Entering into my late 30s/40s has been a unique transition in my life. From hormonal changes to worsening digestive issues to persistent injuries, my body has been through the ringer the past few years. One of those injuries was a labral tear in my left hip in 2019, which I’ve since learned is a common injury.
I felt kinda lost and anxious dealing with this injury, as it wasn’t one I was familiar with like I was with ACL tears, ankle sprains, and stress fractures. So I’m writing a series of blog posts about my experience with the injury, surgery, and rehab to help others who find themselves going through the same thing and need answers, resources, and reassurance.
How It Started
My injury happened about 2 years ago (summer 2019) while slogging (aka slow jogging). I was attempting to build my overall stamina and running base. I had been taking long walks for the previous year-plus, slowly getting my strength and fitness back after struggling with multiple health issues for several years. Despite being a personal trainer and lifelong fitness enthusiast, my activity levels had dropped dramatically for a long time and I gained weight and lost a lot of my hard-earned muscle, fitness, and strength gains.
Looking back, it probably wasn’t the running that specific day that did it; it was most likely a wear-and-tear situation. I now know that labrum tears in the hips are a common injury, especially for athletes and active people.
However, that running session left me with a nagging dull ache in the front of my left hip. It didn’t hurt all the time, just here and there and with certain movements, like pivoting and getting in and out of my car. I thought I had just tweaked my hip flexors, so I adjusted my activity and moved on.
Getting Answers
But the pain continued to hang around for the next few months, until finally I got fed up and researched orthopedic doctors and made an appointment. My new doc (Dr. Sheena Black at Baylor Scott White Orthopedic Associates of Dallas) diagnosed me with a labral tear and sent me for an MRI, which confirmed her diagnosis. Even then, I didn’t really have a ton of pain, and none of it chronic. It came and went, mostly lasting just a few seconds at a time, so I never really felt the need for pain meds or icing. It was more annoying than anything.
Taking Care of Business
Dr. Black later gave me an ultrasound-guided cortisone shot to help with the pain and inflammation. She also recommended physical therapy as a conservative first step, so I looked for a clinic that catered towards a more sports medicine approach. EXOS in Frisco, TX fit the bill. Not only was it close to my home, it was geared towards athlete rehab and conditioning. I started there in November 2019, and have been going there week after week ever since, not only for my labral tear, but also for a subsequent shoulder injury and chronic hamstring strain.
A month into PT, I was mostly pain-free and stronger in my core and lower body. So much so that I was able to complete a demanding 2-day kettlebell certification with no problems. I continued doing PT twice a week and loving every tough minute.
I continued running, walking, and lifting weights, tweaking my workouts to avoid painful movements, like banded squats and some lunges. I was glad I didn’t have to curb my workouts too much, especially now that I was actually enjoying them again and making progress.
Truthfully, my injuries have been a blessing in disguise—I’ve really enjoyed my PT sessions and have learned a lot that I’ve used with clients and in my social media, newsletter, and blog content.
Don’t Call It a Comeback
Unfortunately, in January of this year (2021), the pain in my hip came back, and with a vengeance. The pain was in the hip flexor area and deep in the groin area. It became more chronic and painful than before and significantly affected my daily activities, as well as my workouts. I went back to my doctor for a cortisone shot to help with the pain with the hope that a more focused round of PT would help (and backing off of walking and running), since we’d been focusing on my right hamstring strain for so long.
The pain relief lasted a good 2 months before coming back. It was at this point that I realized that surgery was inevitable. While a year before I told myself that I’d rather live with the minor intermittent pain than go through surgery, I was to the point now where I was almost eager to go the surgery route to get rid of the pain, stiffness, catching, and overall annoying inconvenience of being chronically injured.
But I was understandably hesitant due to my previous (very painful) surgery (ACL repair) experience. And Covid put a huge wrench in my plans (any plans, really). My husband has a rare medical condition that makes him immunocompromised and especially susceptible to any illness. Contracting Covid would likely put him in the hospital and at a higher than normal risk of “long Covid” or death. So I put surgery off until I could get fully vaccinated and we could figure out the logistics to keep him safe.
I was fully vaccinated by the end of May, and I was racked with anxiety about the surgery. We recruited a vaccinated friend of ours (shoutout to the awesome Dana!) to get me to and from surgery and then take care of me for a few days if needed. That way my husband didn’t have to get anywhere near the medical center and could keep his distance from me until we were sure I wouldn’t pass on Covid (or anything else). I scheduled my surgery for July 12th and continued PT once a week to get as strong and mobile as possible.
In the next installment of my hip labral tear and surgery experience, I’ll go into detail about my surgery and the first few days of recovery. Feel free to email me at becky at bkinetic.com or DM me on IG @bkinetic if you have any questions!