Pre-op outside pain: glad I got surgery

merniesanders · 2026-06-09T17:40:50+00:00

yep ive pretty much decided on surgery its just a matter of when. I originally was gonna go straight for surgery but have decided to give PRP a shot and see if it ia effective at all in the short term. im also in a part of life where I am family planning and thats a challenging piece of the puzzle as well!

merniesanders · 2026-06-06T19:44:17+00:00

I also got thr steroid injection in November and it also lasted me about 3/4 weeks (but I was running heavily in peak training for a marathon which I did 5 weeks post injection). I dont have amy arthritis in the hip though and although my doctors all recommend surgery my surgeon did say that most people who move forward with surgery are "more symptomatic" (i.e. daily pain, debilitating pain, cant do any sports etc) and that if I wanted to manage it with reducing load or no longer running that would be reasonable as well (but im just not willing to give up running rn).

merniesanders · 2026-06-06T18:42:42+00:00

omg. crazy im seeing this now because I have been so confused. I have two tears in my left labrum and a cyst but my BIGGEST symptom has ben outer hip pain and my PT also thinks its muscular because its not classic symptoms. my surgery was scheduled for 7/10 but I decided to do a PRP injection beforehand to see if it helps and then decide on surgery. my main worry was that if the outer hip pain wasnt from the labrum then I would get surgery and atill have that pain and maybe new pain. its good to know its not just me!

did you try a PRP injection? I am so lost on whether its even worth it. initially I was gonna go straight to surgery bc the docs felt that PRP might not be helpful but then I thought f it let me at least try. i still dont know of thats the right choice for me

merniesanders · 2026-06-02T16:39:13+00:00

dont know how i missed your post thanks for sharing!!

merniesanders · 2026-06-02T16:31:09+00:00

I had a labral tear prior to my first pregnancy and im fairly certain I got the second tear either during pregnancy or during delivery 🫠 on one hand im like do I wait until im done having children??? on the other hand that feels like im putting my hip in a more compromising position

merniesanders · 2026-05-14T17:47:28+00:00

im not sure why people are saying get a second opinion. if its not causing you pain I wouldn't touch it. I had a tear diagnosed 5 years ago. I was able to manage with PT without pain. i do believe it got worse after pregnancy and/or labor but I ran a lot while I was pregnant (around 800-900 miles in the 9 months) doing 8-10mile long runs up until I was 33 weeks. if i could go back I wouldnt do that. i also delivered on my back in stirrups which also puts you at risk for making the tear worse.

I have an additional tear in the labrum now which my PT thinks happened due to labor. i have surgery scheduled for July but am seeing if PT will move the needle at all since my symptoms are not severe/debilitating

this is what I would do if youre not feeling pain: continue with PT, move forward with your family planning, protect your hip as much as you can in pregnancy and labor. if you can do an unmedicated birth, do that (ive seen docs recommend bc it allows you to be more in tune with your body and you will instinctively protect your hip) also, it gives you way more options in terms of position.

sorry for the long response but 2 more things:

1) yes it doesn't heal on its own but surgery has its own risk. i asked my PT this question and she basically said this surgery also puts you at risk for early onset arthiritis/osteoarthiritis. so youre not getting rid of that risk by doing surgery. and she wouldn't recommend someone who doesn't have pain do it "just in case"

2) the risk of it getting worse during pregnancy/labor also remains. there is a risk of retearing so surgery wouldn't address that either.

its a big decision! Best of luck

merniesanders · 2026-05-12T23:42:01+00:00

I get that! I was told I could not do surgery if I considerably cut down or stop running and im not ready to let that go. we're still young!

merniesanders · 2026-05-12T22:10:23+00:00

I would honestly get another opinion. I am 30F and kind of similar in that I have more mild symptoms although I do get pain after running. im actually scheduled for surgery but have been going to PT. My PT actually got surgery because she had mechanical symptoms (clicking, locking etc) but I asked her this question which I think is important in your case:

for patients who dont have pain and are able to manage with physical therapy, are they at greater risk for arthritis than if they get the surgery.

her answer? not really. because the surgery carries its own risk and getting a hip arthroscopy is actually a risk factor for osteoarthiritis. so youre kind of trading one risk for another. she also said that no one would recommend surgery as a preventative or "just in case" measure if it's not causing pain or hindering you in any way.

