I should post sooner, but I have been a little upset about the news I got from my new orthopedic surgeon this week. I am officially diagnosed with having a torn labrum on one of my hip joint. In some ways, I am relieved to finally have someone believe that the pain I have been feeling for the last few years are real.
When my back stopped hurting from my car accident, the doctors were no longer interested with my complaints about hip pain when my first MRI and x-ray showed that there is nothing wrong with my hip. I even started believing that it might be from muscle imbalance or something I did from my workouts. My first orthopedic surgeon basically told me to try one round of physical therapy and take Advil for my hip pain.
So here I am three years later still trying to figure out what to do. The tear is small enough that my doctor does not want to trim the labrum. He does not think that it is worth the risk of surgery and months of rehab for a potential promise that my hip will get better. Overall, he thinks my hip joint is in good shape and he does not want to mess with it. I have read enough stories on the internet to know that some people do not end up with any relief from a torn labrum post-surgery. And the fact that I am trying to get pregnant adds a new twist to this drama.
I do not want surgery on my hip. I do not want to go through the frustrations of rehab again. You always think that you are spending too much time shuffling along when your mind already sees you racing ahead. And I am tired of pain and tears.
So in reality, there is not much I can do about my torn labrum. I just need to keep exercising and eating healthy. Sometimes I go for weeks without feeling a lot of pain, but sometimes, especially the week before my period (I wonder if pain intensify with the drop in estrogen in my body), I just feel so discourage. What is the point of trying so hard to exercise and strengthen my body when it is not doing its part?
It is easy to just let myself go and give myself pity parties filled with ice cream and cakes. The only reason why I don’t is because I am lucky to be alive today. Life is worth the inconvenience of icing, heat pads, exercise, and the occasional bottle of Advil. Instead of stuffing my face like I would have done a few years ago, here is my pity party on the internet. I will be fine tomorrow.
Until next time and thanks for stopping by Small Steps to Health.
Photo by: cobblucas.
Interested in reading more about my hip pain saga?
My Hip Pain is from a Torn Labrum
Hip Exercises for a Hip Injury (Torn Labrum)
Deep Tissue Massage using Foam Roller Exercises for Hip Pain, Part 1
Deep Tissue Massage using Foam Roller Exercises for Hip Pain, Part 2
Torn Hip Labrum during Pregnancy
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{ 21 comments… read them below or add one }
You have such a wonderful attitude. I’m really sorry to hear about this. Have you looked into chiropractic, acupuncture, or physio therapy? My mum has managed to help out a lot of animals (she’s a vet) with using those methods and they worked so well that the animals no longer needed to get surgery. It’s worth a shot.
.-= Sagan´s last blog ..A Crash Course in B Vitamins: Part Two =-.
Sagan – My chiropractic and I are BFFs. I go at least once a month. Good thing my health insurance plan covers the cost and I only have a small co-pay. As for my attitude, what is done is done. Can’t change the past, I can only change my reaction to it.
I think it is healthy to allow for some disappointment and whining, but nobody likes being around a person that does it all the time. I don’t like being around a complainer, so why would I let that dominate my conversations. However, my journal hears about it almost every day. Poor thing. Pages and pages of complaining. I feel better after I am done whining, I mean writing, in my journal.
I’m so sorry to hear about your hip problem! I belong to one of the best fitness centers in the country. They have a world renown rehab facility. Perhaps you could get in touch with them and ask their opinion and advice on your hip? Just because the people you have seen can’t help doesn’t mean these folks can’t. It’s worth a shot.
Here’s the website: http://www.requestphysicaltherapy.com/
Dr J – I can manage the pain with exercise and a combination of ice and heat. I think I am just going to do the “wait and see” approach like the doctor recommends. I tried physical therapy twice and it is not as helpful as the exercises I do on my own. But I will keep your idea in mind to seek other help if my condition gets worst. Thanks for the comment.
Hi. I am so sorry to hear about your torn labrum. I too just found out I have a Torn labrum and am going to try some PT before considering surgery. However my husband and I have recently started trying to have a baby as well and I was just wondering if your doctor said it was ok to carry and deliver a baby with a torn labrum? I didnt get a chance to ask my doctor today and am going back in a month so figured I would ask then. Thanks for any info you can provide. So sorry you are going through the pain, i totally can relate
Jennifer – When I asked my doctor about the the impacts of pregnancy on my torn labrum on my hip, he said that he cannot tell me. His reasoning is that a woman’s body change so much, including the opening and closing of the pelvis bone area, that he really cannot tell me if I will have more or less pain during pregnancy. At this point, he wants me to monitor it and if it gets worst after pregnancy we can do surgery then.
