Acetabular Labrum tear

Totally agree with you NikkiNZ. I also was not in tiptop shape by the time surgery came about and that was because of (again also) of having to stop anything that did or could cause a flare up episode. My life was moderatly active (if you compare it to an athlete), what I do demands a lot physicaly. And for the past 3 years, I had to cut down a lot. It was debilitating.

I find in the three weeks I rested, I healed fairly well. 1st day post op, I couldn't dress myself or come close to touching my foot on the affected leg. 3 weeks later I could put on socks & shoes by myself with more ease.

Hi everyone
Judging by some the posts, i think people should search long and hard before they commit to a surgeon operating on them, i waited until i found someone that im 100% confident with. After today talking to the physio (this physio was operated on for fai from the same surgeon) that he recommended im 110% confident. The physio said his condition was worse than mine, and he was running (not jogging) 3 and half weeks after surgery and can do anything he wants now. He said he wants to see me twice before surgery to give me a program that will make the rehab recovery faster. I suppose im lucky as im reasonably fit anyway so its probably easier for me. He then said i would need 6 physio treatments afterwards and i would be right after that. James you have the best surgeon in Australia/New Zealand i think you would be fine to travel to Denmark 3-4 weeks after surgery as long as you aren't planning excessive walking etc.
Good luck to everyone with there recoveries and hope all is well

Hi James
I forgot to say the surgeon did say occasionally you have 'numbness' in the groin for a few weeks after, this is rare, but when it happens things dont operate properly so bear that in mind with my last post on the sex subject
cheers.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by tallblack

Hi James
I forgot to say the surgeon did say occasionally you have 'numbness' in the groin for a few weeks after, this is rare, but when it happens things dont operate properly so bear that in mind with my last post on the sex subject
cheers.

---

Yes I had read that but I was surprised that Mr O told me very little about what he was going to do, what to expect afterwards etc. He was surprised at my level of knowledge(thanks to this site!) and it was almost as if he was very reluctant to say much at all.
Not sure why. I have 100% confidence in him though and have managed to find out a lot from this site and hipscopecommunity/labralicious.
From my reading it appears that a lot of surgeons OS are still suggesting quite a bit of time non weight bearing post-op. I am guessing the rapid return to weight bearing he is suggesting is a recent aproach?
I found this abstract which seems to back up this approach

Rapid Rehabilitation and Recovery with Minimally Invasive Total Hip Arthroplasty.

Clinical Orthopaedics & Related Research. 429:239-247, December 2004.
Berger, Richard A MD; Jacobs, Joshua J MD; Meneghini, R Michael MD; Della Valle, Craig MD; Paprosky, Wayne MD; Rosenberg, Aaron G MD
Abstract:
To assess the potential recovery rate of a minimally invasive total hip replacement technique with minimal soft tissue disruption, an accelerated rehabilitation protocol was implemented with weightbearing as tolerated on the day of surgery. One hundred consecutive patients were enrolled in this prospective study. Ninety-seven patients (97%) met all the inpatient physical therapy goals required for discharge to home on the day of surgery; 100% of patients achieved these goals within 23 hours of surgery. Outpatient therapy was initiated in 9% of patients immediately, 62% of patients by 1 week, and all patients by 2 weeks. The mean time to discontinued use of crutches, discontinued use of narcotic pain medications, and resumed driving was 6 days postoperatively. The mean time to return to work was 8 days, discontinued use of any assistive device was 9 days, and resumption of all activities of daily living was 10 days. The mean time to walk 1/2 mile was 16 days. Furthermore, there were no readmissions, no dislocations, and no reoperations. Therefore, a rapid rehabilitation protocol is safe and fulfills the potential benefits of a rapid recovery with minimally invasive total hip arthroplasty.

Tallblack would you mind giving me the name of the Physio that you had mentioned?
Cheers

Apologies the paper I quoted above was for minimally invasive total hip replacemet.Not arthroscopy.

Just thought I would put this out there...I had open surgery and was WB as tolerated...my surgeon asked me less than 24 hours post op if I had put all my weight on my operated hip yet. I was up and about and putting as much weight as I could as soon as the physio's got to me! I wont say it didnt hurt but it wasn't too bad as far as I could remember and I was certainly encouraged to do as much as I was able-I think its a pain based thing, you do as much as you can handle as you know that the sooner you get moving again the better and easier things are going to get.

I haven't really got much to contribute, but thought I'd post anyway.

I'm 25 and had a scope on 19th November, so I'm about five weeks out. Unfortunately, there's only two guys that do this sorta work in Adelaide, so I wasn't really spoilt for choice.

I'm not really certain what caused the complaint, but I think it might have been a motor vehicle accident - I had three, each a year apart, in 2000, 2001 and 2002. I've been complaining of hip pain since 2001, but I've also been complaining of knee, neck and back etc. so I think the hip complaint got lumped in the "soft tissue" pile.