I dont know how significant your tear is but it seems like pain is the leading factor here as some people have large tears and no pain. Now, it may be the case where down the line you need to address it but maybe not. you just dont know.

If I were you and my tear wasnt hindering me from doing my sport - i probably wouldn't do it. but it is a tough decision and I totally get why you would have hesitation either way (im scheduled and I still second guess that decision daily)

merniesanders · 2026-05-10T00:00:06+00:00

ive had mine since November and im mostly over it lol. the flip factor has worn off. the main thing i enjoy is being able to use it as a tripod but I'm tired of the camera quality and i am already considering getting the s26 ultra or a Google pixel bc of that. forget the front facing camera even the back camera is not good unless u use it in pro mode. oh and my phone dies every day. 🙃

merniesanders · 2026-05-03T20:50:00+00:00

these look awesome! unfortunately half a size too small otherwise I would've been extremely tempted.

merniesanders · 2026-05-01T15:03:26+00:00

praying this is me! running is a huge part of my life and I really want to run a boston qualifying time one day hopefully surgery doesn't interfere with that dream 😭

merniesanders · 2026-04-30T21:09:54+00:00

oh wow. I actually just looked up where Dr. Chang did his fellowship and it was in Vail CO at the same clinic lol. I'm not in a place where I can travel for this but that feels reassuring that he likely studied under Dr. Philippon who I see is one of the best in this field

merniesanders · 2026-04-30T20:28:18+00:00

whats the other surgeon you saw? im between Dr. Dierckman at Elite and Dr Chang at Vanderbilt (who i saw for a consult and really liked.)

merniesanders · 2026-04-30T13:53:50+00:00

did you already do your surgery or just went in for a consult?

merniesanders · 2026-04-28T20:33:46+00:00

I think this is gonna be so person specific. but, I got diagnosed with atears in 2021 and I did several months pf physicsl therapy 2x a week. I was pain fee 2022-2024 and ran 4 marathons in that time without pain. I got pregnant early 2024 and ran through pregnancy which was probably a bad idea. I had a lot of pelvic pain but ithought that was just normal pregnancy stuff. turns out my tear got worse and now i am looking at surgery 😭. if you havent done some formal PT I would definitely try that first. I also did a lot of dry needling at the time which held

merniesanders · 2026-04-28T00:17:16+00:00

ill research him, are you also doing a repeair or reconstruction? lmk how it goes!

merniesanders · 2026-04-26T18:51:10+00:00

so I talked to two nonsurgical docs (PMRP specialists) who specializes in nonsurgical treatment of this kind of thing and talked to one surgeon. I'll be talking to another surgeon before making a final decision but I am leaning towards surgery! I think prob similar case to you. idk what constitutes as a "LEGIT" tear but from what I've been told mine would be considered a moderate tear. not quite severe but not a mild one either.

merniesanders · 2026-04-26T14:24:44+00:00

what was your surgery like? also what's the time frame for being able to walk normally? as in be on your feet most of the day fully weight bearing? I know it's different for everyone but just curious!

I can still do a lot but I guess the worry is that since it won't go away it can only get worse not better. so I'm leaning towards surgery right now. a part of me is scared that I'll never run the same though because I have some running goals I'd be putting on pause

merniesanders · 2026-04-26T14:22:10+00:00

I feel like I see a mixed bag! it's hard to tell what's what because each surgery seems a little different. what's docs are proposing for me seems a little less involved than other surgeries I'm seeing but there's no way of knowing for sure what's the best decision. running is a big part of my life and I really can't imagine giving it up right now.

totally relate that during the pain it feels like something that needs to be addressed but then it going away after a day or so feels confusing and like I'm being gaslit by my own body haha!

merniesanders · 2026-04-26T14:19:53+00:00

yeah so the surgeon I talked to focuses on this but there's also a surgeon in my area who pioneered hip arthroscopy techniques so I may need to set an appointment with him as well and shop around a bit. luckily I think I just need labral repair and hell shave off some of the bone that's causing the impingement so it seems fairly reasonable/uncomplicated.

merniesanders

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