getting ready for surgery

On July 13th I had an arthrogram (see the last post!) and though the metal anchors in my hip caused some blurriness (a.k.a. artifact) my surgeon believes that my labrum has become detached and that arthroscopy is our best option. This will allow us to see what's and fix it in a minimally invasive way. Last Thursday we found out that there was a cancellation for this Tuesday and they were able to fit me in! That's the day after tomorrow and I can't believe it. I've been getting ready this weekend (which apparently includes a lot of trips to Target) and I'm incredibly thankful to get this over with during the summer and have the chance to start my senior year without crutches! I hope to have lots of photos and in-depth posts about my recovery. To start things off, here's a pre-surgery list! Packing and getting ready for surgery is a huge part of my mental preparation and it really helps me come to terms with things and feel less anxious.
  
Things to bring:

• loose fitting pj or sweat pants (if you bring one thing, bring these!) You will want to wear jeans for a week or so after surgery.
• T-shirt
• slippers/grippy socks for slippery hospital floors
• magazines + music
• a thera band (if you have one and if your protocol includes it) to tie your ankles together to keep your post-op hip for rotating externally.
• toothbrush, toothpaste, hair brush, etc.

You're never too old for a stuffed animal and they're great at holding oxygen masks near your face.

MRI arthrogram- pictures!

I've already written about arthrograms once here (I go in to way more detail about the process of the procedure, flouroscopy and the MRI scan )Yesterday I had an arthrogram on my left hip to check for a labral tear. (a tear of the gasket-like rim of cartilage on the hip joint called the labrum. The contrast injected into the hip joint during the procedure makes the labrum much easier to see on the MRI scan that follows the procedure.) I sometimes feel like I've had so many hip procedures in the past three years, but when I thought about it I realized that this was only my second arthrogram. All I can say is that I was a ball of nerves before the procedure and there was nothing to be worried about. The initial injection of the number stings a bit but the best part was I couldn't even tell that the contrast needle went into my hip. If you've never had a hip injection before  I'll admit it can be scary. Everyone's experience will be different but the best thing to do is trust your radiologist. From start to finish it tends to only take about 20 minutes and if they inject some numbing agent into the joint with the contrast (which they usually do so you can lie still and pain free for about an hour in the MRI scanner) you'll be pain free for a bit after the procedure. It's a win-win. By all means I'm not saying it's a walk in the park, but it's best to look at things in a positive light. It also really helps to have something fun to look forward too after the procedure (for me, that's ice cream). Bring on the five inch needles!

hip strengthening and balance exercise

I've been given this exercise in physical therapy a few different times as it's a  great multipurpose exercise for practicing balance and strengthening the muscles around the hip. Plus it's pretty fun and you can join the circus once you get really good at it. It's a great thing to do pre- surgery to strengthen and also post -surgery if you have muscle atrophy (wasting or loss) from the surgery and recovery. Always check with your physical therapist first, of course! You do need a small exercise trampoline for this but to get stated you can always just do it on solid ground. The trampoline just adds to the balancing element of the excercise. As you can see in the video, I wobble a lot, especially on my left leg. This weakness, we think, is from those crazy six months on crutches after my last surgery. To do this stand on one leg and have someone throw you a ball. At first they can throw it straight at you but as you get used to it they should begin to throw it to the left, right and higher or lower. This forces you to move your body to catch the ball which in turn tests your balance. Depending on your tolerance you can switch legs every 30 to 60 seconds but you should stop if you have pain.

Hello again!

I apologize for the complete lack of posts for the past months, I simply wasn't able to  as junior year really took almost all of my time and energy. But now I'm back! Yay! I'm excited to be able to do this again because I enjoy writing about this (and hopefully you enjoy reading about this too!) I hope to have more physical therapy videos and more explanations about surgeries and more general thoughts about this whole hip surgery experience.
Ty

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.