I've been diagnosed with a labral tear in my left hip. It's been a year almost that I have limited activity. My surgery is scheduled in a month. I believe the doctor wants to remove the labrum. Is this common? I know treating labral tears in general is fairly new...hence I'm having a hard time finding information on it. I want to get an epidural versus going under general anasthesia...Is that appropriate and possible. Also, what are my chances of being restored to full activity? Will I be able to run races (5-10K) without a labrum? The success rates seem to be very mixes. Any info and advice is appreciated.

-- Alison Rees (asdf999@hotmail.com), March 11, 2003

Answers

Labral tears are a difficult problem. They are usually diagnosed by MRI. Treatment may vary from conservative to operative. Sometimes operative treatment is done by arthroscopy. For small uncomplicated labral tears the results are quite good and people can return to nearly full function. Surgery does not usually involve removal of the entire labral, just the torn portion. Without knowing the details, I would not be able to comment on your prognosis, but it should be good. Yes epidural or general anesthesis may be used.

-- Errol Bennett (ebennet6@jhmi.edu), March 17, 2003.

I am 38 and very active. I have a right hip labral tear. After MRI my Dr. says live with it or he can scope it and remove the part that is causing pain. He did say very few hip labral scopes have been done, he has only done 5. My plan now is to "work through it" and take lots of joint type supplements. If anyone has specific exercises that could assist the healing please advise. No surgery for now...

Thanks

-- Aiki Man (mhopk53565@aol.com), May 18, 2003.

I hope that you all might be able to help me. I am a distance runner who has been forced to take a year off because of hip problems. My doctor thinks that, after a multitude of tests and PT, that I might have a labral tear. Two days ago I had a diagnostic injection into my hip joint to see if that helps, then I suppose the next thing is scoping of the hip.

But I was wondering, knowing that we are all different, what sort of pain you had. My pain in on the outside of my hip, right below the greater trochanter area, and in my groin. Because of the groin problem, I can't lift my leg to my chest and cross it over my body. It feels painful, but also like something is trapped.

Does any of this sound familiar to you? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

-- Susan King (suzie101@hotmail.com), July 02, 2003.

Sounds very familiar. I do distance and triathlons, an ironman being my longest. I have struggled with the very same symptoms for 3 years. I'm now going for am MRI with arthrogram to confirm a labral tear. No PT or strength training or chiropractics has helped. If it is confirmed surgery is not an opption, maybe acupuncture. Good luck.

-- Lisa Warren (Lisawarren123@aol.com), August 19, 2003.

I have also had a labral tear in my right hip, this is my second time tearing. I had the arthoscopic surgery done in June and felt fabulous for the first 2 weeks; but I tore it again a few days after I got off the crutches, but my case is different than an athletic or sports injury. The pain will NOT go away until the tear is removed, so all of you waiting to see what will happen shouldn't wait much longer. I have also heard it can cause arthitis early on if you do not repair the damage. Also, it is important to found out what caused you to tear the labrum, in my case, the top of my femur bones are deformed, so I must now go in for femoral osteotomy and to remove the torn labrum again. I would suggest anyone with a labral tear should definitely go see a well qualified doctor who has performed the arthoscopic surgery (more than 5 times!!)And it would be best if you go see a orthopaedic doctor who specializes in hips; and be sure you find out what caused your injury if you don't think you did it while doing some type of sport. Good Luck! Take Care.

-- Pamela L (sulsbaby@aol.com), September 02, 2003.

LABRAL

I'm 35 yrs old. I've had a pain in my hip for as long as I can remember. My appendix was removed in childhood because the doctor thought that was the cause of the pain. I continued to complain of pain in the area afterwards so the doctor said it was scar tissue from the appendix operation. I continued to believe that during elementary school, junior high and high school. I went through a course of Physical Therapy in college with absolutely no improvement. I had a MRI done of my hip. Showed nothing. So I had an abdominal laproscopic surgery done to see if there was any scar tissue. There was so they removed it and placed a thin barrier that disolved and prohibited scar tissue from developing in the abdominal cavity. At the same time they found I had an inguinal hernia and so cut and fixed that too. Still the same pain persisted!

