If you have been following me on Instagram, you will know that in the summer of 2018 I took 3 months off work to have bilateral hip surgery. Yes, it sounds like a lot for someone in their early 30’s so I wanted to clear it all up and tell you everything. I have so much to say that I am spreading it over 4 blog posts. My 2nd hip blog post tells you what it’s actually like to have bilateral hip surgery, but for now, I am going to start off by telling you how I got to that point. It all started with a running injury, an underlying CAM and then a labral tear and hip pain. Don’t worry, I will explain what all this means soon.
My first running injury and a bit about my running history
So, you may also know that I’m a very active/sporty person, I’ve been this way my whole life. Up until a few years ago, I had never had any hip problems.
Running has always been my thing and I competed at school. However, in my late teens, I was plagued with injury in my lower legs which frequently stopped me from running. I saw a physiotherapist who diagnosed tight calf’s. However, it just never went away. After a few years of not understanding what was wrong with me and barely being able to run, I finally got correctly diagnosed. Turns out I had a stress fracture in both legs.
Anyway, I sought the advice of a specialist and for the first time managed it correctly. I never had that problem again. Mentally it still affected me though, I was too scared to run long distances in case it happened again. So for the next 8ish years, I kept my distances to about 10km and I was happy with that. I never ever had any desire to run a marathon. I qualified as a physiotherapist and, apart from my running injury history, marathon season is my busiest time as a physio. The risk of a running injury was not worth it to me.
Getting over the running fear
Then I went backpacking and after returning 6months later I wanted something to do, a challenge to aim for so I entered a 1/2 marathon. I still had that fear of running long distance so I actually didn’t train much for it, and still kept to 10km distances.
Well, I did surprisingly well in the race and this was now officially the longest distance I had ever run. For the first time in a long time, I was no longer scared of getting a running injury from long distance running.
After this, I continued running in my spare time. I did go back to shorter distances but gradually built up from there (still with no intention of ever running a marathon).
Next thing I know I’m running 13+miles and finding it very easy.
Hmmmmm, maybe I could do a marathon. I mean, I’m practically there.
So that was it, I decided to go against my beliefs and enter a marathon. Not just any marathon, the Great Wall of China marathon.
The big running injury – Summer 2016
As far as training goes, I was already pretty fit. I was doing a long run once a week outdoors and the rest of the time mixed it up between pilates, yoga, strength training, HIIT/HITT running and spinning. So I kept up with all of that with the addition of swimming and stair training (before you ask, yes I had rest days).
It was so important to me to not get injured so I had 1 rule. Listen to my body. If I had scheduled to go for a run but felt tired/not up to it then I would instead go swimming or do yoga, or even nothing at all. Same goes for all the activities I was doing.
So the day comes when I don’t feel like going for a run, so I don’t. I didn’t have pain or anything, I just didn’t feel up to it.
2 weeks later I still haven’t run. This is getting a bit ridiculous now.
So, I suck it up and go for a run.
Something is off about this run, I haven’t got a good rhythm and feel quite heavy footed, but I continue on thinking it will pass. 2 miles in I landed on my right foot (in a completely normal way) and felt a searing pain go through my hip and down my leg. That was my labrum tearing.
My first thought was ‘hmm, this isn’t good’ but I continued running. After a few more steps decided to turn around and run home. I didn’t make it far before I was limp running then hobbling.
I find it quite interesting because its as if my body knew my next run would be my last which is why I keep putting it off.
Note: Anyone who is a patient of mine who might be reading this. Please ignore the next bit.
I’m a physio that doesn’t follow any advice I give someone and thinks the rules don’t apply to me. I was in a little bit of denial about the injury and told myself this will be ok, I can still do the race. I just need to rest for a couple of weeks
On my way home I pass an underground station (stairs on the underground turned out to be the best place to stair train in London). Knowing I will be out of action for a bit but still believing I will be able to compete in the race, and also a little pissed of I had only run 2miles that day, I decided to quickly do some stair running. Yes, it hurt but I did it anyway. Then went home and went to work.
Realising my fate
The first two weeks were the worst for the pain and I was limping most of the time. My hip frequently gave way and I even fell to the floor once. The sensation of giving way was pretty weird, it’s like that feeling when someone knees you in the back of the knee. That time I fell to the floor, I’m pretty sure I felt my hip pop out a little.
I would say it took me about a week to admit to myself that my running days were quite possible over and I was facing hip surgery.
I find it ironic, that for all those years I didn’t want to train for a marathon in case I got a running injury. Then, when I changed my mind and started training for a marathon, I ended up with a big running injury. One that could end my running life and result in surgery.
I had an MRI, which did show a labral tear in my right hip and partial tear of the
I also must say, don’t be scared of running thinking that you could end up with this injury. The fact that I had a CAM meant I was a higher risk of getting a labral tear (and a number of other things which I talk about in my 2nd hip post).
Medical stuff explained in Laymens terms:
CAM – Where the top of the leg bone (where it fits into the hip joint), is irregular in shape/has extra bone growth.
Labrum – A ring of cartilage around the rim of the socket of the hip joint.
Labral tear – When the labrum tears, obvs. When this tears, it’s not like a muscle tear. It doesn’t heal itself. Once it’s torn, it’s torn.
Bilateral – Both sides. As in, both hips.
