Hip Arthroscopy Rehab: The First Month Post-Op
Acetabular labral tears are reported to be a major cause of hip dysfunction in young to middle-age patients and a primary precursor to hip osteoarthritis. The management of hip injuries in the athletic population “…has rapidly evolved over the past decade with our improved understanding of mechanical hip pathology.” (Lynch et al., 2013) Medical and rehabilitation differential diagnosis of the hip involves many options such as labral tear, femoroactebular impingement (FAI), hip capsular laxity/instability, chondral lesions, septic joint or loose bodies in the joint.
New technology allows improved identification of tears and arthroscopic surgical repairs, yet time of injury to diagnosis is still often delayed, making long-term prognosis for hip preservation poor. The risks of arthroscopic surgery, which, according to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, are equal to complication rates of open hip surgeries (Arthroscopy, 2013), coupled with the lack of long term follow up studies for arthroscopic procedures, makes conservative therapy a valuable tool.
My Journey Back to Hip Health
Follow me along my journey as a patient AND a practitioner, enlisting the help of many colleagues along the way, to help me reach my goal of having a pain-free and fully functional hip after experiencing a traumatic (preventable) birth injury that led to my hip arthroscopy after a long 3 years of conservative therapy and research to determine best options and plans for both surgery and recovery.
Get started:
Post 1 – https://gingergarner.com/resurfacing-hip-labral-surgery-post-1/
Post 2 – https://gingergarner.com/hip-labrum-postsurgical-musings-post-2-2/
Post 3 – https://gingergarner.com/post-surgical-musings-days-4-5-post-3/
Post 4 – https://gingergarner.com/hip-labrum-postoperative-rehab-day-6-post-4/
Post 5 – https://gingergarner.com/hip-labrum-postop-integrated-rehab-day-7-mantras-edema/
Post 6 – https://gingergarner.com/yoga-hip-labral-rehab/
Post 7 – https://gingergarner.com/days-11-18-a-turning-point-hip-preservation-post-op/
Post 8 – https://gingergarner.com/post-op-days-19-27-hip-labrum-rehab-milestones/
Post 9 – https://gingergarner.com/5470/
Michelle says
May 3, 2017 at 8:02 pmHi I have a labrum tear and the dr’s and pt say try a shot for a few months to see if that helps with pain and then decide to have surgery or not. I’m wondering what exactly I am waiting for if it doesn’t heal on its own.
I am very active I like to competitively cycle, run, I swim, yoga, lift weights and I am also a letter carrier walking for 10 miles a day. Right now I am restricted in just swimming and yoga and of course work which hurts it the most actually. So my question is why am I waiting to have surgery and what good will the shot
due other than control the pain until surgery..?
Ginger Garner says
May 5, 2017 at 4:06 pmHello Michelle,
The shot will not heal the labrum or assist in its repair but it may dampen the pain. However, it is important not to overdo during this period of reduced pain, because you do not want to injure the labrum further because the pain response is less. Does this make sense? Folks can overdo because they don’t feel pain, and end up worsening injury.
The KEY element in the “wait and see” approach to an injection is guided physical therapy. Are you seeing a physical therapist who specializes in hip labral injury and pelvic pain? If not, I cannot overestimate the importance of finding someone who can guide this rehabilitation.
Hope this helps – and please feel free to ask more questions. Your health is important!
Best,
Dr. G