getting stronger!

We've got a plan! Sort of. It's been decided that my time at physical therapy is better spent doing isometric exercises to strengthen my muscles. I had never heard of isometrics until I had hip surgery but they can be very useful. In a nutshell  isometrics strengthen major muscles groups (ex: quads and glutes) without joint movement. This important for me (and many FAI patients too) because I may damage my joint if I do typical strength training on exercise machines. Isometrics are mainly done by contracting that muscle group for a few seconds. After spending a good portion of the last few years recovering from surgery or being on crutches my muscles have taken an extended vacation. Strong muscles can help to reduce tendon pain (when muscles are "lazy" tendons have to do more work and can become sore and inflamed with tendinitis).

breaking up (scar tissue) is hard to do

The current plan of attack for my hip pain is to break up the scar tissue from my various surgeries. Scar tissue can build up quickly and cause all kinds of problems not the least of which is pain. I can't give a particularialy scientific explaination to why it forms but it can do all sorts of damage. When scar tissue breaks up naturally (with movement) it can be very painful. I was also told I might even have scar tissue on my labrum causing pain. Having a physical therapist break it up for you isn't fun but it can help.Right now I'm having  graston tools used on my hip. It's much more effective that manual massage and I can even feel the scar tissue breaking. (it feels like bubble wrap is being popped under my skin) It's pretty rough on my hip and I have the bruises to prove it! My physical therapist  suggested that my my Mom can do this at home on the days I don't go to PT. Graston tools are quite pricey but we've found a great alternative: a point turner. It's a sewing tool you can find at a craft store for less and $5. Use the rounded end with a little bit of massage cream. It works well to draw "circles within circles" with the tool on the outside of your hip if you've been having iliotibial band issues.

my story

It's been a while since I wrote a post about what's going on with my hips, so here it is!  I believe I last wrote that I was going to start a physical therapy program to "restart" my poor psoas muscle. I have been having groin pain since August and despite steroid injections it kept getting worse. After starting a PT program for my psoas, which was believed to be the source of my pain, my pain continued to get worse. We decided to switch to massage which didn't help either. Right now I'm going to PT twice a week for treatment with Graston tools to hopefully break up my scar tissue. I can't say that it's helping but it does leave me pretty sore...and black and blue! We're in contact with my surgeons and we're trying to decide what The Next Step should be. It's looking like another arthroscopy to make sure my labrum isn't torn...oh boy.