The CAM caused irregular contact between the bones in my hip, resulting in it wearing away the structures inside, such as the labrum and cartilage.
Living with a hip labral tear
Ultimately, I decided surgery wasn’t for me. It’s a long ass rehab, and who has time for that? The pain eventually settled enough that I could return to being active. Yes, I had hip pain on pretty much a daily basis but it was usually quite mild and you become so used to it you barely notice its there.
What were my symptoms?
- Deep bum ache – triggered by load going through the hip. ie. lots of walking…or doing 1 jump.
- Stinging type ache around the side of the hip – triggered by load going through the hip.
- Ache down thigh – triggered by sitting or a bit after lots of load has gone through the hip.
- Ache in groin area – triggered by sitting.
This was my first insight into the minds of some of my patients. I might get people coming to me who say they have had pain for over a year but just never got round to dealing with it. I could never understand this, how could you go that long with pain? Well, It’s very possible. As I said, it becomes the norm and you forget it’s there.
I couldn’t run but that was ok for now. I had to cut back on HIIT training, and fully stop yoga and areal hoops as the hip pain flareups from these were too much. What could I do? Well, lots actually. I continued hiking, mountaineering, cycling, swimming, pilates and I also focused a bit more on strength training.
In fact, in that period between getting injured and going for surgery I summited 11 mountains.
Why did I not go for surgery straight away?
Is one of the questions I would get asked over and over again. First of all, unless it’s serious/
Also, things settle. Just because I had a CAM and a labral tear didn’t mean I couldn’t live a normal life. Many people have these things without or with very little pain.
Why wasn’t I resting?
Is the other question I was always asked. Well, the hip labral tear wasn’t going to fix itself. The CAM wasn’t going away. So I could rest for as long as I wanted but it wouldn’t heal. I could change my lifestyle, but I would have to change it forever. That’s not how I want to live my life.
Instead, I should live my life the way I want, the way that makes me happy. If things don’t get much worse, then great. If they do, then I will have hip surgery which was always on the cards anyway.
Then the left hip joined the party
When you have a hip labral tear, you have less stability. I found if I did single legged exercises in the gym I had to do it facing the mirror. If someone walked in front of the mirror, whilst I was on my right leg I’d completely lose it and fall down. It didn’t matter how much I worked on my balance and proprioception, that never got better.
When walking on normal ground, every so often I’d step with my right foot and find myself thrown off balance because my foot placement wasn’t where I was expecting it to be.
I even started to notice, when wearing skinny jeans, my right but cheek didn’t feel as snug in my jeans as my left but cheek. This was due to muscle wastage. Yes, I was strengthening, but
With time my left hip started to become symptomatic of the CAM, most likely due to compensating because of my right hip. Now I had bilateral hip pain.
Planning for hip surgery – Summer 2017
About a year after the injury my symptoms in both hips were worsening, so I decided to go for the surgery. I planned it for 3 months later because I already had planned to do the National and Yorkshire 3 peaks challenges, plus I had a few holidays booked (including another mountain summit).
Yes, that doesn’t sound like a good idea to do the 3 peaks challenge in my condition but as I mentioned before I don’t think the rules apply to me. Plus I would take pain killers if needed (they were needed).
For those of you that don’t know, the 3 peaks challenge is the highest mountains in Scotland, England and Wales in 24h. And yes I did complete it in less than 24hours.
Now that I knew I was going for hip surgery, I thought, fuck it. I was going to use and abuse my hips as much as possible. So I increased my hiking to 3 times a week. I also wanted to get myself as strong as possible for surgery so I increased my weights at the gym. I had previously been avoiding heavy weights because they always caused hip pain flareups.
Cancelling the surgery
Funny thing, after about a couple of months I noticed that my hips weren’t hurting so much. In fact, for the first time, I actually had pain free days. I was able to go to the gym without causing a hip pain flare up. I’d gotten myself so strong that the pain got better. Now, this isn’t a revelation, strength training is a key part of rehab. But my strength training had always been limited by hip pain and it wasn’t until I pushed myself past the pain that things got better.
So, despite flare ups, I continued on, and eventually I was no longer having flare ups.
Great. Surgery cancelled.
Disclaimer: Do not copy me. Every injury is different. Please speak to your physiotherapist about how to rehab for you.
Planning for surgery (again) – Winter 2017
Now, I got a little addicted to strength training and pushed myself a little too far. Eventually, I was barbell squatting double my body weight. Subsequently, I was started to get hip pain flareups more frequently. Yes I shouldn’t have gone that far but my hips had already taken running away from me, I wasn’t about to let them take weight lifting so I continued on.
The hip pain continued to worsen. A few miles into a hike it would start to slow me down, I was flaring up after gym sessions and I couldn’t cycle for more than 5min without excruciating pain. I was also starting to get pain related to weather changes….like an old lady. Oooh, I can feel it in my joints.
Now it was time for surgery……
Part 2 – What it’s like to have bilateral hip surgery.
Part 3 – Returning to work after bilateral hip surgery.
Pin it for later – Why I needed to have bilateral hip surgery, my CAM and labral tear story.
1 comment
Hi my name is kadia and I havea left hip labrum tear. And I think I have the same on the right side too. What were your symptoms? I have been dealing with this for one year and 8 months. I need help.