I’m sorry to hear that you are having hip problems in addition to the other issues.
Hang in there Larkspur. Sing out if there is anything I can do. :yes:
I forgot to mention a resource my doctor recommended. It’s a website called “The FAI Fix”. There is a one-time fee for permanent access to all of their program materials. I haven’t signed up yet, but I’ve started looking at some of their YouTube videos and starting into some of my hip yoga routines.
Here is their YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCw…5Dd-H281T1g-bQ
This one is pretty good: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0CA5YxF8Cc
I’ve always wondered if dancing, in some specific manner could help anything. It is movement…and cheerful for the soul. I wonder if any Docs or PTs contemplate this sort of thing
Advance to 2:46 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-Ds-FXGGQg
Grandad seems to be rockin’ it…maybe something there.:yes:
I’ll see your lovely Chinese family dancing skills and raise you Japanese Rockabilly dancers.
I know it is not our fault that they are doing this but I have some odd feelings of guilt that we are somehow responsible.
Oh well, rock on Japan! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDwSsigeIps
Here is how some of these rockers became their rockin’ selves. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQkJ10WnSVQ&index=2&list=RDVDwSsigeIpsThe twist is probably not the answer to hip pain. I’m sorry, I digress.
Simkie, I’m sorry it took me so long to respond - I read your reply and waited until I had “more time” to reply and suddenly it’s a month later.
THANK YOU for that info! I still go back and forth about if I’m seriously considering surgery - at the moment, my hip is fairly quiet and if I had to decide today I’d say not worth it. But - last weekend, my husband took our kids skiing, and I didn’t go, because of the hip. I can’t run.I gave the kids pony rides a couple of weeks ago and had the horse trot a tiny bit with them. I was leading the horse so jogged a just little bit…felt fine then but I really regretted it for the next couple of days. Sorry, now I’m just venting. I guess the bottom line is I feel like I can’t complain too much because it could be so much worse, but it’s really impacted my lifestyle.
Anyway, despite being on the fence about surgery, I think I definitely want to find a top-notch second opinion for a good assessment. I’ll actually be near Denver in the spring, so I really appreciate your recommendation for Brian White - I’ll definitely look him up. I’m not aware of any Philippon fellows locally, I’ve asked around but I haven’t done an exhaustive search yet.
Have you gotten down to Dallas for them to look at you? I really hope you’re able to get to the bottom of your troubles!
Hey hip pain people!
I thought I’d bump this rather than hijack one of the other hip pain threads on the forum right now to respond to @Simkie .
The bad news in my life is that the hips are feeling worse and are rapidly losing range of motion, and I’ve got awful SI pain that wakes me up in the wee hours every morning.
But the good news is that I’ve moved once again, and am starting a new job in about a month. Where bad insurance (very high deductible, high co-insurance, limited provider network and no out-of-network coverage) hampered my efforts to do anything about it over the last few years beyond talking with an ultimately not very helpful primary care doc, I’ll soon have a chance to choose better coverage and maybe try again to get some relief.
I’ve got an HMO and PPO to choose between. Lack of choice in providers has been a stumbling block for me (I was in a strange plan that assigned all docs with zero patient choice when this all began, and on my last insurance plan I theoretically had a choice of primary care provider, but 99% of the PC docs accepting new patients on the plan were pediatricians so in practice my choice was made by default). Hassles with HMO referrals have also hamstrung my access to things like PT and second opinions in the past. Still, I’m not sure the PPO is worth it ($25/month higher premiums, $500/year higher deductible, 10% higher co-insurance on pretty much everything except preventative care). Either way, though, having a deductible that’s thousands of dollars lower will help. Not to mention that out of pocket costs will be easier to absorb once I’m out of the “indentured servitude” phase of my career and earning a salary that’s a little farther from the FLSA exempt minimum.
So I’m optimistic. The new insurance won’t start until September, but I’ve scoped out a primary care doc with a sports medicine specialty, in the hopes that having care managed by a younger doc with a background oriented toward helping people be active will help me get out of the NSAIDS-and-activity-modification rut I’ve been in with my assigned dinosaur docs for the last several years.
How’s everybody else doing lately?
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Yay real insurance!!! Find the sports med/pain specialist/physiatrist in your area. All those things in one person. Those are my best people! I’ll help you pin one down if you want to share where you are (in pm or wherever) 
The med that keeps my life liveable is about 700/month, so maybe think about whatever option has good rx coverage?
