FAI Femoroacetabular Impingement, diagnosis, repair and issues

[Brettule]

2 years ago when I was 35 my days playing Basketball came to an abrupt end when I started getting extreme sharp stabs of pain in my left hip. It was difficult to pick out any one movement or load which caused the most pain but an MRI showed a torn labrum, cyst in the joint and general oesto breakdown with the beginings of arthritis. Three surgeon opinions were all "suck it up, deal with it, when the pain gets so bad you can't sleep then come in for a hip replacement", or words to that effect. The fourth surgeon I saw was Mr David Young who diagnosed the issues as stemming from Femoroacetabular Impingement. In simple terms my hip socket is deep and so over the years the ball in the socket has created a cam effect and mashed the labrum. This in turn eventually leads to all the other issues. David operated about 6 months ago through arthroscopy, the femoral neck was channeled out, the cup was ground down and reduced and the labrum repaired. I recoverd extremely well by 3 months after the op, pretty much back to normal. I chose to care for the hip and gave up impact sports on it, instead I started short bike rides.

Shortly after that point in time (4 months post op) problems started coming back. Namely the stabbing pain. The worry was that the hip had not healed properly, MRI showed that the surgery was fine but now I had a bone edema (bruised bone) on the hip joint. 8 weeks of rest, crutches, no load put on the hip, etc and it's started to get better but as soon as I try to ask anything remotely active from it the pain returns and I'm back on crutches. There is no obvious reason why the edema has arrisin and recovery can be anywhere from 3 months to 2 years. My worry is that if I've done nothing obvious to bring about the edema how can I prevent it from returning.

[SirenMoonBee]

I wish i knew the answer my friend, I am currently on week two of having my femur rotated for my impingement n my right and 2 years ago i had my left femur lengthened and pelvis broke in 3 places and realigned on the left side. I know these type of surgeries can take you on a real roller coaster ride of pain and recovery, one min your flyign high and everything is amazing the next it flares up again and it sets you back months. Just take it easy and rest like they say and try to avoid any situations that could cause any damage, for the next 18 months mainly. I would seek a really good physio and ask their advice too. Hope you get some answers and heal well xx

[Brettule]

Thanks for the advice. Roller coaster ride is spot on, thats just how I feel. The odd thing about it all is this edema thats formed, my biggest worry is that it won't resolve itself. The edema is often associated with sports injuries through repeditive impact but all I was doing was treating my hip gently and riding the bike around the block every so often.

[SirenMoonBee]

I know that feeling all tooooo well. I'll do something gentle and little and it all flares it up vile and takes a few days to settle down and it i try things again (things that i can't believe could possibly flare it up) it happens again. Spam1 is our Doc and fellow hippie on here, perhaps she could give you some advice xx Good Luck xx

[Bingerz]

Hi everybody,

I had my surgery (FAI on both pelvis and femur and labral tear) on Monday 12/12/2011. I am a 28 year old tennis player/coach, so i am very active.

Had been dealing with the problem for about 18 months after being misdiagnosed by a couple of other 'specialists.'

I am completely off pain meds (only on anti-inflammatories at the moment) and have been so since day 3.

I am completely off crutches and have been so since day 2/3.

As it stands i am post-op 8 days now and feel like i am going quite well. I get my stitches out tomorrow and also will have a chat to my Dr then and see what he says.

How does that compare to others?

P.S. My surgeon is Dr Peter Walker.

Cheers,

Chris

[Brettule]

Sounds about right. I guess it all depends on how severe the original issue was. When mine gave in I was barely able to walk without pain. The surgeon said my op took a lot longer than was common and I'd done a "proper job" of damaging it. I guess the average athelete is highlighting the issue well before I was and therefore the recovery time is a lot less. I was on opiate type pain relief for 3 days and then on over the counter pain relief for 2 weeks. Crutches were needed for 2 weeks before I started to shuffle about.