Pain that would move from my groin, to the front of my hip, to the side of my hip, and refer pain to my lower back. So I then went for an MRI of my back which was normal. I couldn't do gym classes in High School and weather changes have always increased the pain, particularly the day before a storm. The pain swarms through the area. I've had chiropractic adjustments for a couple of years with no improvement. I've had accumpuncture done with same result.

I've moved from doctor to doctor trying to find the cause of my pain. More Physical Therapy, but was in so much pain I couldn't really do what they asked. No one could help me.

Then I became a doctor and was listening to a Sports Medicine Osteopathic physician, (D.0.) and I approached him after the lecture. He said my symptoms sounded like a labral tear. The Osteopaths have more training in musculoskeltal problems so I should have seen one earlier in my life! I became his patient and he ordered an arthrogram followed by an MRI and sure enough it lit up like a light bulb during the arthrogram. Comment from the Radiologist, "You've got problems". A few days later I went back for the same procedure on my shoulder because of long standing pain there as well, and you guessed it, labral tear up there too !

My pain keeps me from falling asleep. My pain wakes me up when I do fall asleep. When I'm interacting with people during the day, I spend a lot of energy just holding back the pain and not letting it be seen by others. Its depressing. I'm in pain just laying on the couch typing this. It keeps me from an active lifestyle and sometimes just keeps me out of life period.

The sports doc sent me to Tiger Woods' orthopedist. He said he could do the laproscopic surgery but wouldn't. He had only done a few and he thinks its so delicate one should go to the surgeons that actually developed the procedures and have done hundreds of cases. --- Sign of a good orthopod in my opinion.

I'm writing this specifically to those who think they will resolve their labral tear issue with something besides surgery. I've done it all. And sometimes 2 and 3 times. Even yoga, tai chi, meditation. This is a mechanical problem which can't be fixed by any other means than mechanical surgery.

I have mine planned for next summer when I can get some time off. Yet the pain is compelling enough to do it sooner. The only problem is there is a 6 month waiting list by the doctor. Same one who operated on Greg Norman's labral tear (the professional golfer). I don't know anyone else who has as much experience as him. If someone here knows of others, please share.

Greg Norman - the surgery changed his life and he was back golfing two weeks later. Paineless. Prior to that he had given up golf because the pain was so great but no one knew what it was from....until the arthrogram followed by an MRI.

There was also an Olympic Skater who developed a tear. She was back competing the next week after surgery ! Painless.

I hope I can have a success story as these. I hope there hasn't been others who have suffered as I have for decades not knowing the cause.

-- Lane Adair (what_the_chart_says@yahoo.com), September 12, 2003.

I also have a labral tear and am scheduled for surgery to have the labrium repaired and sewn back onto the acetabula with Dr. Philippon in Janaury. He is out of Philadelphia, PA and also works out of Holy Cross Hospital in Fort Lauderdale, FL. It took 5 months to get an appointment, however he is the leading specialist in repair of acetabular labral tears. He has done over 1,000 labral tears and is the doctor that worked on Olympic Skater Tara Lapinski as well as quite a few other professional athletes. If you want to learn more about him, see http://www.tararulz.com/abouttara/news/news066.html. It was quite informative. Dr. Philippon is now repairing the labrium rather than removing the torn part. Part of his new developments in this area according to his nurse. Hope this helps someone.

-- Lisa La Lei (lisa@titchmarsh.zzn.com), September 24, 2003.

Having left shoulder Labral surgery tomorrow, in dunedin, New Zealand I am rugby player and if there's any other rugby or football players who have had it done it would be awesome if you could tell me how your recovery went and any tips to speed it up. I have to have my right shoulder labrum repaired about 2 months after my left one is done so it will be a long haul. cheers Mike

-- mike maguire (mikemag12@hotmail.com), October 01, 2003.

I'm encouraged by all of this. Was diagnosed with a labral tear last Friday after 10 months of pain in my left hip - ex-rays, bone scans, cat-scans and finally an MRI. It's a sort of jamming pain - like as if there is something stuck in there - and I get it mostly when standing or walking on flat surfaces. It's worse when I walk into air-conditioned shopping centres - so painful I can hardly walk after about 5 minutes. Get it when seated sometimes and certain positions in bed. I tried some of the best physiotherapists before I knew what was wrong - nothing helped. I get relief by squatting and one type stretching -lying down on back and pulling the bended knee into the opposite lower rib area.

