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PKR JusticeRider’s rehab adventure

Happy Two Year Anniversary!
Sorry the foot fracture is slowing you down. After it heals I'm sure you'll be rarin to go! I hope you're enjoying the Summer.
Thanks for stopping by...always nice to hear from you, JR. :)
@JusticeRider
 
Hey gang, been a couple years. My PKR is still doing wonderfully! I love this knee. Foot fracture eventually healed and is only uncomfortable occasionally.

I was diagnosed with Ehlers Danlos after all and also told that it can be somewhat progressive as time goes by, especially in our 40’s and 60’s as aging speeds up a bit during those periods. Here at 48 I am finding that to be true. More and more symptoms/complications throughout my body. I’m so grateful for this knee though!

Unfortunately, my left hip now has a torn labrum. This is the 3rd time. It is very painful and has been interfering with my life in a big way for the last few months. I am meeting with a surgeon next week to discuss next steps. I’m assuming they’ll recommend another labral repair and possible FAI resurfacing.

I am considering pushing for a THR instead. I got 6 yrs out of my first hip repair and 5 yrs out of my second. I can’t imagine continuing to do this every few years and I understand with my hypermobility that is a good possibility. I would love to keep my own hip, but not if we’re going to keep cutting into it over and over.

If it’s anything like my knee, they are going to be reluctant to do a replacement due to my age. But I pushed for the patellofemoral replacement and eventually found a surgeon who was willing to do it. So I guess we’ll see how things go.

I only signed up here for the basic membership for now, but if I do end up going for a THR, I will sign up for the next level and post another recovery thread. This forum was absolutely ESSENTIAL to my PKR recovery, and I don’t know what I would have done without it.
 
Welcome back, @JusticeRider. It's great to hear that your knee is doing well and that the foot has healed.

I'm sorry your hip is causing trouble and that you are facing a decision about yet another surgery. But it sounds as though you know what you want to do and how to get there.

Please let us know what the surgeon says after your appointment next week.
 
I would say welcome back- except you probably would prefer not to be feeling the need to post at all.
I am glad your PKR knee is doing well. I remember you were just ahead of me back when I had my PKR nearly 4 years ago. I followed your recovery because so much resonated with mine.
I am sorry about the Ehlers Danlos and the consequent other joint issues. I think I will need at least one of my hips done at some point ( my surgeon thought my right hip was worse on MRI/ X rays but currently it is the left which periodically plays up and my back is also intermittently tricksy). Fortunately with regular pilates I am managing my various joint issues and managing to travel/look after grandkids etc. I had a glimpse of what you are going through with your labral tear when I had some hip bursitis a while back. It is so aggravating to be in pain and not to be able to do things.
I hope you can get a resolution and get back to your very active life on your farm. Good luck!
 
Hi JusticeRider,
It is so lovely you stopped by and left us an update. You were such an active and supportive member of BoneSmart during and beyond your recovery. It's nice to now how far you've come and that your PKR is serving you well.

I am sorry that you're dealing with a hip issue that's causing pain and interfering with your life. I wish you the best for your appointment with the surgeon next week. We do have a few members diagnosed with Ehlers Danlos, if interested in their threads, use the SEARCH typing in Ehlers Danlos and their threads will pop up.

Also, thank you for understanding how our membership works now. We'd be very happy to welcome you as an Insider at any point if you do need surgery down the road, but we also encourage you to continue updating your existing thread, letting us know how you're doing.

Wishing you only the best moving forward. :)

@JusticeRider
 
Welcome back, JusticeRider. It's great to hear how well your PKR is doing! Now, for that hip. I pray that you can make the right decision. I can add my experience to maybe help you. If I had had the choice of a TKR 30 years sooner, it would have saved me 5 knee surgeries, including a kneecap removal, which has left me permanently weaker than if I had my kneecap. My left knee has already had 6 surgeries, and is headed towards a TKR eventually. My right hip is also facing a replacement, and I will have that before any other surgeries on it.

I think you'd do well with a THR because you already know how to recover from a replacement!
 
Thanks for the warm welcome (back) everyone (: Nice to see some familiar signatures, though @EalingGran you are right, I wish it were not under these circumstances! You all were such a gift when I was struggling through my PFR and that means a lot!

