I'm good. Great, actually. I'm running better than ever, recently set a 5k pr in crappy conditions and later this month will take a crack at a sub 18...I'm an adult onset runner (started at 25, 35 now) with a previous pr of 19+ and weigh 10lbs more now than I did then. Hoping to take a crack at a fast marathon in 2021 but still have a ways to go getting miles in my legs and strengthening my hips (groin, adductor, core are still deficient).

I know someone else who went through the same thing and shes good too. Unfortunately, as you're seeing here there are a lot of stories that don't have that same happy ending. Once surgery was an option I went all in as I'd been doing all the other things discussed in this thread for 4 years. I'd have tried/done anything - and had it meant running wasn't something I could do anymore it would have been better than the limbo I'd been in for years (mentally, for me, I mean).

I consider myself to be very lucky and fortunate.




Tears don't heal themselves. My surgeon initially gave me a steroid injection as a test - It felt awesome for a month and the following month things got progressively worse until I was right back where I started. Unfortunately, I changed jobs and went into a different insurers network and started the process all over..I share this because I had a 2nd steroid injection from a different provider a year after the first, perhaps a year before my ultimate surgery, and it did NOTHING for me. Also, I had 4 MRI's (2x w/ contrast) and none conclusively showed much - but I have photos of 3 tears, 1 of which being "very large" from surgery day.

My shoulder labrum is torn (torn rotator cuff 20 years ago + separated shoulder 3 years ago) and I haven't had it repaired. Presses (overhead, chest, etc.) are problematic but swimming is fine and I'm generally ok with the limitations I have. Limitations like that to the hip pretty much guarantee running is going to be an issue. The tears to my hip labrum prevented me from lifting my leg in front of me and the pounding of running is what really cause inflammation - something you don't necessarily experience with a shoulder.

Not suggesting surgery. This is all just my experience and opinion. Good luck.

I just wanted to reply to the thread to give another (incomplete at this point) experience.

My wife hasn't been able to run consistently for 2.5 years. She felt a pop in her hip when standing in the living room one day and then it was super sore and took months to be able to run again. It eventually manifested in a stress reaction in her shin that we thought wouldn't heal but now we realize the dysfunctional hip was causing it. Mis-diagnosed multiple times by multiple orthos. Eventually through reading some of this thread and others like it on here I was convinced she had a torn labrum but none of the orthos ever did an MRI (wtf). Her pain was never acute, always "achey" is how she described it. She'd be ok, then exercise and then it would ache for a few days when sitting or trying to sleep.

So I found an expert here in Houston at the Methodist Sports Orthopedic center that specializes in hips. That's all he does. Took her to him and via physical evaluation & xray he explained that she has hip impingement and most likely a labral tear. But he also said that a large portion of the population has these and he's able to treat the majority of his patients without surgery. Said both of his labrums are tore and he ran 60 miles last week. At first I was like here we go again (she had done tons of PT to try and solve this issue already). But he explained that the strengthening to the glutes and lower back was aimed at tilting the pelvis slightly to where hopefully the impingement wouldn't present as much of a problem (iirc). This was different that what we had heard before.

Anyway he sent her for an MRI to see exactly what was going on before prescribing treatment. Took about about a week then we get a call from his aid. He's recommending surgery right away. Went and talked to him. Her labrum was torn 40% of the way around and he could see that the joint had lost suction. Surgery to shave off the impingement and repair the labrum. She had her procedure Thursday Jan 30th, so now 1.5 weeks post and things are looking good. Thankfully he didn't see any arthritis when he was in there.

The first week was really rough from a recovery perspective but seems she's past that now. Riding spin bike 20 minutes a day and going to PT 2x/week, and still in the continuous passive motion machine for a few more days. She'll be in a brace and on crutches for 4 weeks, then wean off. Start elliptical at 10 weeks, jogging at 12, plyometrics 12-18, return to competitive sports 6-12 months.

I'll update her experience as we go along.

Best of luck to your wife. How old is she? The younger she is, the quicker her recovery will be.



This is referred to as correcting "anterior pelvic tilt." The FAI Fix guys are big on this too. It's that posture you often see where the pelvis is shifted forward, kinda like the exaggerated "pot belly" look.