Things are okay here, mostly just managing with meds and ignore. I can feel both hips are getting less stable, and that’s causing some back pain. Still consider my massage guy pretty important. Still haven’t gotten down to Dallas to see Martin.
Are you by chance doing things on the ground? Maybe packing? My SI lights up like CRAZY if I’m reaching down to the ground a lot. Was weeding a couple days ago…and then wondered why my butt hurt so bad. Oh. Duh. :-/
”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹
What med make your life liveable Simkie? As your hip sister you are supposed to keep me abreast of those sort of discoveries!
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Simkie, I’m sorry to hear that joint stability is getting worse. Hopefully manage-and-ignore means that your current regimen is liveable though?
You nailed it with things low to the ground. I packed and moved about 12 boxes of books (occupational hazard) from office to old home to new home, in addition to the usual household packing/unpacking. Then got to work on the disarray of the garden/yard at the new house (previous occupant was elderly and incapacitated, so the weeds had a many-years head start on me). I killed my coccyx this winter, though, too, and suspect that even though that’s largely healed it is playing a role in the SI area pain. I’m getting myself a sit/stand desk for my new office, so hopefully once the office move in is over I’ll be able to take some stress off of my back and vary things over the course of the workday to minimize postural contributions to the pain.
I’m definitely looking forward to having a real job with real insurance (and a real salary that might even allow me to think about things that aren’t insurance-covered eventually). I’m feeling hopeful about the hip pain for the first time in years. I’ll look into which sports med/pain/physiatrist specialists are in-network on the plans under consideration now. Great idea.
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x-halt, yep, manage-and-ignore is livable! I work my butt off around here on the property–learned how to use a chainsaw and have been clearing scrub and forest. We rented a big chipper this spring for a month and I was out every day with it. I don’t ride much at all, unfortunately, as sitting on a horse is not very comfortable, but I’m also just super busy. But as long as I’m not working in a whole lot of abduction, I’m generally okay. That’s why I’ve not made seeing Martin a priority…I hurt, sure, but as long as I don’t THINK too much about it, I do okay. I did have some PRP in the non surgical hip in the spring, as the round from a couple years previous was wearing off, and after the BRUTAL painful flare for the week following, that hip has been okayish again. But with all the work around here, I am very light and very strong and perhaps in the best shape of my life, which probably also helps?
TOTALLY get it on the packing and books! (And also weeds :() Does anything help? OTC lidocaine patches, maybe? Are you seeing a body work type person (massage, chiro, trigger point, whatever?) Something I’ve found interesting is how tight my hamstrings are, always. I very rarely notice, but when the massage guy starts working–wow. And those tight hammies just yank everything in the pelvis out of whack and then THAT stuff DOES hurt. I wonder if you might have some of that same thing going on, and could also benefit by someone to dig in and balance all that out? (Btw, I think it’s seriously unfair how everything is connected through the pelvis. Terrible design idea.) What on earth did you do to your coccyx?? Like don’t you have enough going on? 
But seriously, big yaaaaaays! on your new gig and new insurance and potential for some throw around $$ for fun stuff like PRP or whatever! FWIW, my pain guy here has drunk the Regenex koolaid (his words :lol:) and thinks it’s the best PRP option out there at this point. Sooooooo if you have one of those guys around, maybe consider a consult there? The product is purer, and you’re getting more cells (a lot more) versus table top machines. And because it’s more pure, the followup flare isn’t as hideous (I am told.)
Laurie, the med is BuTrans. We talked about it before, I’ve been on it for a couple years now. It’s great for me in a way that pills are terrible for me. With this, I don’t ever have to think about pain. With pills, I am CONSTANTLY checking in with myself–what was that twinge? is that the start of something? should I take something now? is it time to take another? Ugh. Constant. It’s waaaaay too much prioritizing pain for my brain to handle, so I’m always in soooooo much pain because I’ve made it so important. With the patch, I put it on, I forget it, and I backburner the pain and work very, very hard to never think about it. Every now and then something gets bad enough to get noticed, and I stack aleve and tylenol until it goes away. Or ice.
My back got pretty cranky after I went to a dry needling guy who just didn’t understand the detente I have with all those body parts and gave me some exercises to “fix” things (hahahahaha, yeaaaaaaah. Should have seen that coming!) But a little steroid injection helped quite a bit and now I take a tiny dose of flexeril before bed if it gets really complainy. My guy wants to get some PRP in there, and I’ll probably do that in the fall or winter if it’s still crabby.