I don't get any pain if I am active - My work requires me to be active, I'm a gym freak and love dancing - never any problems there. Flat surfaces are out for running or standing though - preparing dinner in the kitchen was torture.

Anyway. I'm to see an orthopedic surgeon as soon as I can get an appointment but will definitely go with keyhole or whatever surgery. It's really important for work and fun that I remain active so it will be worth it under any form of anasthetic or whether they scrape or stitch.

Thanks for all the comments - I feel a lot more positive about it now that I know others have it. - Rovie

-- Robert V J P Varman (rovi96@hotmail.com), October 22, 2003.

I've had similar symptoms as most of you for 3 months now.. I progressed my running gradually to train for a half-marathon and then experienced pain with weight-bearing/sleeping/sitting in the trochanteric area and leading to the groin. The standard rest, ice, stretching, exs etc... a cortisone shot in the troch bursa did not seem to help so I had the hip arthrogram/MRI yesterday-- to diagnose or rule-out a labrum tear. Some activities that aren't as agravating to my hip include the elliptical machine, Nu-step (recumbant bike), and swimming. Also Vioxx seems to help out. These are all temporary solutions since I'd like to get back to running and pain-free movement!!! Just wondering if any of these master surgeons are in the MI or Grand Rapids area???

-- Janna Reichel (reichelj@student.gvsu.edu), November 18, 2003.

In response to my last comment re: the arthrogram/MRI that was looking for a labrum tear - the actual result was a stress fracture to the medial side of my femur, just below the hip joint. This was something that did not show up on standard x-rays from about 2 months ago. Treatment is to be non-weight bearing for 1 month and then re x-ray. I guess I'll have to start responding to the stress fracture "chat" mail. Take care. Janna

-- Janna Reichel (reichelj@student.gvsu.edu), November 19, 2003.

I have a question and am hoping somebody can help me. When I was 17yrs old I woke up one morning and couldn't walk right. I felt like my hip had popped out of place or something. It felt popped out for almost 2 weeks and then finally in felt like it popped back into place but has never stopped hurting. I don't know what happened during those 2 weeks but I am now 21yrs old and have constant pain everyday and this limits my daily activities. My question is, when I was a infant my knees would also pop out of place and in the past couple of years I have had both of my knees operated on because of torn cartilages. I am wondering, is this because of a congenital abnormalty? My doctor says that I have a torn labrum in my hip now. I have been active my whole life but I know my injuries aren't because I work out, afterall I don't even know how I tore the labrum in my hip. Also, my doctor says I need hip arthroscopy, I am really worried about this because it seems that it is a complicated surgery. I know that if I don't have the surgery then I will always be in pain, does anyone have any suggestions on what I should do? Also, if this is due to something I was born with, if I get the hip arthroscopy and it fixes the tear won't it only come back?

-- Trish (PixarTrish429@aol.com), November 20, 2003.

Its great to hear everyone elses symptoms. It helps to know how other people cope with pain. I have Spina Bifida and had a chiari procedure ( shelf made ) on my hip 10 or so years ago. Now I have awful pain in my groin on internal rotation and trochanteric pain on flexion of the hip. I have pain when walking, resting, and sleeping. There are times when it is obviously less and more though. Stairs have become very difficult. I have seen some of the best Drs. that know about both Spina Bifida and Hip Arhroscopys. So I am scheduled to have arthroscopic surgery in early January to fix the labrum or to clean out the socket. I would love to hear more similar situations.

-- Greg Hansen (ghansen33@hotmail.com), November 20, 2003.

When I was in high school, I had a terrible soccer injury that caused me to not be able to walk on my right hip for several weeks without crutches. I saw plenty of PT's and Orthopedic Doctors, but none could find out what was wrong. I was a competitive swimmer and could not continue to train because of the pain, nor continue being as active in sports as I was. Well, after 4 yrs. of pain every single day, I got an MRI with injection. They diagnosed me with a labral tear in my right hip and suggested either a cortizone shot or arthoscopic surgery. I've decided to go with the surgery seeing that I'm only 20yrs old and I feel I need something more permanent. I have it scheduled in January and I'm honestly quite nervous. I've never had surgery and I was wondering if someone who's had this could tell me what to expect. Will I be able to get back into sports? Will the pain go away? I'm going to school for Massage Therapy and finish in January. Massage requires a lot of standing and I'm usually in a great deal of pain when I give a massage. I hope this won't impede on my career. I do know however, that my instructors work with me on my hip and it helps relieve the pain a great deal. It's also good to know that I'm not the only one with this same problem because a lot of people don't understand the severity of my pain. Take care.