I had a telemed with my PCP yesterday and she said she thinks we should try to manage it conservatively. She said PT alone will probably make it manageable.

The thing is, labrum’s don’t heal themselves. I feel like that’s just delaying the inevitable and living a severely restricted life in the meantime. People may walk around on torn labrum’s with manageable pain but I don’t think they climb mountains and ride horses on them!

Besides, is it too much to ask to live with less pain than what’s ’manageable’? I don’t think so.

I’ll definitely update after speaking to both surgeons on the 19th. I love my PCP and think she is just trying to play it safe. But there’s something discouraging about being made to feel like I have a choice when I don’t think I do ):
 
JusticeRider said:
The thing is, labrum’s don’t heal themselves. I feel like that’s just delaying the inevitable and living a severely restricted life in the meantime. People may walk around on torn labrum’s with manageable pain but I don’t think they climb mountains and ride horses on them
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You are right. Especially I think if they are acute tears. Although more chronic degeneration can cause surprisingly few issues.
My right hip labrum was described as "frayed and degenerate" in 2022- I just checked the MRI result on my NHS app.
It's got a bit more clicky but is painless since my leg was straightened with the PKR( the bursitis a while back was in the other hip). I have climbed Sigiriya in Sri Lanka a few months ago (not sure if that counts as a mountain by your standards, but have a look)- but I haven't ridden since my teens!
Your question got me thinking and I went and found the Harris hip score here on BoneSmart. It's a bit trickier to use, than the Oxford Knee Score- as you have to work out the angles that your hip can flex/adduct etc. But it reassured me that my current hip function is good. ( I wish I could say the same about my back reliably though....).
It might be worth doing it before you see the surgeon especially if you think they may be reluctant to consider surgery given your age. I think surgeons sometimes understand score charts better than more subjective patient accounts. Good luck!
 
@EalingGran, good to hear your fraying labrum is not keeping you from climbing mountains! That’s fantastic. I bet you are a lot of fun (: Has it given you any pain or discomfort since your PKR?

My MRI showed that my last repair was fraying but still holding. I’m glad it had held and therefore it was not a failed surgery. But now there is a new tear in the labrum posterior to the prior repair.

I’ll have to ask my PT if she uses the Harris hip score. At my first appointment, she did a bunch of measurements but I’m not sure if she was using a particular format. It would be interesting to find out!

What I can tell you is that I’m in pain 100% of the time. The prescription naproxen and Tylenol I’m taking help, but in the morning before I take it and the last couple hours before my second dose are pretty miserable. I’m currently in pt but have had enough pain that she has mostly stuck with manual therapy, gentle stretches, and ice and heat.

Sitting is extremely uncomfortable and standing longer than a few minutes is excruciating. Lying down or gently walking are best, but too much walking and I start getting hamstring attachment pain in my bum and IT band pain near my knee. I’m grumpy and feel for my poor husband!

EalingGran, when I finally get back to health, let’s climb a mountain together! Shall we meet in Patagonia? :hiking::hiking:
 
So sorry to hear that you have such constant hip pain.I can really understand your thinking about hip surgery.
JusticeRider said:
Has it given you any pain or discomfort since your PKR
Click to expand...

I have had no hip pain from my frayed labrum since my PKR. I used to get deep hip pain on that side before my surgery. In fact I had much more hip pain than knee pain and wasn't sure my surgeon was correct that it was my knee angle causing the problem. I did have some pain on the other side a while back and I have pretty bad lower back issues and occasional sciatica though-which can spoil my fun! I am 70 though- so the whack- a-mole aspect to joints/ health feels a bit more understandable.
I really sympathise that you are getting such severe issues so early. The Ehlers Danlos explains it but isn't much consolation. I do hope you can get some more permanent solution. Constant pain is vile and so debilitating.
 
Yes…chronic pain is truly awful. I feel it has taken away my spark. I’m not the same person I once was. I hope to get this hip taken care of but will still have back and neck pain to live with, along with the more intermittent pain in the other hip and knee, and hands and feet. But the hip is simply unbearable and if I can take care of that, at least the pain won’t be so all consuming and I should be able to do much of what I want again. I will come back with all the strength I can muster. I refuse to let any of it defeat me. But I admit to feeling pretty down right now ):
 
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