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Torn labrum recovery?
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Anyone here have had surgery to repair a torn labrum. Going into the hip ortho tomorrow to confirm. They did a cortisone injection a couple weeks ago. The numbing medication helped but the cortisone didn’t do anything. I just had another hip MRI yesterday this time with contrast. Given the pain level I’m in something is definitely wrong.

So assuming it’s a labral tear who has had this and how’s the recovery?
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Re: Torn labrum recovery? [Grant.Reuter] [ In reply to ]
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My wife had the surgery about a year ago. Things are still pretty rough for her. After 4 or 6 months or so she was running again. She very slowly built volume back up and just as she was starting to be able to put in some real training she started experiencing too much pain and has not run at all for 2 months.

Seems muscle atrophy caused some serious imbalances around the hip. She is in physical therapy to try to rebuild her glutes. Seems they basically lost their ability to fire. Couldn't use them no matter how hard she tried.

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Ed O'Malley
www.VeloVetta.com
Founder of VeloVetta Cycling Shoes
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Re: Torn labrum recovery? [RowToTri] [ In reply to ]
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See if they can a muscle stimulator for her. My ortho ordered one when I had knee surgery a few years back. One of the quad muscles was really weak and was causing me issues, it helped out a bunch.

But that sucks what I’ve read has been either it was great if you followed the protocol or it really sucked.

Unfortunately it seems inevitable at this point given the pain I’m in with it. My bigger concern is something else is wrong with it also. Googling how much should this actually hurt doesn’t work to well haha.
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Re: Torn labrum recovery? [Grant.Reuter] [ In reply to ]
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Surgery 12/27/16, swimming with buoy two weeks after surgery, cycling 3 weeks after surgery. Running in March, first bike race in April, first triathlon in June and a half IM in July.

Almost a year later I am doing well. I still feel some aches and pains here and there. The best thing i did before surgery was work a lot of core and hip strength. I also did a lot of PT at home and started acupuncture which helped a lot.
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Re: Torn labrum recovery? [Grant.Reuter] [ In reply to ]
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I think her hip is all better now. It's a muscular problem that she has now. I think her relatively weak glutes pre-surgery probably contributed to this.

She followed the physical therapy and back-to-running protocol religiously.

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Ed O'Malley
www.VeloVetta.com
Founder of VeloVetta Cycling Shoes
Instagram • Facebook
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Re: Torn labrum recovery? [I ride Fuji's] [ In reply to ]
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That doesn’t sound too bad my concern really right now is if there is something else wrong because of how bad it hurts.
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Re: Torn labrum recovery? [Grant.Reuter] [ In reply to ]
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I had surgery for a torn labrum (ended up being 3 tears) and FAI on 7/1/15. Tried PT and cortisone injection before surgery but just couldn't get back to pain free running. Decided to go the surgery route.

Recovery was about 6 months. Started some biking in October (3 months) but wasn't allowed to bike outside or in the aero position and not clipped in. Started a run/walk regime in mid November (4.5 months). Around the 6 month mark was when things started to click and I could bike and run without caution.

I have very minimal issues right now. If I have issues, they are all muscular which I stretch, foam roll, do strength exercises , and get a massage to help out.

The two biggest things about this surgery is having a good doctor who knows what he's doing (preferably someone who has trained under Philippon) and following the rehab protocol to the T. This is not a surgery that can be rushed. A hip replacement surgery is much simpler and easier to recover from than this..... just to give you some perspective.

blog
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Re: Torn labrum recovery? [Grant.Reuter] [ In reply to ]
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I needed 8 weeks of completely no activity to get the pain to stop and to be even able to balance on one leg. This was after probably 2-3 months of stubbornly trying to get in workouts somehow

After that it was a 16 week slow slow slow return starting by walking and extensive gym work with cables attached to my ankles

Full recovery though. After that 16 weeks I had great strength and did a full build towards IMTX

Apologies — I just re-read yours and saw you’re asking for surgery recovery not the injury itself. Decided to post this anyways in case you consider healing it on its own
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Re: Torn labrum recovery? [I ride Fuji's] [ In reply to ]
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I ride Fuji's wrote:
Surgery 12/27/16, swimming with buoy two weeks after surgery, cycling 3 weeks after surgery. Running in March, first bike race in April, first triathlon in June and a half IM in July.

Almost a year later I am doing well. I still feel some aches and pains here and there. The best thing i did before surgery was work a lot of core and hip strength. I also did a lot of PT at home and started acupuncture which helped a lot.

