United States
Hi there,
It was recommended that this is the best way to talk about the pre-op and post op process for my upcoming hip replacement surgery. I am a 62-year-old man who has never had any musculoskeletal issues other than an R rotator cuff repair from a rugby injury back in college and then a recent issue with muscle tightness down my entire right side about 3 years ago. I thought it was a strain related to hiking or biking because the leg tightness would happen and then resolve. About 2 years ago, it became more frequent and didn't resolve as quickly. I ended up seeing a sports medicine physical therapist and started working on it. After about 3 months, this did not resolve, and she ordered an MRI for my back. MRI came back and showed I had bulging discs from L1-S1 along with a mechanical instability at L5/S1. Ended up going to a pain management doctor and received an epidural, which immediately resolved the radiculopathy on the right side and lasted 7 months. Unfortunately, my disc at L2/L3 herniated in April and ended up having a laminectomy and discectomy. Recovery was very good, but at post-op week 3, I started having discomfort on my right side in the upper hip/groin area. My spine surgeon and PT thought it was my nerves healing, since that is where the nerves wrap around in the upper trunk area. At my post-op week 12 visit, the discomfort was still an issue. The spine surgeon decided to order an MRI of my hip after I showed him a 2-year-old X-ray of my R hip that showed degenerative arthritis.
Well, guess what: the MRI showed I have no labrum between the femoral head (ball) and the acetabulum (socket). Yes, bone on bone!! Plus, I had a cyst where fluid had been draining from the hip into a pocket around the femoral head. Called my orthopedic hip and knee colleague and went to his office, where he proceeded to drain out 15cc of fluid from the hip. After that, I spoke with him about the hip replacement and scheduled the surgery for November 10th. Looking back, you might ask why a hip MRI wasn't ordered earlier, since the back and the hip are so connected and often affect each other, so you need to know this to figure out what to address. In my case, both issues, my back and my hip, were happening at the same time. UGGGGHHHH!!! Stay tuned for more about prepping for my upcoming procedure.
It was recommended that this is the best way to talk about the pre-op and post op process for my upcoming hip replacement surgery. I am a 62-year-old man who has never had any musculoskeletal issues other than an R rotator cuff repair from a rugby injury back in college and then a recent issue with muscle tightness down my entire right side about 3 years ago. I thought it was a strain related to hiking or biking because the leg tightness would happen and then resolve. About 2 years ago, it became more frequent and didn't resolve as quickly. I ended up seeing a sports medicine physical therapist and started working on it. After about 3 months, this did not resolve, and she ordered an MRI for my back. MRI came back and showed I had bulging discs from L1-S1 along with a mechanical instability at L5/S1. Ended up going to a pain management doctor and received an epidural, which immediately resolved the radiculopathy on the right side and lasted 7 months. Unfortunately, my disc at L2/L3 herniated in April and ended up having a laminectomy and discectomy. Recovery was very good, but at post-op week 3, I started having discomfort on my right side in the upper hip/groin area. My spine surgeon and PT thought it was my nerves healing, since that is where the nerves wrap around in the upper trunk area. At my post-op week 12 visit, the discomfort was still an issue. The spine surgeon decided to order an MRI of my hip after I showed him a 2-year-old X-ray of my R hip that showed degenerative arthritis.
Well, guess what: the MRI showed I have no labrum between the femoral head (ball) and the acetabulum (socket). Yes, bone on bone!! Plus, I had a cyst where fluid had been draining from the hip into a pocket around the femoral head. Called my orthopedic hip and knee colleague and went to his office, where he proceeded to drain out 15cc of fluid from the hip. After that, I spoke with him about the hip replacement and scheduled the surgery for November 10th. Looking back, you might ask why a hip MRI wasn't ordered earlier, since the back and the hip are so connected and often affect each other, so you need to know this to figure out what to address. In my case, both issues, my back and my hip, were happening at the same time. UGGGGHHHH!!! Stay tuned for more about prepping for my upcoming procedure.
We'll be cheering you on from the sidelines.
