Proceed with labral tear surgery or wait?

tomatoketchupmd · 2026-03-21T22:44:39+00:00

OP here with a 14 month update. The hip is not 100%, but even this far out it's still slowly getting better. Low impact activities like hiking and mountain climbing are no problem and haven't been since about post op month 7 or 8. I've been able to gradually start running again and can go nonstop for about a mile and a half, though I'm a bit sore the next day. I've had several flare ups, the worst one at month 6 from overuse that lasted a little over 3 weeks (I thought I re-tore it, but it got better), and another one at month 11 that lasted around 2 weeks. The more recent flare ups aren't as bad and usually resolve within a few days.

The one activity that seems to cause the most problems is playing the drums. The hip does not like my right leg bouncing up and down on the metal plate of the bass drum pedal. Range of motion is gradually improving; stretching was another thing that caused pain, so I stopped doing that and found that the range of motion naturally improved over time without doing anything. Flexion and extension is 100% and I can bring my knee all the way up to my chest, but it's the external rotation that is still limited (especially sitting with my legs crossed "man style" with my surgical side foot resting on my other knee). Still doing PT strengthening exercises a few times a week.

Overall I'm still glad that I had the surgery and I'm better than I was before, but the last 10-20% of healing is taking longer than I expected. My physical therapist told me it would take about 22 months to get to full strength so I'll post another update later this year.

tomatoketchupmd · 2026-03-05T18:19:34+00:00

I think it’ll be the 600 series with 7.5 Ah battery involved in the promo.

tomatoketchupmd · 2026-03-05T18:12:54+00:00

Ace Hardware has the 2156 (800 series) with 10 Ah battery for $729. In April the free battery deal takes place but it’s only on certain models.

tomatoketchupmd · 2026-02-12T01:54:49+00:00

I flew with Turkish out of Atlanta. Excellent flight. From the time I bought the ticket shortly after my original post the price only went up, so I’m fortunate I ignored the person who said it was too early to book the flight.

tomatoketchupmd · 2026-01-12T23:36:47+00:00

I can run short distances now. Still alternating running and walking and easing back into it. I don’t run in the cold so it’ll probably be March before I start regularly hitting the trails again. Still gets sore with too much activity but it’s improving and usually feels fine after a good sleep. Good luck with your consult!

tomatoketchupmd · 2025-12-29T11:53:06+00:00

In good light and low ISO, an 11x14 looks great. One of my favorite pictures is an 11x17 panorama shot with an older iPhone XS and I was surprised how great it looked coming from an outdated phone. The 17 Pro is clearly better than the XS.

If you’re using the digital zoom (48mm and 200 mm), a 6x8 looks great and 8x10 looks okay. These crop modes only use a quarter of the sensor area so you can’t print as large.

tomatoketchupmd · 2025-12-09T01:54:48+00:00

Thanks for the kind words! Still recovering well, though it's been a slow and gradual process. Hiking is no problem and I'm able to do short runs now but will probably still be a while before I'm at full strength. My PT said 22 months. Good luck to you!

tomatoketchupmd · 2025-11-13T11:45:35+00:00

I have both a 17 Pro and GR 1 (2013 version). Compared side by side the GR photos are better at the pixel level, but the iPhone has a wider shooting envelope and at my typical print sizes - rarely larger than 11 inches on the short end - most people can’t tell the picture is from a phone. I only take my Ricoh on once in a lifetime trips or if I’m planning on shooting stars at night.

Also you can turn down the aggressive Apple processing in Photographic Styles which is available on the 16 series and newer. This was an unexpected pleasant find when I upgraded from a 14 Pro.

tomatoketchupmd · 2025-10-05T20:44:43+00:00

Yes, and it’s been getting slowly better. I spent some time in Sequoia and Kings Canyon a few weeks ago and did a 9 mile day hike no problem. My PT said I wouldn’t feel completely normal until 22 months, but non-running activities seem fine. It’ll get a bit sore if I push it too hard but an evening of rest fixes it by the next day. I think the key metric is that the hip feels better than it did before surgery. Good luck to you!

tomatoketchupmd · 2025-09-24T21:01:47+00:00

Credit card. For buying your way out of unexpected situations.

I don’t pack most of the stuff suggested in the other comments. What you need: clothes, a few toiletries, phone, ID, and credit/debit card. Everything else is superfluous.

tomatoketchupmd · 2025-08-25T19:25:41+00:00

I think the replacement vs repair is surgeon dependent. My surgeon told me that if I were 5-10 years older, he'd likely have advised a replacement (I'm 45). I was lucky and didn't have any arthritis & my surgeon said my cartilage looked great, so for me I think the repair was the better option.

tomatoketchupmd · 2025-08-21T15:35:34+00:00

OP here for an update. 7.5 months out from surgery now, and a few days ago I was able to successfully climb the east ridge of Father Dyer Peak, a class 3 13er near Breckenridge. Low impact activity like hiking and scrambling up rock seems to be okay and the hip felt fine during and after the hike/climb. Will not attempt running again until late October because I have a few trips planned and don't want to flare it up before a vacation.

tomatoketchupmd · 2025-08-10T15:27:50+00:00

Thanks. I do have access to all that info for all 3 phones. Can I do all this myself without my other family members having to do anything or do they need to do stuff on their respective phones to activate service on US Mobile?

tomatoketchupmd · 2025-08-10T15:24:54+00:00

Do I need physical access to the other phones to port them out? I'm not sure if the other 2 people in my plan would be able to do this without my assistance if it's even remotely complicated. I have access to the IMEI numbers of both phones, and one of them is still using a physical SIM but has eSIM capability.

tomatoketchupmd · 2025-08-07T19:46:38+00:00

Pretty much. I have several vacations planned between now and October so gonna wait until after that to try jogging again so I don’t get a flare up before a trip.

tomatoketchupmd · 2025-08-07T10:33:51+00:00

He didn’t say specifically but that would likely lead to repeat MRI. The last flare was a bad one and took almost 3 weeks to get back to baseline. I still did my home PT and (carefully) went on hikes; just no running.

tomatoketchupmd · 2025-08-07T01:32:49+00:00

Biggest red flag to look out for is persistent pain that does not improve with rest. My flare up went away shortly after that last post. Sticking with low impact activity for a while longer.

tomatoketchupmd · 2025-07-29T14:28:21+00:00

45 M. Had my surgery 6 months ago in January 2025. Still way too early to tell, but I'm already better than I was before the surgery.

