dsm2112 - I was really happy to read your post and see that your having speedy recovery. I wish you the best!! Keep us posted! I can't wait for my arthrogram on Tuesday. I am scared but hopeful.

Laura - I am so sorry you are going through this and I can't believe they are giving you such a hard time to reschedule your surgery. I am in Boston and unfortunately could not give you any helpful input about your problem. just IMHO, if you were already diagnosed and it justifies surgery, I have a feeling that the insurance company might question the second MRI. Don't give up, fight for your surgery. If the initial place is not helping you, ask them at least to refer you to somewhere that could fix you sooner. I hope you get out of this nightmare soon.

Laura,
I too might have a labrum tear and have an MRI scheduled for this wednesday, anyway I'm in Boston and have met with "the hip doctor" at mass. general hospital sports med dept. who is trained in hip arthroscopy and works with the new england patriots. Although it appears his history with hip stuff is short (he seems young) he is very open minded and listen to me ramble on about my hip (a sign in my book that he is a good doc). So my point is if your interested you might want to do some research on Massachusetts General Hospital Ortho. surg. sports med dept. GOOD LUCK!

Hi:

Just found this thread (and website and it's a godsend...

I have "Extensive superior and anterior labral degenerative-appearing tears" and have had chronic pain for a long time.  I'm in Boston and have just started the rounds of trying find a surgeon and others to helpdefinitely not an easy process.<br /><br />Wondered if anyone had opinions on surgeons in the Boston area.  I have an appointment with McCarthy in Marchhe seems like the gold standard, but I'm considered about having to wait so long (getting on his schedule for surgery will be another 4 months at least once I get to see him).  Other guy I've seen so far is last name initials of V.F., and was not particularly impressed by him.

Also, I'd appreciate any guidance people could give on just how complicated this surgery is--do you definitely want the guy who has done the most number of surgeries, or is an up and coming guy who's smart, but less experienced, ok?

Thanks in advance,

Jon

the doc is going for Piriformis syndrome.  he rotated my leg today and my *** hurt like mad.  getting an injection tomorrow.  supposed to be a rare disease.  I guess i'll have to search for a new blog with this type of injury.  you guys had me worried.  now i'm really worried

Hello all,

I feel awful, I never intended waiting this long to check back in. I’ve been reading/writing intermittently and still haven’t had a chance to finish so I’m posting what I have so far.
I was delighted to see how many have joined in this thread and are sharing their personal experiences. I’m looking forward to finish reading the newer postings.
First and foremost, my surgery went well and I have no regrets. It’s the 3½ years of compensating that is holding me back. Having a really frustrating time right now. Today is one of my bad days. My right pelvis just won’t release – it “thinks” it still has to protect the area. With the right pelvis still out of alignment, so are the muscles, tendons, ligaments, nerves, etc. So I continue to compensate, can’t activate those muscles because they aren’t where they’re supposed to be. I’m at a loss right now of what to do. Web searches produce next to nothing, and offer no solace. I’ve had no progress with PT in the last four weeks. My two most recent session I left feeling worse. Today is one of my worst. I’m in tears... again. I don’t know what more I can say or do for these doctors and phys therapists to listen/understand. My body is torqued. After my PT session today, my right pelvis is so far forward and the bony part of the rear pelvis is protruding out of my lower back – just as it was before surgery. He basically put it back where it was at its worst. The pelvis is the “kingpin” holding pretty much the upper and lower body in place. I’m completely twisted. My pants feel crooked on me even though they aren’t. Please forgive me, I realize I’m venting right now. I get this nod from my PT on my way out as if “you’re fine, what we did today was in the right direction” (i.e. that’s all I had time and attention for you today and despite that you live in your body and have been living this out the past 4 years yada yada)… I went back to work, fighting tears, my skin crawling because I left even more mis-aligned. I looking forward to going back to my Pilates class this evening and couldn’t.
Although deep down I know this isn’t true… in this moment, I’m feeling as though I was better off before surgery, happier. I was at least exercising, not on meds, sleeping better and regularly, not crying every other hour. I’m living a sedentary lifestyle now. I’ve gained a pant size. Muscle lost. I don’t even recognize my body – how it looks and even more so, how it feels. I’ve never watched so many movies (at home). Going out socially isn’t much of an option. Bar stools, movie theatre seats, restaurant chairs are not comfortable to sit in. Recreational opportunities aren’t an option. Most of this I expected given that I was having surgery, and the body needs time to heel. But I just haven’t seen that turning point yet… and by yet, I’m obviously still hopeful.
I feel like such a downer. Often I don’t even want to go to PT because it makes me ill saying “no change” “feel worse”, etc. And knowing they won’t really listen. I’d love nothing more than to go in with a 1,000-watt smile reporting progress. And I’m tired of dealing with this… almost 4 years now. I feel like a broken record. I’m out of words when asked how something feels in a PT session.
I’m ready for another surgery with pins in my pelvis to hold it where it’s supposed to be.

My apologies for the long-winded, verbose venting. I hope to be writing with better news soon.
My best to everyone,
Carissa
Some of what I had written back in December…

runNYtrails - Thanks so much for your well wishes.