-- Sara Osle (Sarita483@aol.com), November 22, 2003.

So glad to find this site while researching hip pain. Had injury 8-9 years ago with resulting intermittent hip pain. Last two years the pain is constant and severe. My hip clicks and feels like it is giving way. Sometimes the pain is so severe I can't walk. Riding horses is incredibly painful. Can't dismount properly; have to slide off. Then I can't walk. Sleep is difficult to impossible and no position lying, sitting or standing relieves the pain. Tried everything from chiropractors to acupuntuncture. No help there. Joint supplements don't help. Family doctor prescribed NSAIDS which does nothing. Cannot live with this pain any longer and it is limiting my active life. Am 54 and retiring in two months to horses, gardens and grandkids. After this research and reading your stories, am seeing an OS who specializes in sports med next month to get this resolved. Good luck to all of you in similar circumstance.

-- Linda Sinclair (mariposafair@sti.net), November 28, 2003.

I am having labral surgery on my left shoulder next week and i am wondering if anyone who may have had the surgery can tell me what to expect with the surgery as well as with the recovery. Thanks

-- Patrick N (parks55@optonline.net), December 03, 2003.

I knoticed a HUGE decrease in my ROM on my left hip back in April. When I do the butterfly stretch my left knee points up into the air at about 10-15 degrees while my right knee touches the ground. I love to run, bike, play volleyball, hike, etc. and I was doing a lot of that last summer. I cont. through the pain in my hip and groin area until it was so bad it was waking me up at night and I could barely sit through a movie. I had an arthogram last monday and it came back positive as a labrum tear in my left hip. Currious to see if anyone else had that huge decrease in their range of motion and if anyone had the surgery out there how it went. Are you able to run again, what is the recovery time? Thanks!:)

-- Katie Sheldon (ksheldon@usna.edu), January 15, 2004.

I am a very active 32 year old, and have had moderate to severe pain in my right shoulder, due to heavy weightlifting. I tried therapy and resting for two months with no avail. Finally, I set up an appointment with a shoulder specialist at the Rothman Institute, and was sent for an enhanced MRI arthrogram to rule out biceps or labral tear. The study indicated a large labral tear that will require surgery. Interestingly enough, i thought this was a "nagging" injury that would go away. In four months, I lost approximately 75% of strength on my right side, and that was why I decided to make an appointment with the orthapedic surgeon. I wish i would have done it sooner. I am looking forward to the rehabilitation program already, and i hope that someday, I can go back to my normal activities without constant pain.

-- Ralph Mirarchi (RalphMirarchi@cs.com), January 18, 2004.

I had arthroscopic surgery for labral tear Nov 13. Was unable to start PT as soon as prescribed due to spouse's health. Have had 15 PT visits and hit a plateau with continued pain down front and back muscles and presumed continued tendonitis. Surgeon suggests going back in to view repair and then forcing arm/should back into rotation. He says there is a possibility that the arm will break when this is done; no cast, just let it heal. If there is no break, I will start PT the next day. Has anyone heard of this secondary process? A broken arm on top of all this seems like quite a price.

-- Connie Worthington (crwor@aol.com), January 28, 2004.

hi, i have been recently diagnosed with an acute labral tear in my right hip, i have been reading the postings on this subject and all of them seem to relate to a constant pain and a clicking! i hav the same clicking but no constant pain. wen in pain it is completly unbearable and i am unable to move, i am sometimes "stuck" like this for anything up to 4 hours!! i am being put forward for surgery within the next month, could anyone please advise me wot to expect!! cheers paul w shropshire uk

-- paul w (paulw1028@aol.com), February 17, 2004.

hi,

I am a 15 year old full time ballet dancer living in New York. I have recently been diagnosed with a labrum tear and I have an abnormal amount of fluid in my hip joint. I have a terrible "click", a pinch when I lift my leg to my chest, pain when I cross my leg and turn out past 70 degress. As a normal person I have no pain, however when im dancing I am in so much pain. Does this sound normal?

