Firstly, I’m really sorry about your DX. It totally sucks. I feel for you. I had this happen to me a few days before an Ironman. I decided not to compete because it wasn’t worth risking more damage. And I was in so much pain that it was really a no brainer.
This is my N=1 experience. I had both cam and pincer FAI, plus a tear. FWIW I had just turned 29 when this all went down, was very healthy/active, and did not think I would need much down time or therapy. Wrong! For a year after my DX, I did physical therapy (I tried 3 different PTs), I saw a chiropractor, took a round of prednisone, tried different NSAIDs, supplements, massages, had two cortisone shots, tried pilates, strengthening core, lots of gym work, no impact workouts, etc. I was just getting worse and worse. It got to the point where it hurt to sit, stand, walk, everything. I even ended up herniating a disc trying to do a “walk run” progression while in PT, because my therapist thought I could try running again…nope! Not to scare you – but hip injuries are not to be taken lightly. This is definitely not a “push through the pain” kind of injury. I finally opted for surgery a year later, after failing conservative measures. When they got in there, it was a mess. I had acquired grade 3 chondromalacia (damage to the cartilage that coats the bone) in addition to the labral tear. That can lead to arthritis if left unchecked. They scraped that away, then shaved the femur and acetabulum down, reattached the labrum with 5 anchors, and released my psoas. It was a shitty recovery…that I had to go through twice! My other hip, as it would be, also had both kinds of FAI and a tear…our bodies love symmetry :). That side had synovitis and “bone craters” from where the bones had rubbed together. Nasty. I’m 3 months out from that second hip arthroscopy and very glad I had the surgeries. The joint pain is gone, however I still have a ton of muscular imbalances/compensations and tightness that I’m working through. I can bike on my trainer no problem (which was a cause for pain before surgery), I haven’t tried swimming because of COVID, but running is totally out of the picture for a while longer… impact sports are the last to come back post op. I can’t even walk one full mile yet! Hip arthroscopy may not seem like a huge deal but it really is – it takes upwards of a year to fully heal. Mind you, both of my hips were really bad, so I’m probably at the extreme end here. My mom had bad hips, so in my case, it likely had some genetic component to it.
Anyway, if there’s one thing you take away from this – please please listen to your body, try different therapy modalities and give running a break for a bit. Find what works for you. Fire your PT if they aren’t helping. Get many different opinions. Get a CT scan to check for “versions” and dysplasia. Make sure you get the full workup of what’s going on in there. I had 4 different opinions before I decided to get surgery. And surgery really should be the last resort. Take care and feel free to message me if you have any questions!
! It sounds like the surgery actually causes increased pain for some and many people are requiring multiple surgeries to relieve the pain. This isn’t something I can let calm down with rest, work on strengthening and increasing mobility, and hopefully start to feel better? I am under the impression surgery is NOT required to heal nor is it the preferred route to go and I hope this is the case. Thanks again for everybody’s input it is very much appreciated!