Honestly I think it comes down to riding really keeps you in shape and keeps you much stronger than you normally would if you didn’t ride. I have such a strong lower body now that the symptoms for the most part are non-existent. I can immediately tell how different things become if I take 1-2 weeks off riding.
Wah! Got PRP and stem cells in the labrum and joint about a year and a half ago. Had a great summer, The, the Leg went whacko last winter…wearing bad shoes and sitting w really crappy posture doing stuff to distract from a deathly ill horse.
Ended up w massive adductor tendinitis. Got that treated, and have been having spasms in the top of the adductors, so went back to the guy who did the PRP and stem cells. He said the symptoms indicated impingement in the joint itself. Hw went ahead and did PRP and HA in the only part of the joint w narrowing. When he hit the labrum I just about jumped off the table. It was an exact (and hugely painful) match for my symptoms.
Upshot was that if I’m not substantially better in 6 wks we reimagined the hip…since this area is NOT where the original tear was. 
Sorry to hear that. I have had a second tear in my labrum repaired, it was not in the same area and the original repair looked good. It wasn’t fun of course but a lot easier than the first.
Ouch! Fingers crossed the biologics do the job again! My right hip has impingment and PRP is effective there.
I did laugh at “reimagined”! I’d like to reimagine my hips, too :lol: :yes:
My reconstructed hip has been all sorts of cranky lately. Not really anything that can be done :-/ My guy is getting certified with the Regenexx people and thinks it might be worth a go. Says there’s not the massive pain flare of the straight up PRP, whew. Might try that eventually…
Simikie…I have had mine done thru Regenexx. There is a flare for a few days, but that’s it (the stem cells were another story!). They concentrate the PRP way more, and it doesn’t have any RBC’s in it.
I agree on the mattress. We just got a new memory foam mattress(the price makes me want to vomit), but it makes a massive difference with my hip pain. My hip story is to long to post here but 14 surgeries later I’m in pretty good condition now. I agree 1 million percent on the memory foam mattress suggestion.
Glad you’re doing better after all of that. 14 surgeries is a terrifying amount of medical intervention!
I’m still expecting to move again in the next 6 to 9 months, so I’ll be investing in a really good mattress on the other side of that. In the meantime I have a princess-and-the-pea situation going on. My old, hard/uneven mattress now has a thin-ish Ikea memory foam mattress on top of it (it’s been musical beds around here, with a teen relative coming to live with me and my sisters both upgrading mattresses and donating their castoffs to the cause of housing this relative in need … ultimately the Ikea one ended stacked on my bed while awaiting removal and after a pain-free nap on the silly stack I decided to keep it). It looks a bit insane and the pets don’t like the added height, but whatever helps with the pain is worth it!
SI area can be referred pain from a deteriorating hip (ask me how I know).
A good mattress is a MUST! I’ve tried about every combo out there. Air plus memory foam or a thick wool topper was great till I moved to the PNW…but the big storms we have mean that all winter I end up w my mattress pressure different from when I went to bed and w something hurting.
i just got a Nolah mattress…they say they have reworked memory foam and made a new type that they say is good for side sleepers. I have that set up the same way that I had my air bed set up and it is WAAAAYYYYY easier sleeping on the cranky hip side. Nolahmattress.com.
On a worse note…rode for the first time in about 6 mos. Kept to a walk and a little baiting (I have an icey). Hurt so bad I was almost nauseated when I got off and had the really deep joint pain on and off today.
Been fighting this for 10 years…looking like I may get to decide between “possible but not a sure thing” w cultured stem cells, or bite the bullet and get it replaced.
Hoping that if I get sent 4 MRI it’s something like a ligament that they can inject. X-rays still look damned near pristine…
You know until we bought a proper mattress(expensive for what it is), we actually had 3 1 inch thick layers of memory foam bought at walmart. A really easy and affordable way to get the same result(I would have stuck to that actually instead of this over priced mattress had I known better at the time). You should give it a go.
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I bought a Purple mattress about 14 months ago. It replaced an expensive memory foam mattress. Like the Purple. Very stretchy sheets are a must, otherwise the mattress can’t give. I’m a back sleeper. Not sure how side-sleepers would fare, but I’m really liking it so far.
I always think it’s interesting how many equestrian’s have hip pain. I think we are pre-disposed to it with falls and over developed inner thigh muscles.
I have had lower back and hip pain since 2008. Aggravated by the following:
- Wearing tight pants, cannot wear jeans at all
- Sitting, especially in cars
- One of my horses can aggravate it- he is uphill (throw you in the back seat) guy, with high withers, and a short back. Interesting, he does have a club foot on my bad hip side. As he has become older, it is more noticeable and my pain started about 3 years ago riding him.
A Olivey pad has helped with this. Does anyone know of any impact type pads?
My other horse does not cause pain, he has a wide shoulder, but small back. 15.3H and very level between his withers and his haunches. Slightly downhill if anything.