Being so young, DR Padgett doesnt recommend surgery as he thinks their is a greater chance of healing without it. He has sent me home to rest for 3 months.

Does anyone have advice on how to get rid of the "click"?

any advice would be greatly appreciated

-- Daniel Baker (danielbaker_nyc@hotmail.com), February 20, 2004.

I wonder if anyone can elaborate on the MRI with contrast and arthrogram, if someone has been through this? Also to include some kind of ant-inflammatory inection into the hip. Is it very painful? Also, can this procedure really show up something that a plain MRI misses? I have a labral tear and from the sound of things, it is more serious than I realized with so many people talking about suffering for years form it. It is amazing to me that it can be so rare to do surgery to repair the problem when these problems are not rare! Thanks for any thoughts...

-- Lene Watson (ReelCarolina@aol.com), March 03, 2004.

I'm 21 and tore my labrum in a 4-wheeling accident in the dunes 2 years ago. The pain wouldn't go away at all so I was sent to a physical therapist, who was very good and found the "popping" and the pain. He told me exacly what he thought it was and was right on the dot! Like everyone has said....yes, it feels like there is something lodged in there or like your hip needs to pop back into place. I just had my MRI with arthrogram last month, and today I had cortizone injected I think in my iliopsoa or something. Anyways, my MRI/arthrogram experience was horrible because the first time they did the injection of the dye they didn't get it in the joint and I had to go back a week later! The procedure hurts a bit, but they numb the area...it only hurts when the needle seems to hit the bone, and it feels more like a tickling sensation. And when the dye goes in it feels like your hip socket is expanding a bit. It only takes about 10 minutes and the pain goes away within an hour or so. The MRI is nothing...i fell asleep during that. :) If you get the cortizone after that, it feels about the same as the arthrogram...if it really worries you (it's not that painful, just made me really nervous) you can ask for an IV of some kind of sedative to relax you...I wouldn't have minded having some. So some good advice to everyone: 4-wheeling in the dunes is dangerous!!! People get killed there every year...it was my first time out when the guy hit us and I wasn't even driving! The guy that hit us zoomed away immediately and i've had to pay for all this on my own. Bummer.

-- Emma K (raynbowbryte@hotmail.com), March 12, 2004.

I AM A 31 AND HAVE 5 KIDS. I SLIPPED AND FELL IN WATER WHIKE I WAS 8 MONTHS PREGNANT. I HAVE BEEN SUFFERING FROM PAIN 9 MONTHS NOW. IT ORIGINATES AT MY HIP AND HALF WAY DOWN MY THIGHT. THE STRANGE THING IS MY FOOT ALWAYS FEELS TINGELY. I HAVE ALREADY HAD A CT SCAN AND MRI THAT CAME BACK WITH NO APPARENT DAMAGE. ON MY X-RAY HOWEVER THEY FOUND WHAT THEY THINK IS A FRACTURED ACETABULUM. ANY IDEAS?

-- JEN STYCZYNSKI (JEN.STYCZYNSKI@SANJOSECA.GOV), April 12, 2004.

I have no answers for you but I can share my story. I, too, have been diagnosed with a labral tear in my left hip. I have been in pain for about two years but didn't seek help until recently when walking became difficult for me. I am only 43 years old and walking with a limp isn't something I am willing to accept. I was referred by my family physician to an orthepedic doctor. He ordered an MRI immediately. The MRI revealed the labral tear and the doctor told me about the possibility of arthroscopic hip surgery (shaving the hip bone to below the labral tear then cleaning up any floating bone fragments. Because I wanted to avoid surgery, I first had the doctor administer a cortizone shot. That was supposed to relieve my pain for three to six months. It didn't even help for three to six hours. Next I had a radiologist inject a cortizone shot. That really was supposed to help. NO! I tried one last shot, just one week ago. I sit here in pain as I write. The shots may help some but I am not one of the lucky ones. I am going for the operation. Unfortunately, this is a relatively new type of operation and there aren't that many doctors with extensive experience in performing such surgery. The "good" news is that the surgery takes only one to two hours. Three small incisions are made in the area where the pain exists. Recovery involves being on crutches for about one week and then physical therapy (mostly in a pool)lasts for 3 to 4 weeks afterwards. I have found a doctor who has performed the surgery many times and seems confident that my recovery will be 100%. Am I worried? Of course I am somewhat concerned. I have to consider the alternative, walking in pain. I am willing to take the chance to end this pain. If you have already had your surgery when you receive this message, I would appreciate an update on your progress. i wish you luck!

