Hip Arthroscopy Pain 7 Months Post-Op

hippierunner

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Hello, all! I am new here and looking for some guidance.

I had an arthroscopic hip surgery in Oct 2020 to fix a labral tear in my left hip. Surgery went well. The surgeon fixed up the bone spurs and the labrum. After months of recovery and physical therapy, I am back to collegiate track and field.

However, recently, my pain has been very severe. It is about as painful as it was before I had the surgery last year. The pain is in the front of my hip and on the side. Even when sitting or lying down, I can typically feel the pain. I am simply wondering if this is normal due to an increase in activity, or if I should be concerned. Any guidance would be great. Let me know if any other info is needed. Thanks!
 
Hello @hippierunner - and :welome:

Please will you tell us the full date of your hip surgery and which hip it is, so we can make a signature for you? Knowing the exact date will help us to advise you appropriately.
Thank you.:flwrysmile:


recently, my pain has been very severe. It is about as painful as it was before I had the surgery last year. The pain is in the front of my hip and on the side. Even when sitting or laying down, I can typically feel the pain. I am simply wondering if this is normal due to an increase in activity, or if I should be concerned.
I'm sorry to hear that you're experiencing pain. Have you mentioned this to your surgeon? If so, what did he/she say about it?

It can take a surprisingly long time to recover from hip surgery - as long as a full year, even if you had an arthroscopy.

It may well be that you've increased your activity to an extent that your hip wasn't ready for, so it would be a good idea to cut back your activity again. At the same time, spend as much time as you can resting, while icing and elevating, in an effort to get your hip to calm down again.

I know it's been quite a while since your surgery, but I'll give you our recovery guidelines anyway . They apply to arthroscopies as well as to hip replacements and there are article about icing and elevation.

Hip Recovery: The Guidelines

People are all different, as are the approaches to this recovery and rehab. The key is, “Find what works for YOU.“ Your doctor(s), physiotherapist(s) and BoneSmart are here to help, but YOU are the final judge as to the recovery approach you choose.

1. Don’t worry: Your body will heal all by itself. Relax, let it, don't try and hurry it, don’t worry about any symptoms now, they are almost certainly temporary.

2. Control discomfort:
rest
ice
take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)​

3. Do what you want to do BUT
a. If it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physical therapist - to do it to you​
b. If your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again.​

4. PT or exercise can be useful BUT take note of these

5. Try to follow this

6. Access these pages on the website


Pain management and the pain chart
Healing: how long does it take?
Chart representation of THR recovery

Dislocation risk and 90 degree rule
Energy drain for THRs
Pain and swelling control: elevation is the key
Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it
Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds
Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?

BIG TIP: Hips actually don't need any exercise to get better. They do a pretty good job of it all on their own if given half a chance. Trouble is, people don't give them a chance and end up with all sorts of aches and pains and sore spots. All they need is the best therapy which is walking and even then not to excess.

We try to keep the forum a positive and safe place for our members to talk about their questions or concerns and to report successes with their joint replacement surgery.

While members may create as many threads as they like in the majority of BoneSmart’s forums, we ask that each member have only One Recovery Thread. This policy makes it easier to go back and review the member’s history before providing advice, so please post any updates or questions you have right here in this thread.
 
Hi! My surgery date was 10/16/2020. Surgery was on my left hip.

Sorry for being a month late, I have been trying to see my surgeon. I got an MRI and just got the report back. It reads: “Minimal chondral fraying along the superior aspect of the acetabulum, new from prior. High T1 signal at the anterior superior labrum. Evidence of a recurrent anterior superior labral tear”

I am no doctor, but this doesn’t sound good. Is it saying that I re-tore it? Anyone know how to interpret these results? I am meeting with surgeon later this week, but I want to prepare myself. Thanks!
 
Hello @hippierunner
If that’s the case, I’m sorry for you. Wishing you the best when you visit with your surgeon this week. Please let us know how it goes. We’re here for support if you need us.
Wishing you comfort and a peaceful evening. :console2:
 
I had an arthroscopy in January of this year. When they went in they weren’t able to repair the labrum because there was too much bone on bone arthritis present. I tried to make it another 6 months but wound up getting my left hip replaced one week ago. Perhaps you went back into high risk for tear sports too early? That pain you’re describing does not sound fun. Good luck! Get a second option and additional imaging if you aren’t getting good answers.
 
Hi all!

Thanks for the advice and words of wisdom. The surgeon confirmed that I tore my labrum, again. The cool news is that the part that was repaired in October did not tear. That part looks good! But I tore a different segment of the labrum further back.

I will be having another surgery this Friday. If anyone has advice on what worked well for them with their labrum repair surgeries, let me know! I want to make sure I don’t rush my recovery at all.

Also, is two labrum repair surgeries within 9 months abnormal? I did a five month slow progression for my last recovery, but I still ended up having new, excruciating pain 7 months after my surgery.

thanks all!
 
I had an arthroscopy in January of this year. When they went in they weren’t able to repair the labrum because there was too much bone on bone arthritis present. I tried to make it another 6 months but wound up getting my left hip replaced one week ago. Perhaps you went back into high risk for tear sports too early? That pain you’re describing does not sound fun. Good luck! Get a second option and additional imaging if you aren’t getting good answers.

Wow. That is no fun! I’m sorry to hear about that. But I am hoping that you are feeling better now!! I’m worried about the state of my hip given that I’m only 20 years old. I will keep asking for second opinions and imaging if I feel as if I don’t have all the answers. Thanks for your kind message. You’re right- I shouldn’t rush getting back into sports! Hope all is well for you.
 

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