Anyway, I stumbled across a physio last year who's been working through my injuries with me, and he has a labral tear himself, so he was the first one to raise the possibility. Had an MRA in September of this year which reported negative, however, when i met with the surgeon, the image showed that there was a "split". Light was shining through the labrum.

Pre-op I used to work out 6x per week, but always with hip pain. Lots of snapping, locking and cracking in the joint. My decision to go ahead with the scope was basically that I felt about 125, rather than 25. My surgeon didn't force me to have it, but he appreciated my situation - it's frustrating feeling a lot older than you actually are.

Anyway, (sorry this is sooo long!), recovery is, just okay I'll say. I definately feel better, there's some days where the cracking increases, some days I might just have one crack for the entire day and it won't be painful. Some days I limp. I think my biggest issue is walking moderate-long distances. I ditched the crutches about 4 days after the op. I definately agree with happygirl about it being a pain based thing and doing what you can handle. I started physio about 4 days after the op.

I've started wearing heels and have been out dancing a couple of times. Unfortunately, I've been single for a loonnnng time so I can't really answer the sex question. I am however, taking a beating emotionally. I feel like I've been steam rollered. It's hard not to get down on yourself, and I hate not being able to exercise as and when I choose. I have a wonderful physio, but on occasion feel like he's pushing me, and I just wanna take my time. Some days its good to sulk :) I don't really feel like my peers can appreciate or understand the way I feel unfortunately.

On the whole though, I don't regret it. There's definate improvement. I think it's just a long road and I need to keep my chin up. I feel a sense of comraderie with you guys because we're all going through the same thing and the results are so uncertain.

So, thanks for letting me vent :)

Hi Peta,
I also had surgery on Nov 19th. Mine was a labral chondral debridment with microperforation (same as microfracture), what did you have done?

It's interesting to read about the different post op approaches. You got rid of the crutches when you started physio: 4 days after surgery, while with me, I was non weight bearing for 3 weeks, and started physio 4 weeks post op. And I still walk around with one crutch which should probably be replaced by a cane.

I hope that you have a compassionate surgeon that takes the time to address your concerns. Mine has no clue who I am everytime we meet, and answers my questions in a generic manner (I get more info searching the internet). But he was highly recommended.

Are you in any pain? How's physio coming along?

Hey LMS,

Mine was a debridement also. No microperforation. When he came to see me post-op, he actually said there was no tear but the joint was incredibly inflammed (?!>!!!??@EQW). When I went back a couple of weeks later to have the stitches out, he talked me through the photos and referred to a photo where he'd pushed his hook through a "split". So I think that's what he meant by there being no tear, in that it hadn't completely ripped itself away. He removed the split part and sent it off for biopsy - no reason why it's so inflammed. Treatment for inflammation hasn't been followed up by anybody, in that, I have no idea if I should be treating the inflammation and if so, how.

So on the whole, I've heard rave reviews about my surgeon from people who work in training of surgery, he has wonderful technical competency apparently, but in my mind that's redundant when you can't get a straight answer and follow through. My relationship with my surgeon is the same as yours. We talk about the weather and when I'm going back to uni, that kinda crap. Like you, searching the internet is where I've learned about it all. During my first consult, he recommended I jump on the internet and read up myself. Not really confidence inspiring, particularly given how different each surgeon's approach is.

Also, like you say, the different post-op approaches are interesting, in some ways I find it worrying. Obviously, i want to give my body the best opportunity to heal, so I wonder, did I go back to full movement etc too soon? but then wonder if I would have benefited from the extra time. gosh, who knows.

Pain is inconsistent - definately improved however. I think that's the thing that keeps me focused. I can have a day where my joint won't lock and snap and that feels good. Movement is freer. I am back in the gym doing really gentle stuff. I think the fact that I'm struggling mentally poses the biggest threat to my ability to physically recover. I still think I'm invincible and want to behave like I am.

Physically on the whole, the biggest kicker is sitting I think - if I sit too long then go to standing I get a sharp pain that makes me double over. It goes away after a few minutes. I'm not really sure what to make of it.

Physio is good, we're focusing on re-strengthening the glute etc of my operated side. I didn't really dawn on me exactly HOW weak things had gotten post op! He does some release work on my leg and that's incredibly painful but I have free movement for quite some time after. We're working on a weekly basis at the moment, some might suggest that's too much, but it's what I'm happy with at this point.

What's your pain like? Improving? Is physio helping?

I hope my posts can start getting shorter eventually!! sorry everybody.

edited because my grammar can really suck some days :)

Who are the 2 surgeons in Adelaide? And where are you having physio? I had an MRA that showed no labral tears, but have pain when sitting and walking.