This sounds familiar. I had surgery at the end of February 2011. In the pool two weeks later (one legged flip turns are a bitch!), biking on the trainer (no aero position) a week later, lost the crutches after about six weeks, running after eight weeks, raced a few triathlons in July (won my AG in them, all sprints). Serious PT is a must as soon as you are able: like within a few days. I, too, still have some aches in the area, which I'm told is likely bursitis.

Your recovery also depends on the extent of the damage. I had only some damaged labrum to clean out, plus a bit of bone removal. The surgeon didn't know until he opened me up whether he'd have to reattach the labrum; that was the first question I asked when I came to.

Good luck.

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"Go yell at an M&M"
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Re: Torn labrum recovery? [stevej] [ In reply to ]
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I’m going to see Dr Genuario, who I think worked with Philippon to pioneer the arthroscopic technique. He’s actually at the Steadman Clinic in Denver. Mine went from feeling like a pulled muscle to being in crazy pain. But during that time I was on pain killers for my broken ribs so I think I didn’t notice it getting worse.

We’ll see in a little bit but I’m really not too hopefully that it’s not something torn or really injuried.
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Re: Torn labrum recovery? [Grant.Reuter] [ In reply to ]
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You only had a cortisone injection? I had a steroid (betamethasone) injection a few weeks back and it did a lot for me. I'm well past the window where I should be feeling its effects (7 days) and my hip is considerably better than it was - maybe not 'fixed' but certainly manageable (lots of yoga, PT, massage, etc.)
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Re: Torn labrum recovery? [Grant.Reuter] [ In reply to ]
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Do you also have CAM/FAI? This would have shown up in both an xray and MRI.

I have had glute and hamstring pain for a while, and I have CAM/FAI. I've had an Xray and non-contrast MRI, both basically confirmed that (and a herniation at L2/L3...).
Doc is sending me for a contrast MRI in January to check for a labral tear, but that said, I don't yet have pain that would indicate it is torn. He wants me to go anyway, just to have all the info in case it is there and gets worse. But I do also have a lot of muscle atrophy on that side in the glutes and hams.
So my rehab thus far has just been to try and strengthen the hell out of everything on that side...

Good luck
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Re: Torn labrum recovery? [Grant.Reuter] [ In reply to ]
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So what was your diagnosis? I have an ortho appointment soon to discuss the same thing.

clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com
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Re: Torn labrum recovery? [ironclm] [ In reply to ]
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ironclm wrote:
So what was your diagnosis? I have an ortho appointment soon to discuss the same thing.

It ended up being a 2 bulged discs and one herniated one in my lumbar spine. Even though the injection should have been diagnostic, the doctors said the pain was way too much for a torn labrum so they did an mri of my spine and found those issues.
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Re: Torn labrum recovery? [Grant.Reuter] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks for the update.

clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com
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Re: Torn labrum recovery? [Grant.Reuter] [ In reply to ]
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Grant.Reuter wrote:
It ended up being a 2 bulged discs and one herniated one in my lumbar spine. Even though the injection should have been diagnostic, the doctors said the pain was way too much for a torn labrum so they did an mri of my spine and found those issues.

Ouch. I exploded my L5/S1 in December. Still recovering from the surgery, but it's going well. Sciatica sucks. Hope they got you fixed up.
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Re: Torn labrum recovery? [Grant.Reuter] [ In reply to ]
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My daughter has the same injury and swims in college. It seems that the level of pain varies by the individual and she is just gutting it out (Brag: She qualified for NCAA Nationals in the 100 Fly and Back).

We have an excellent shoulder surgeon who works with a number of sports teams. He said if she had surgery to fix it she should expect a few months out of the pool and
could maybe be back to nearly full strength at the start of next season. I think the healing process is slow because there isn't much blood flow to the area.
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Re: Torn labrum recovery? [chetster] [ In reply to ]
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chetster wrote:
Grant.Reuter wrote:
It ended up being a 2 bulged discs and one herniated one in my lumbar spine. Even though the injection should have been diagnostic, the doctors said the pain was way too much for a torn labrum so they did an mri of my spine and found those issues.

Ouch. I exploded my L5/S1 in December. Still recovering from the surgery, but it's going well. Sciatica sucks. Hope they got you fixed up.

They gave me prednisone and that really helped with the pain. I’ve been in PT the last two months and minus some muscle issues my back feels great.