I think this "fix" like most of the PT-derived stuff, is BS. There are plenty of people around with massive anterior pelvic tilt that have no symptoms whatsoever. Just like they are tons of people with torn labrums (found by looking at cadavers) with no pain or symptoms either.

Janus and badbri, this has been a super helpful thread for me today.

Two years ago had tremendous hip flexor pain that coincided with hard hill workouts running and cycling for over a month. Doctor did MRI to rule out organ problems and didn't really see/mention hip problems. Then I tried some PT, painful needling, some rest and trying to work with it. Age 63 then, 65 now.

Was doing fine this Jan-March with a hard-easy day approach. Swimming/light lifting/PT easy day. Swim/spin or bike/tread/swim hard day or 3hr bike/swim hard day. Improving across the board.

Then the pools/gym closed. Just riding on hard days. Stretch bands/long walks easy days.

The pain is back. Most noticeably on the left and there is a thumb size reddish/whitish hematoma where a labral tear would be. That "bruise" has been there for some time. I would see it after swimming and thought it was due to the speedo. (I degressed).

Not really interested in surgery for this due to many things I've read in this thread.

Tried the frog, pigeon and 90/90 today for the first time due to your suggestions, wow. Might invest in the FAI fix.

Thank you for your posts and please let us know if you have more info.

---

Indoor Triathlete - I thought I was right, until I realized I was wrong.

It's obviously been quite awhile since you posted above, how are things now?

I need to update this thread myself, the TLDR for me is that things are great, I hardly ever think about my hip anymore and I've been doing some pretty crazy running/biking stuff. Will come back later with more detail.

I'm so glad you started chatting hips again. I check every once in a while to see if there are new thoughts.

I'm almost a year and a half out from the hip labral repair surgery (both sides). I'm a 46yo female. It took a loooooong time until I felt like I was in control of my runs, rather than the caution because of recovery being in control. This winter, I had so many great moments where I thought I'd had such a long span of time with no little twinges that I was done worrying about it. Almost every single time I thought that, I'd have a day with one side telling me to slow down/back off.

Then I got really stupid a month ago. We got the Peloton tread and I just did too fast too often (before that I had only ever run outdoors). I've had some discomfort for a few weeks now. Trying to find the right balance again without getting too frustrated. It's like my hips are sending me messages to stay humble....

Would love to hear how others are doing!

Also reading with interest. I'm 5 1/2 weeks out from FAI and labrum repair; I had 4 sutures to reattach the labrum, and osteochondroplasty (bone shaving) for the impingement. Interestingly, the consultant also found some cartilage damage (acetabular articular cartilage, grade IIIA apparently) although I'm not sure what he did to repair that. I saw one of the top UK docs for this.

Mine was a pretty clear cut case - I'd been ignoring the pain whilst training for Norseman and got into a place after the event where I couldn't run at all. I'd done no running for a year when I went under the knife. The imaging showed a pretty clear tear and as above, when they went in with the arthroscope they found the cartilage damage too. No amount of physio was going to fix this.

I'm pretty much off the crutches now and expanding my rehab to include some time on an elliptical trainer which is the closest I've been to elevating my heart rate into a training zone for 6 weeks now. Range of motion is getting there and I'm working hard on the glutes of steel that my physio wants me to have.

Be nice to hear from others. I'm itching to get back on a bike but happy to take things slowly and patiently, as I'm playing the long game.

Cheers,
Rich.

I opted for a different path, in early 2017, post 2016 IMAZ I was diagnosed with hip labrum tear on the left anterior side and mid superior side, small tears, also suspected but not confirmed sports hernia. Stopped all training and racing and did a number of PT in waves. Seen another surgeon for a second opinion over a year ago, cleared to resume activities. Asked not to ride TT bike due to closed hip angle and asked to avoid high mileage running, all other bets off. That keeps me off the operating table. I wanted to do all to avoid that surgery and I am ok. I went from being a competitive age grouper to no racing in the last 4 years and no serious competition going forward. I will train and participate in the sport, will add cross country skiing, I am marathon paddler too so, variety of other activities. I am 50 years old and zero regrets over decision. If you carefully review studies on full return to sport at the pre injury levels, studies coming out of Europe (Copenhagen...), Aspetar Institute in Middle East and elsewhere, the number of athletes returning to pre injury level is very low......I will leave it at that. I hope if you all wish to defy that numbers great luck. I am sure there are and there will be many successful surgeries with great outcomes, just not me getting on the butchers block. My days of chasing the Kona dream are likely behind.

