So what exactly happened?
November 13, 2012 in Pearl Izumi, Recovery Pump Boots, Rev3, trials and tribs
Recovery seems to be going pretty well. I’m finished with 2 weeks of my prescribed 6 weeks of non-weight bearing on my right leg. I can do lots of things on crutches, for example I can carry a full hot mug of tea from my kitchen to my room without spilling, I can go up and down stairs, and I can balance with my feet suspended for over 5 seconds in a totally safe manner. I can also use them to vault myself onto my bike without breaking rules of how much I can bend my hip, which is not much! (I get to bike 5 minutes a day on the trainer with no resistance, it’s for mobilization not fitness.)
Today I saw my doctor for a checkup. He asked how everything has been since the surgery but quickly he got bored and started instead to tell me what exactly he did during the surgery. Which was indeed more interesting, and met with less disapproval, than “I went to PT and she didn’t do anything” and “I took off the steri-strips 5 days early because they smelled” which they did, even if I took 2 showers a day.
Anyway today I learned what he actually had to do to fix my hip, here’s a list in layman’s terms:
- removed damaged cartilage from femoral head
- fixed cam lesion in femoral head<–this is something about the bone hitting the socket a lot so you have to shave it down
- stitched together something in there
- fixed labral/cartilage bubbling resulting from cam lesion and associated friction
- fixed (removed?) multiple cysts resulting from generally pissed off hip
- fixed a labral tear
- removed mysterious accumulation of soft tissue resulting from generally pissed off hip
- microfractured cartilage at head of femur so it would regenerate<–this is the main reason behind the 6 weeks of crutches because it takes a long time to regenerate
Also in the process of this the cap on the femur head had to be un-sealed and will over time re-seal itself.
So basically it seems I kind of did a number on my hip. Which, STOP the Q-tip when you meet resistance right. Ugh. Sobering phrases like “worse once we got in there” and “5 to 6 months” were hard to ignore during today’s appointment, although I tried.
On the plus side I get to go to the pool starting this weekendish!! Water-walking, then water-running, and a bit of swimming is allowed too. With a pull buoy. Open turns. I can stand on both feet in the pool too (as long as the water is at least chest-deep)! I can’t wait. I can’t wait to feel like I can move on my own.
I am so glad to read that you are on the mend. I would love to catch up with you when you have a spare moment! x
Wow girl- does this sound so familiar. I’ve been through the whole surgery thing and swam with a pull buoy and only used open flip turns. It will make your swimming damn fast! Like I said a couple years ago at Rev3 Portland- it’s a blessing in disguise. You’re getting faster by not training and healing.
I couldn’t walk for 2 months though or ride a bike. I could start swimming after 3 weeks. Happy that you are even on the bike for mobilization!
As odd as it sounds, I have some lower back issues as well. I have a deformity on L4/L5 and inside where the spinal cord is it’s narrower than normal so it causes weird pain and hamstring/ sciatica issues. In the long haul, we found out that my hamstring tear was due to inadequate hip flexibility and tightness in the hips- so bingo- lower back pain and hip or around hip areas are so fragile and can waterfall pretty easily.
I have to say that I’m super happy I got surgery. Soft tissue damage or in the hip socket is something your body always wants to protect. Your body wants to protect your hips first- for walking and being able to survive.. if we were where we were a couple hundred years ago. So the lower back pain was a result of your hip. It’s bizzare how another symptom shows up for a completely different problem. I’m SO HAPPY for you that you got surgery and that you are on the road to recovery!
- kenz
Yay!