I still have strained/pulled groin from las year that doesn’t want to get better but the back is feeling much better. Thanks for asking.
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Re: Torn labrum recovery? [Grant.Reuter] [ In reply to ]
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Not so wonderful update on this one. I was out riding a couple weeks ago and within a day or so I had a ton of pain again in my groin.

Went to see a different doctor at the practice that did my knee and shoulder and they confirmed it is my labrum. They’re beyond confused how the other doctor said it wasn’t, it’s clear on the contrast MRI along with it being in the radiologist report.

So I’ll have surgery hopefully next month or in August. They said running can be a concern because of the repetitive motion causing early arthritis so we’ll see how that ends up going.
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Re: Torn labrum recovery? [Grant.Reuter] [ In reply to ]
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My wife had her repair done two years ago, still can only run maybe a mile at a time. Hope yours is better than that.
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Re: Torn labrum recovery? [Grant.Reuter] [ In reply to ]
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I saw your original post back when it was new, but was too grumpy to reply. I had this surgery in Mar 2017. I think the answer to your question relies heavily on what kind of shape you're in when you have surgery, as others have said, with regard to core strength.

I have on-going strength issues and one-sided pain just like I did from the outset of labrum tear diagnosis. Thing is, the injections never gave me any relief. I really believe I had some other issue and a coincidental labrum tear. Eventually (Nov 2016), I worsened the labrum tear and it was clear to me that it was an issue to address. I think my progress post surgery plateaued due to some core strength insufficiency. It's been tough to ID it. But for a fun fact, just today I had an evaluation by a pelvic floor physical therapist and it's clear I don't recruit my transverse abdominis well. People frequenly mention weak glutes in hip/labrum patients, but few people discuss TA.

My hip seems kinda fine, but damn are my hip flexors and adductors still tight as hell - at times painfully so, following surgery.

To breathe, to feel, to know I'm alive.
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Re: Torn labrum recovery? [Tsunami] [ In reply to ]
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I did a lot of core work for my back with PT so that has helped. I was actually in some of the best biking shape I’ve been in years before it flared up again which is probably one of the reasons it started flairing up because I was pushing hard.

Oh well it is what it is now. I can’t do anything about it. I’m hoping the running comes back quicker but I generally enjoy biking more so it’s not a huge deal.
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Re: Torn labrum recovery? [Grant.Reuter] [ In reply to ]
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When you do your research, I think that you will find that asymptomatic torn labrum exist in a large number of athletes. You will also find that positive finding of labrum tear on arthrogram/MRI is not necessarily a clear and direct indication of the source of your pain. Further, the outcomes of those surgeries are not all peachy and most middle age adults never return 100%. From the mouth of my healthcare provider. It is nevertheless, very difficult to to differentiate hip pathology from groin related injuries, much like athletic pubalgia, aka. inguinal disruption and many other findings spinning around that term.
I am in that boat since Nov. 2016 with no imminent decision on surgery due to finding plenty reasons not to do it. Some peeps have to have it. I am not a medical professional so no advice here given.
That has put me from chasing the Kona dream straight to the sidelines, watching boys having fun from the fence. I am 47 so surgery outcomes are a consideration here. I am no young stud anymore. :)
Be smart, do your homework. Do it if you think you have to.
What I have gathered, recovery times vary from 6-8 months with normal return to sport if achieved in about 12 months. Think you got plenty peeps here to give you more accurate accounts.
Also, final note, hope you are heading to a hip specialist. This surgery is not one of those done by elbow or knee guys. Respect to them too.
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Re: Torn labrum recovery? [atasic] [ In reply to ]
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This was actually discussed when I was there. It’s somewhere around 93% of high level hockey players have labrum tears they’re obviously mostly asymptomatic but it’s still a lot. I played hockey in high school and college so I’m right in the wheelhouse for that.

They also did an injection again into my hip which they’ll take over the MRI if it causes relief in pain, which it did both times they’ve done it now. Unfortunately I don’t have much of a choice because the pain gets really bad at this point.

I’m lucky being in Colorado we have some really good surgeons out here. The one I’m seeing is one of the Olympic ski team surgical consultants. His specialty is hip arthroscopy so this is pretty much what he does all the time.

On their PT profile and what the PA said is I should be back in 3-4 months full training and 6 for racing. Obviously depending on how messed up that could change but she said with the shape I’m in right now it should be on the low end at least.

I’m thinking I should keep updates on here since surgery seems to be more common now so it’d be a good resource for people in the future.
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Re: Torn labrum recovery? [Grant.Reuter] [ In reply to ]
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Have you scheduled your surgery? How are you feeling these days?
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