Symptoms:
Deep ache, outside of left pelvis
Scar tissue in quad, lateral
Knee pain, lateral around knee cap, sometimes on side
Tender point on actual hip (when you push)
On a really bad day the pain will go all the way down to foot and up to lower back
I can’t sit at all. I can sit on a meditation cushion and kneeling is okay.
This is what my really bad labral tear symptoms were like. At one point all I could sit in was a gushy treeless.
Things that might help:
Thinline seat saver for impact, or a gel/foam one if you have room in the saddle. The gels made my saddle feel wider and didn’t work for me.
For a pad w impact relief you could try one of the Toklat Matrix pads. Which one kinda depends on how tight your saddle fits. I can only fit the thinnest one (5mm inserts) under my saddle. I find it has a bit more impact relief than thinline.
I think women are more effected by this crap because the way our hips are built causes abnormal stresses while riding.
I’ve been getting served ads for mattresses relentlessly since I responded to the other post about mattresses. I’m not feeling too kindly toward Purple mattresses after having to watch hokey egg drop tests before any other online content for weeks!
I feel your pain. I visited their website before I responded to your post, and now I’m seeing the ads all over, too. But maybe that’s better than the Duluth Trading underwear that I had been seeing since I bought a pair of overalls. Programmatic advertising. Hate it.
Is anyone struggling more with keeping their pain in check since the weather turned cold? I felt pretty well managed through the summer, but not anymore. It’s really frustrating and I’m not quite sure what’s driving it
x-halt, we just bought a Sapira mattress. It’s the fancy coil/foam hybrid made by Leesa. Will let you know how it feels on the hips!
YES!!
Until recently, my hip bothered me a bit, but as you said it was manageable. That has changed since it got cold – I’m assuming it’s due to that since not much else has changed. Definitely worse when I sit too much but even when I’m moving around enough it’s still bothering me, even with ibuprofen. Ugh. :mad:
I’m sorry you’re also struggling @Risuena I wish I could figure out The One Thing that’s the problem, but it’s probably not just one thing, huh?
Interestingly, that tgiving week was worse than most. And then I realized it’s probably all the crap I ate. Lots of sugar and flour. I do better when my diet is better.
Thanks, @Simkie, right back at you. Good thought about diet - I feel like I’ve had a slow decline in the quality of what I’m eating over the past several months and probably need to work on that. I am wondering about barometric pressure + the cold bothering me…seems like the really bad days I’ve had recently seemed to coincide with storms moving through, who knows.
I had decided I wouldn’t be moving forward with surgery immediately at least, but am starting to re-think that. I think I’ll see how the next few months go, and look into a second opinion. I have heard a lot about the Steadman Clinic in Vail, and a MD acquaintance of mine who had a labral tear recommended that if I do surgery, to either do it there or with someone who trained there. We will be going up to Colorado in the spring so I might look into taking a side trip for a consult then.
I think part of my problem is muscle spasms - when I was doing PT, they did dry needling, which seemed to help, and also some deep massage (think leaning into their elbow) which really helped. I probably need to find a good massage therapist to keep me going. I hope you’re managing ok!
@Risuena I was also seen at Steadman. If you’re seriously considering a reconstruction, you might want to hit up Brian White in Denver, too. He did mine and he’s considered one of the best Philippon fellows. When I was seen at Steadman, I was told to proceed with surgery with White. There are quite a few Philippon fellows out there, though–lots to choose from. You may have one locally? I just can’t even imagine traveling after a reconstruction. It was by far the most painful thing I’ve ever gone through!
My reconstruction didn’t resolve my pain and I’m actually quite a bit worse now. No one can really tell me why, although the last doc I saw (Bharam in NYC, another Philippon fellowed surgeon) referred me down to Hal Martin in Dallas and he might have some ideas. He’s apparently THE guy to see for hip pain that presents posteriorly. If that’s how your pain presents, consider seeing him. I haven’t gotten down there to see him but hope to sometime this winter.
Be careful with your HIPAA data at Steadman. I was looking for a consult for my persistent pain and they emailed an intake form for me to complete–one that had already been completed by a different patient. LOTS of protected info there. Was shocking and just SO sloppy of the office staff.
A really stellar massage person is pretty key for me! I hope you’re able to find someone 
It does help a whole lot. I’ve been thinking I should find someone for some dry needling…it addresses those really deep spasms SO well.
I joined the hip pain club years ago, but it’s finally time I have to do something about it. I don’t know if the cold weather has triggered more pain, but it’s really interfering with my riding. Yesterday I had my orthobiologic doc look at it. He did an ultrasound, found some arthritis and old injuries and “stuff”, so I’ll get an MRI next week and in two weeks he’ll load it up with PRP. I’m also getting a platelet lysate epidural for my C-spine – already had the facets done and it wasn’t enough.