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Oh yeah I tried that once. Had a migraine the entire time the patch was on. Glad it is working for you.
Well, I’m spending the afternoon stuck in an airport so I figured I’d resurrect this thread with an update (FAI + labral tear almost 2 years go). Looks like I’ll be heading up to Denver in mid-November for a labral reconstruction. I had a great response to a steroid injection a while ago, and PT helps, but it’s been slowly but steadily getting worse, and I think it’s time to go for it. They’re saying it will be 6 months before I’m back on a horse, which amusingly terrified my husband almost as much as it horrifies me…he clearly has recognized the correlation between how much I ride and my general outlook on life :lol:. I’m simultaneously ready to do it today and cancel it. Ugh. I’m all ears if anyone has any words of wisdom, especially for the rehab!
How’s everyone else doing?
@Risuena going with White? I hope it’s an amazing magic bullet for you! I keep thinking I should get back in with him, so my case is counted as “failed” instead of “lost to follow-up.”
I’m still just clicking along with pain management. He’d really like to try stem cell, so we might do that this winter. The non surgical hip continues to be well managed with PRP.
@Simkie, yes, going with White. I wish I had 100% confidence in the procedure (and I really wish long-term outcome data existed), but I know it’s not a sure thing. It does sound like I’m as good a candidate as any, so I think it’s worth a try.
You should definitely get in touch with him and give him feedback! Learning what doesn’t work is as important as what does! I’m glad your other hip is doing well, and I hope you find some relief for your surgical one. I have thought of you often while I’ve been debating which path to take!
@Risuena I have spoken with him, and he knows I have not done well, but absent showing up in his office, I’ve no doubt I’m not counted as failure in his data. That’s how it usually goes, no surprise there. If you get the chance, do ask him how many people have not improved, though–when we spoke (in…2015, maybe? Around there, anyway) he said he’d had seven patients fail and they did fine with repeat surgery. I’d be curious how he answers the question now! I did run into a patient of his who tore the implant, something he told me wasn’t possible…she went to Philippon for more work.
I hope with every fiber that you wake up pain free and continue that way! Reconstruction does seem to work very well for some. Stay up on your pain meds and enjoy the Game Ready Maybe get in some muscle work–massage or dry needling or something?–as early in recovery as you can? Traction is a pretty brutal thing, that alone takes some healing!
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I had THR on both my hips. I was back in the saddle after 3 months. Honestly, it was a piece of cake. Like so many people will say, I wish I had not waited so long. The worry and anticipation is worse than the surgery and recovery. One important thing (if you need a THP) is to find a surgeon that does the anterior approach. It’s a much easier recovery than the posterior approach. Good luck to you! I understand 
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@Simkie - I was talking with one of his staff a while ago and directly asked about outcomes. I forget the exact wording he used (no improvement/poor outcome/failure?) but he said that about 5% of their surgeries are not successful (+ some more not counted?). On the one hand, IMHO that’s pretty good, on the other hand, based on the info from his website, that’s at least ~150 unhappy people that went through the surgery without anything to show for it. Oh, and thanks for the heads up about the consequences of traction, good to know!
My local orthopedist has really grown on me. He specializes in hips (but doesn’t do labral repair surgery anymore though he has in the past). He’s pretty direct, and one thing he talked about from the beginning is that labral repair seems to either be a home run or a complete bust - and he emphasized to me that the issue is they can’t tell ahead of time which category the patient will fall into. He said they’ve really struggled with ‘patient selection’ - who will the surgery really help? He said that’s actually why he doesn’t do the surgery anymore - he said as a surgeon, he really needs to believe in the surgery, and in his hands the outcome was too unpredictable. (Side note - that did make me wonder about his skills, or the learning curve involved in these types of surgeries…and his previous patients. But it impressed me that he stopped doing these surgeries, and spoke so frankly about it. One of the other surgeons in his practice now does all of the labral repairs, and he also recommends Dr. White in Denver for reconstruction). My labrum has signs of calcification/ossifcation in addition to the tear so he thought that a full reconstruction would give me the best chance. I really appreciate his honesty and am growing to trust him, but this is one reason why I’m almost 2 years into my hip issues and have not been willing to move forward until now.
@dreamagainfarm - I’m so glad you’re doing well! I’ve lost count of the number of people who’ve told me they sailed through THR and like you, their only regret was not doing it sooner. I’ve seriously considered just getting the hip injected more and eventually go for a THR, but I’m young enough that I think (hope?) trying the labral reconstruction is a good option for me.
Thanks!