If worst comes to worst, the doctors will probably ask you to be in bed rest if your hip cannot support your weight. And with a C-section, you can still deliver a baby with a torn labrum.
When I asked my doctor what can I do to help manage the pain better, he said that I am doing everything right with hip exercises, stretching, and heat therapy.
However, I am going to watch my weight when I do get pregnant because I think the more extra weight I lug around, the more stress I will put on the tear. For my size, I probably should not gain more than 20 pounds and most of it should be in the 3rd trimester when the baby is growing rapidly. I am really hoping for an excuse to eat cookies and cakes, but maybe I am meant to have this problem so that I do not get helplessly overweight when I am pregnant. I don’t know. I am just trying to stay positive.
Good luck Jennifer. And thanks for your comment.
You should really consider arthroscopic hip surgery to repair the torn labrum after your pregnancy. It’s minimally invasive and it”s the only way they can really see the degree of the tear and get a good look at it to fix it. You can put weight on it after a few days and can walk without crutches within a week or so. You also don’t require physical therapy as long as you do the exercises they give you the days after the surgery. It’s not a muscle or a tendon that they are fixing so PT is actually not recommended the first few months because strength training can increase the swelling. Basically, you are recovering from the impact of the surgery…Have you had an MRI Arthrogram (when they inject dye into your hip to get a good look at it)? That might show the degree of the tear and location, but it doesn’t always show a tear…the scope is when they get the best look at it and can fix the problem but the arthrogram does sometimes show the tear.
I know because I have hip dysplasia in my hips and have had many torn labrums (3 in my right and 2 in my left), so I know how it feels and how frustrating it is. I’ve had 3 hip scopes over the last 3 years. Physical therapy never works and heat/ice/stretching/exercises are such a time burglar that could all be avoided if the hip was just healthy. However, my hips are set up wrong from genetic birth defect known as hip dysplasia, so the labrum tear injuries recur very easily.
If you don’t repair it surgically it will never go away, the pain may subside for a few days here or there or maybe a week or two but it’s always there. I’ve been dealing with these hip problems for the last 10 years. If you have strong hips and don’t have an incorrect alignment such as hip dysplasia (which causes the labrum to tear more easily), then scope surgery is the best option. For me I’m faced with the prospect of having a very invasive 5-6 hour hip surgery that will change my hip’s bone structure and re-align my hip joints to correct the improper alignment (but it’s so invasive that you cannot walk for 4-6 weeks and are out of commision for at least 3 months)…please feel free to send me any questions, just thought I would share what I’ve learned over the last few years and try to help you as best I can, thank you!
Mike – Thank you for your comment. Arthroscopic hip surgery has been on my mind since I found out about my torn labrum. I am taking my doctor’s advice of “wait and see” for now. I go through these cycles where I get frustrated and start seeing doctors and then I just want to give up for a while because they all tell me that they can’t do anything more me. It is a fight to get them to understand that even if my torn hip labrum is not a major impact on my life, it still impacts my life.
My husband and I are trying to start our family. If I have to chose between getting having children now or waiting another year or two from dealing with my hip labrum, I rather have a baby. At almost 32, I don’t want to have a high risk pregnancy because I waited.
Hi. I was wondering how you are doing with your pregnancy venture and if you had any new information to share. I am 18 weeks pregnant. I have a torn labrum which i got during delivery of my first child. It was manageable with frequent chiropractic visits but about a week ago the pain has become more and more intense. It is worse at night and I can harldly get out of bed. The pregnancy has flared it up and unfortunately the chiropractor visits are not helping at all. I’m not sure what to do. I’m going to call my doctor and see if there is any advice they can give. If you are not pregnant yet, I might suggest the surgery. I wish now that I had done it before but I thought I could manage it. I didn’t realize that the pregnancy would flare it up quite as bad as it has. Good luck to you! I will let you know if I find out any helpful information.