This thread appeared again on a rare visit here so allow me to provide an update.

More detail of my background earlier in the thread but in a nutshell I chose not to have surgery and lost faith in the 2 physiotherapist, instead having been told told by a bike fitter of all people that my hips were pathetically weak I set about making them stronger...long story short I never even think about my hips any more...i maintain hip strength as part of overall strength workout and don’t let my adductors get too tight, otherwise it’s no longer anything I even think about.

I’m now almost 50 and riding more than when I hurt my hip in the first place.

To be clear I’m not saying don’t have surgery, you all have to make your own decisions but I’m personally glad I was able to avoid it.

Hi Rich,
Who did you see in the UK? I am having similar symptoms to what's described on this thread for 6 months but I am not able to get a hip surgeon in the East Midlands who can advice on hip labral tears.

Thanks

Heyup. I'm in West Yorkshire and saw Jon Conroy who runs the Yorkshire Hip Clinic. I saw him privately at Leeds Nuffield, think he works out of Harrogate too. Believe he does NHS work too but no doubt a much longer wait.

I did a lot of Surgeon biography scanning to land on Mr Conroy. Some of the other Osteopaths in the area referenced training under him on their CVs, which I took as a good sign. And he likes robots.

Hip arthroscopy is his bread and butter, maybe worth the drive up the M1?

The thing that got me out of the endless physio watch and wait cycle was pushing for a contrast MRI. It was an easy diagnosis after that.

Good luck, hope you get the help you need.

Cheers, Rich.

Edit to add: https://www.yorkshirehipclinic.co.uk/hip-impingement

Thank you very much for this info. Definitely worth travelling to see someone who knows about the subject...

How is your recovery going?

Hey All,

A little report and request for advice.

I had arthroscopic hip surgery for FAI/labral tear to right hip in late 2018. The recovery was very slow and even now at 2.5 years, it is far from perfect, but it does not stop me doing any activity, and mostly is just general low grade discomfort and some limited range of motion/tightness. I have been able to ride up to 10,000kms a year on it, and get my cycling fitness up to the best it has been, and other than some increased discomfort during a harder week, it is mostly just general discomfort that is present even when I am not very active. Not ideal, but can live with it. Also I am doing more riding on a recumbent bike recently which opens the hip angle.

When I had the surgery, the Dr commented that the arthritis damage was worse than expected with the edge of the joint cartilage having been peeled up by the tearing labrum despite my scans showing good joint spaces and no evidence of arthritis. He said that the hip joint would probably need replacement in around 10 years... 2.5 years ago! I guess we will see how it goes.

Unfortunately my left hip is on a similar path to my right. At the time I had the right done first as I had some other back issues on that side, and hoped it would improve them, so did the right hip first. The back issues have not changed, but it was probably good to get in to repair the better hip as early as possible. The left hip degradation on scans was more advanced than the right but mostly asymptomatic at the time of right hip surgery. Now 2.5 years down the track, the symptoms have worsened quite a bit, and every ride is accompanied by pain during and after for a few days and then ongoing continuous at a lower level. Based on experience from the right hip, an arthroscopy of the left is unlikely to give me a good outcome (likely to need replacement in 5 years, and probably not likely to get complete resolution of pain). Also I am confirmed as a candidate for hip resurfacing which may have better outcomes over THR for young active men. So I have a few options, and wondering what you guys with similar issues would do:

* Try hip arthroscopy and hope I get a good outcome... worst case I get a replacement afterwards but lose $$$ and rehab time. Possible complications from multiple hip surgeries to same area (scar tissue etc.)
* Run it into the ground and see what happens... just keep doing what I am doing until pain prevents me from doing it anymore and then hip replacement/resurfacing.
* Stop cycling which aggravates it and see if I can live with different/limitted activity in my life to prolong it which may have mental challenges.
* Maybe combo of one of above two points with some specific hip physio. I see some people in this thread have been happy with outcomes with physio. I only did rehab physio after surgery, but not ongoing. I have heard about a highly recommended hip physio which I have not yet seen but is close enough to me that I could see him.
* Just be done with it and get hip resurfacing done now. Seems to be working OK for Andy Murray and he is younger and more active than me!!
* Any other suggestions?

Cheers!