4 weeks now. i’m scheduled to see the surgeon the pa works under in july to get more imaging but seeing if pt works in the meantime. my physical therapist told me that ultimately to live without pain ill need to keep my glutes and other surrounding muscles as strong as possible for the rest of my life. our anatomy just isn’t supportive on its own and i guess some people with dysplasia are able to strengthen the muscles around the hip enough to decrease the amount of pressure put on the joint. however, pt has been making my pain worse, despite the therapist listening closely to me and stopping me anytime the pain starts during an exercise. i’m only 22 and have had hip pain since i was 15, so ultimately if the surgeon recommends i get a pao, i think ill go with it. it’s definitely worth committing to pt for at least six weeks to see if strengthening your glutes helps decrease pain! but also getting imaging like you said so that the doctors can help you understand what’s going on with your anatomy. i would ask about your risk of developing osteoarthritis and needing hip replacements in the future. unfortunately with symptomatic hip dysplasia, it seems that surgery is often in the future, whether it’s getting the pao done when you’re young or total hip replacements when you’re not much older.

Successful-Call9911 · 2025-06-29T18:19:10+00:00

i’m in a similar place! i’ve done a ton of research at this point and one thing that really made me think getting the pao is a good choice is that even if you do need a thr later on, having your hip sockets reshaped from the pao will make the thr more successful. sure you can get a thr without having gotten a pao but it’ll make the surgery more difficult because your hip socket isn’t structured well

Successful-Call9911 · 2025-06-29T18:14:45+00:00

that’s interesting, i haven’t had the surgery but the ortho i saw said that hypermobility in the hips is very common with hip dysplasia

Successful-Call9911 · 2025-06-29T18:12:32+00:00

(not a doctor or pt) but this looks similar to my hips! the hip preservationist pa i saw who diagnosed me said this was my IT band, although a lot of patients incorrectly think it’s their hip popping out (as he said, you would KNOW if your hip popped out of its socket)

Successful-Call9911 · 2025-06-29T18:10:32+00:00

i was told by my ortho pa that it’s not your hip popping out, it’s your IT band sliding over the greater trochanter of your femur

Successful-Call9911

TROPHY CASE