@Jennifer – I am also in my second trimester. From some of the email comments I have gotten where readers ended up in bed rest during their pregnancy, I was afraid. But surprisingly, the flare up has not been as bad as I fear (yet?). Normally the pain on my torn hip labrum is about a 2 (on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the most painful). Now, it is about a 3 or 4, especially if I do not exercise the hip joint. I find my back and the pelvis area aching more than my hip during this time from the hormones loosening all my joints.
I still exercise regularly (albeit to a lower intensity and frequency than prior to becoming pregnant). For some reason, I think this might be the reason why I am managing the hip labrum pain as well as I am (exercise produces endorphins that makes the body feel good). During those days when my entire pelvis area is really aching, I just lie on an ice pad. Icing really helps because I am getting a little too clumsy for foam rolling exercises. If you have access to a pool, I would suggest doing some hip exercises in the pool. I find the pool very soothing during this time.
I wonder if what you are feeling might be from the scar tissue in your hip joint area. If you can still manage it, you might want to do some foam rolling to see if it helps.
Good luck! Please let me know if you find something that helps.
i suffered a labrial tear to my left hip during delivery of my first son. i have shallow hip sockets. that was 26 years ago. i delivered 2 more sons with it. no one knew what it was. the chiropractor and many others thought it was just in my head. i suffered a lot. the pain shot down the back and inside of my leg. the cheek of by bottom hurt all the time. year after year it got worse, until my hip started locking forward. i could not put my leg down, i was stuck:( and it was horribly painful. it might happen while going to the bathroom, sitting in a chair, getting out of bed or the car. i was unable to move until the hip relaxed and i had better be ready for the pain to intensify.
i lived like that for 14 years. i suffered alot:( constant pain and 3 little ones. not a good idea:( when i finally found out what it was, there were only 5 surgeons in the u.s. doing the procedure. i was the only woman he had ever seen with a tear. back then it was usually men and athletes at that.
i had the surgery, and when i went to do physical therapy since no one was use to dealing with it, they only treated my injured left hip. forgetting or not knowing the terrible strain i had been putting on my right one. things went pretty well for several years and then i started having trouble again. i put off going back in for several years more. when i did i found out i had developed what is called chronic hip syndrome. the ligaments and tendons over the front of the socket snap over a little bone. most times people do not have pain with it. i was not one of those.:( the pain is chronic, i have good days and bad weeks. i have had physical therapy numerous times. from someone who knows what they are doing:) i got relief but i get lazy and do not do the exercises and my hip screams at me and i have to start taking anti inflammatory drugs. sometimes the wrong shoes will kick it up.
they recognize now that labrial tears occur quite often during delivery. i would not recommend going thru pregnancy nor delivery with an already blown hip. it is painful and makes it much worse. it is harder to get around and heal and take care of yourself and a new baby.
because mine was not diagnosed until so many years it became horridly painful. i am now 50, and i live with some degree of pain everyday. i still after all these years do not trust my hip not to go out and me end up on the floor. when i stand up after sitting down, i always stand still for a second or 2 before i take a step. it is stupid i know but i had to do that for years and now it is second nature.
so for anyone out there that has a torn labrum, bite the bullet, get it fixed as soon as you can. you will not regret it. it can and does become debilitating and chronic.
i wish all of you well.
@Lucy – Thank you for sharing your story. I always knew that what I am doing with the icing, hip exercises, and foam rolling exercises are just buying time before I need hip surgery to fix my torn labrum. And at 32, I felt my biological clock ticking so I made the decision to get pregnant first before taking time to take care of my torn hip labrum (especially since I already spent the last 4 years trying to convince doctors that there is something wrong with my hip). I’ll have to wait and see what happens after the birth of my baby next year.
Hi, my name is Natalie and I am a freshman in high school and only 15 years old. I found out about 5 weeks ago my labrum in my left hip was completely torn off after undergoing 3 MRI’s. I have been on crutches for 5 weeks, not for pain, but for fear if my bones rub together to much, hip replacement. I am a dancer and dance 5 hours a day. Dancing was my only way into college and I hope the surgery and 6 weeks of PT starting tomorrow is worth it. Please tell me how your tear worked out too. Hang in there, I feel you’re pain
Hi Natalie – Please keep me updated on your surgery and recovery. I am thinking about talking to my doctor about surgery again after my baby’s birth early next year. Does your doctor expect that you will make a full recovery within a few months, going back to dancing and all? I curious to see if the hip pain you are experiencing will completely go away with surgery (as if it never happened) or would it be an improvement where you still have to practice some level of pain management in the future. Good luck on the surgery and speedy recovery. Thanks for taking the time to write to me.