Ty- Thank you. Yes, it was the right decision, and I think you should adamantly pursue ruling out a labral tear, ligament tear, anything further than the normal injuries. How did it go? Any answers? Hope so!

dsm2112 – I’m so sorry to hear about the damage incurred over the years.  My doctor confirmed we caught mine just in time.  Only a very small portion of the articular cartilage was beginning to wear away.  Any longer, and I’d be looking at similar issues… arthritis, hip dysplasia, etc., and possible future hip replacement.  Not to mention the damage from my body overcompensating for the injury (biomechanics all off).  Through out the past years, that has probably caused me the most frustration, tears, and “heartache” if you will.  And still is.  I continue to remain hopeful that my body will sort its self out.  Both my doctor and physical therapist reaffirm that it with time and retraining the muscles, ligaments, tendons…

Hello kcstone,
I was just going through the posts b/c my surgery is, in theory, scheduled for Feb 8. I'm fighting insurance and five thousand related factors with scheduling, etc. BUT, your post makes me nervous! One aspect of this surgery that concerns me is that it's new in that there are not long term results. I'm wondering if you'd be willing to let me know moresuch as:<br />What surgeon did you go to? <br />What were the names of the injuries your MRI confirmed?<br />What were the names of the procedures that the surgeons did?<br />And, are you able to exercise now?<br /><br />I've been a little disturbed (understatment queen here) about the goals for the results of this surgerymy reasoning behind it is so that I can run again. I'm hearing some folks that sound like they're back out there on the trailsdid you doctors indicate what they predicted your long-term running abilities to be?<br /><br />And, finallyI am so sorry for your struggles. It sounds terrible. To be feeling as if you're not making progress after such an ordeal. Are you feeling any progress? Hang in there! I'm so glad we all have this thread.
Best, Laura

quote:

---

Originally posted by kcstone017:

Hello all,

I feel awful, I never intended waiting this long to check back in. I’ve been reading/writing intermittently and still haven’t had a chance to finish so I’m posting what I have so far.
I was delighted to see how many have joined in this thread and are sharing their personal experiences. I’m looking forward to finish reading the newer postings.
First and foremost, my surgery went well and I have no regrets. It’s the 3½ years of compensating that is holding me back. Having a really frustrating time right now. Today is one of my bad days. My right pelvis just won’t release – it “thinks” it still has to protect the area. With the right pelvis still out of alignment, so are the muscles, tendons, ligaments, nerves, etc. So I continue to compensate, can’t activate those muscles because they aren’t where they’re supposed to be. I’m at a loss right now of what to do. Web searches produce next to nothing, and offer no solace. I’ve had no progress with PT in the last four weeks. My two most recent session I left feeling worse. Today is one of my worst. I’m in tears... again. I don’t know what more I can say or do for these doctors and phys therapists to listen/understand. My body is torqued. After my PT session today, my right pelvis is so far forward and the bony part of the rear pelvis is protruding out of my lower back – just as it was before surgery. He basically put it back where it was at its worst. The pelvis is the “kingpin” holding pretty much the upper and lower body in place. I’m completely twisted. My pants feel crooked on me even though they aren’t. Please forgive me, I realize I’m venting right now. I get this nod from my PT on my way out as if “you’re fine, what we did today was in the right direction” (i.e. that’s all I had time and attention for you today and despite that you live in your body and have been living this out the past 4 years yada yada)… I went back to work, fighting tears, my skin crawling because I left even more mis-aligned. I looking forward to going back to my Pilates class this evening and couldn’t.
Although deep down I know this isn’t true… in this moment, I’m feeling as though I was better off before surgery, happier. I was at least exercising, not on meds, sleeping better and regularly, not crying every other hour. I’m living a sedentary lifestyle now. I’ve gained a pant size. Muscle lost. I don’t even recognize my body – how it looks and even more so, how it feels. I’ve never watched so many movies (at home). Going out socially isn’t much of an option. Bar stools, movie theatre seats, restaurant chairs are not comfortable to sit in. Recreational opportunities aren’t an option. Most of this I expected given that I was having surgery, and the body needs time to heel. But I just haven’t seen that turning point yet… and by yet, I’m obviously still hopeful.
I feel like such a downer. Often I don’t even want to go to PT because it makes me ill saying “no change” “feel worse”, etc. And knowing they won’t really listen. I’d love nothing more than to go in with a 1,000-watt smile reporting progress. And I’m tired of dealing with this… almost 4 years now. I feel like a broken record. I’m out of words when asked how something feels in a PT session.
I’m ready for another surgery with pins in my pelvis to hold it where it’s supposed to be.

My apologies for the long-winded, verbose venting. I hope to be writing with better news soon.
My best to everyone,
Carissa
Some of what I had written back in December…

runNYtrails - Thanks so much for your well wishes.

Ty- Thank you. Yes, it was the right decision, and I think you should adamantly pursue ruling out a labral tear, ligament tear, anything further than the normal injuries. How did it go? Any answers? Hope so!

dsm2112 – I’m so sorry to hear about the damage incurred over the years. My doctor confirmed we caught mine just in time. Only a very small portion of the articular cartilage was beginning to wear away. Any longer, and I’d be looking at similar issues… arthritis, hip dysplasia, etc., and possible future hip replacement. Not to mention the damage from my body overcompensating for the injury (biomechanics all off). Through out the past years, that has probably caused me the most frustration, tears, and “heartache” if you will. And still is. I continue to remain hopeful that my body will sort its self out. Both my doctor and physical therapist reaffirm that it with time and retraining the muscles, ligaments, tendons…

---

 

Hey OrthopodRunner,

I was wondering, what do you do for victims of labral tears?  Any info you can provide is greatly needed.  Thanks.