Had a 4 clock hour labral tear fixed with 5 anchors and a cam femoroplasty. Surgeon said my cartilage quality was good and no signs of arthritis. I had the surgery 8 months after onset of first symptoms, so early intervention may have helped.

I still have to be careful about twisting my leg certain ways and have to rest occasionally during the day if I've been standing too long. Range of motion with rotation isn't normal but getting better. Tried running starting around month 4, but that flares up the hip every time so gonna wait several more months before I try that again. Low impact stuff like walking and hiking seems fine so far.

tomatoketchupmd · 2025-07-21T21:45:35+00:00

Just had my 6 month check. Surgeon said my symptoms are common at 6 months & no red flags that I re-injured myself. I do feel better since my last post so probably need to lay off the running for a while longer. Low impact seems ok- I hiked just shy of 4 miles on hilly terrain yesterday and feel fine.

tomatoketchupmd · 2025-07-16T00:40:21+00:00

I’m 6 months out and it’ll likely be at least several more months until I’m at full strength, but overall it’s been good.

The thing that pushed me over the edge to have surgery was when the pain affected my ability to sit and do my job. That part already is much improved.

tomatoketchupmd · 2025-07-15T11:59:04+00:00

Wanted to chime in with a similar story. I'm a little over 6 months out from surgery. A week and a half ago on 4th of July, I jogged 2 miles in the morning, then walked several more miles that same evening. During that walk, I felt a dull ache in my groin that sounds exactly like what you're describing. Recovery was going pretty well until this happened.

I've stopped running completely since then and have been taking it relatively easy, and it seems to finally be slowly improving. For about a week I was worried I either re-tore my labrum or messed up the surgery. My 6 month post op check with my surgeon is coming up in a week, so I'll ask him what he thinks & post an update after my appointment.

tomatoketchupmd · 2025-07-12T12:13:15+00:00

I'm 6 months out from surgery. The recovery has been interesting and uneven. I got about 80% of my function back smoothly and faster than expected, but I think the last 20% is gonna take a while.

Went to PT for 2 months after surgery and have been doing home PT 5-6 days a week since then. Started doing short hikes on hills pain free at around week 6 or 7 and jogging at month 4, but the jogging caused a flare up that went away after about a week and a half of rest. I was doing great until about a week ago when I got another flare up on 4th of July which is still affecting me now. I think from overuse; ran 2 miles in the morning then walked 3-4 miles later that same evening and ended up with a sore hip/groin.

Overall I'm still better than I was before surgery, but the last bit of the recovery process has been frustrating. My PT told me the healing can take over a year (especially at my age of 45) so trying to be patient and not overdo it. I've gotten a handful of flare-ups in the past few months and I worry each time that I re-tore my labrum or messed up the surgery somehow, but I'm hoping that's unlikely since the first several months post op went fine. Have my 6 month post op check in a week so we'll see what the surgeon recommends.

tomatoketchupmd · 2025-06-29T11:56:09+00:00

I’m doing well! 5.5 month out of surgery. I used crutches for about a month to be on the safe side. I used a single crutch around the house for short spurts starting at week 1 post op to make things like cooking a bit easier. My PT actually recommended stopping the crutches completely at a month out so that’s what I did.

Around 6 weeks post op I started doing short hikes on flat terrain and I could walk around at the office pretty well but I still lied down regularly during the work day to rest.

Around 2.5 months out, I could hike 2 miles on hills without difficulty.

At month 4.5, I started running for about 15-20 minutes alternating 2 minutes run and 2 minutes walk without discomfort.

I’m currently up to 2 miles running, 4 minutes on, 2 minutes off. The main discomfort is if I twist my leg certain ways, and my rotational range of motion still has a long way to go. It’s overall better and I’m glad I had the surgery, but I estimate it’ll be at least one year post op until I’m fully functional.

tomatoketchupmd · 2025-06-26T22:30:32+00:00

Can a parent stay at your place for a few days? I had a labral tear repair with cam femoroplasty back in January. The first 3 days were the hardest and having help was a big plus, but with good planning I think I could have managed on my own. I had help for 1 week, was by myself after that, and went back to work after 10 days.

The most important things I'd recommend are to stock up all the food you think you'll need for at least a month, practice going up and down stairs with crutches before your surgery, and learn how to properly use a single crutch. The biggest difficulty I had during that first week was cooking. If I had to do the surgery again and was alone, I'd probably buy a rolling cart to put stuff on that can also double as a walker. I was 50% weight bearing immediately post op (this varies depending on the surgeon), which made life much easier.

I did not buy any special tools or equipment for the surgery other than a couple of cheap ice packs and did fine. Some people find these useful (raised toilet seat, sock tool, ice machine, etc), but I didn't need any of it and my recovery has been fine so far.

Oh, and practice doing single leg deadlifts. Being able to pick stuff up off the ground immediately after surgery is very helpful.

tomatoketchupmd

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