Hi there,
I am wondering what your symptoms were with regard to the torn labrum? I have had awful glute/hamstring (mostly glute) pain on my left side since May (it is now December). I can barely sit and am usually in intense pain. I’m pretty sure this tear came from running…I’m a an avid runner and am now concerned this may turn out to be a bigger problem than I initially thought. Got an MRI, and it showed a probable tear on my RIGHT side due to “loculated fluid” (mind you, I feel NO pain on my right side at all…I am afraid to find out the status of my left hip!). The MRI revealed no fractures or bony abnormalities in either hip, so I am left to believe that I have a torn labrum in the left hip. Will get the MRI/arthrogram/with contrast this week or next to find out. My orthopod has performed this surgery on two friends and both were back to running within a couple of months. However, after reading the nightmare stories out there about the outcomes of the surgery, I am wondering if they were perhaps just lucky. It sounds like some people end up in worse condition than when they started. At this point, I started running again, as I am thinking I can’t make it any worse. Additionally, running doesn’t hurt half as much as swim kicking, water running, the elliptical, etc. I’m worried that this will never go back to normal. Am wondering how much pain you were in…almost wonder if that is indicative of how bad the tear is.
@Erica – Like I mentioned earlier, my torn hip labrum is doing surprisingly well for the 3rd trimester. The pain level is still on a scale 3-4 (on a scale of 1 – 10 with 10 being the most painful).
When I first injured my hip 4.5 years ago, the pain was in the 6-7 scale most days. I experienced the pain mostly on my glutes and hamstring, and at the crease near the front of my groin. Occasionally I would experience it along the IT band. On days when it was really bad, even my knee would start to ache (probably over compensating for my hip). It just got well enough over time with the icing, foam rolling, and hip exercises to be at a scale of 2-3 normally (before I got pregnant) with occasional flare-ups (sometimes there are weeks in between flare-ups so that I get really frustrated when it returns). I also feel the pain more frequently when it is cold and especially now during my pregnancy.
I have to admit that after injuring my hip, I pretty much quit high impact aerobics like running. I do step aerobics and some polymetrics occasionally, but never more than once a week. I mostly stick with the low impact stuff. I hate to say this, but I don’t trust my hip.
Hi All,
I’ve just been diagnosed with a hip labral tear and was wondering if anyone’s
had (doctor suggested) a cortisone injection in the joint to relieve /isolate pain
associated with the hip and glutes.
Thanks
I am a Physical Therapist and probably have a labral tear myself, left hip. The stretches and exercises you’re doing are pretty much what I’d have you do. My only input is to give you an alternative to the peas. They tend to get too hard after freezing, thawing and refreezing. Get a gallon sized zip loc baggie, mix one cup of rubbing alcohol with two cups water, stick it in the freezer. It won’t freeze solid so it will drape over whatever joint needs it. I double bag it in case of leaks. There are 3 in my freezer as we speak. Cheap and easy, hope it helps.
Jenny, that is really good advice on the homemade ice pack. I tried it and it works much better than frozen peas. Thanks for offering the tip.
I hurt my hip badly a few months ago probably dancing. Though I haven’t had the colour injecting MRI scan yet it is probably a torn labrum. Groin pain, deep limping, can’t sit fo more than 20 minutes. I swim every day now that I m off work with this injury and that makes me feel much better for a time. I have always bee a very active cyclist and dancer and hiker. I don’t want surgury. Has anyone overcome this with just time and rest? In a year or two will it fade and can have my life back?
Dearlove,
I’ve been living with my torn labrum for the last 6-7 years, starting to lose track of the time. The doctors I went to don’t recommend hip surgery because they don’t think I’ll gain anymore mobility than I’ve now. Right now, I don’t have time to pursue it.
I still experience hip pain: depending on what I’m doing, weather, and time of the month. But overall, I’ve been able to stay active. For me after the second year my hip stopped bothering me as much. I don’t know if my pain tolerance went up or maybe it just got better, but at least I don’t have the urge to gnaw off my leg anymore. Good luck.
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