-- Teresa Coggins (snigg60@aol.com), April 24, 2004.

I am experiencing the same pain and will be seeing a hip specialist in NY. My original orthopedist says that it is a labral tear however I have to wait until May 12th to see a hip specialist. Due to running, this injury has plagued me for a year. I hope to resolve this soon and would like to hear any feedback from other people who have recovered.

-- Kris (tella22@hotmail.com), April 26, 2004.

It took 9 doctors and almost a year to get my diagnosis of bilateral hip labral tears. The pain seemed to be in the groin area, so it took awhile to determine it was actually caused by the hip. I did not have any memorable injury, so it really seemed odd to be bilateral. I went to a wonderful physiatrist/orthopedist in St. Louis who diagnosed the problem and probable cause. I had a hysterectomy in 1/03, and the pain began after that. The doctor has now had 10+ patients with this problem following a vaginal hysterectomy. She said it can be caused by positioning during surgery, pressure on pelvic area, or possibly a previous asymptomatic tear. She is studying the possible causes during surgery and will probably write a study on it at some point. I am scheduled for surgery on May 28,2003 with Dr. John Clohisy in St. Louis. I understand he is an excellent hip surgeon and has done numerous arthroscopic hip surgeries. I would recommend him and Dr. Prather, who are affiliated with Washington University/Barnes Jewish Hospital. Good luck to anyone with a hip problem. I'll let you know what you might expect when I have finished the surgery and recovery.

-- (mwindek@hotmail.com), May 10, 2004.

I have just been diagnosed with a labral tear in my left hip though Xrays and MRI(not dye injected) didn't show it. Dr says I have all the symptoms of a labral tear and that having surgery is the only real way to find out if the tear exsits or not. He says he has done arthroscopy on over 350 hips and about 75% of the time you find labral tears during surgery only. I do know that if my Dr finds a labral tear in my hip he will only remove the part that is torn and not the whole thing. How bad is this surgery especially if he doesn't actually find a tear and just goes in and then closes me up? I'm so gun shy since I had a very bad experience with a shoulder surgery from a different Dr 2 years ago that was supposed to be routine and I'm still not recovered from it yet.

I do not have any of the popping that people are talking about though at the initial time of injury I heard a loud pop and had a very sharp pain after crossing a ball in a soccer game. The majority of my pain is toward the front of my hip bone/pointer and directly under this area (it is actually tender to the touch)-has anyone else had pain at the front of your hip bone due to a labral tear or could this be a torn ligament/tendon that is connected here? I also have lots of groin, gluteus, and hamstring pain any time I try to even just walk for excercise for a period of over 20 minutes-anyone else have this type of pain related to a labral tear. Any advice you could give me would be greatly appreciated. Thanks and good luck to everyone because I too know how frustrating injuries can be.

-- Shari Lyons (sharil5@aol.com), May 29, 2004.

I have been diagnosed with a labral tear(hip), surgery scheduled 29th of June. Any info would be greatly appreciated, I ride and show horses, will I be able to effectively ride again? How much pain, and what is the recovery period? This has gone on for years, I thought it was arthritis, or a chiropratic problem, since the pain was a "burning" sensation. Any info would be greatly appreciated, thank you, Jeanne

-- Jeanne Sutton (jsdjeanne@hotmail.com), June 10, 2004.

I too have been diagnosed with a labral tear of the right hip. This was shown with an arthogram, dye injected into the hip joint. I also have ilipsoas bursitis. This is the pain in the inner groin. My hip problem developed as trochanteric bursitis and progresses over the course of a year. I had a shot of cortisone under ultra sound by a sports medicine dr. directly into the iliopsoas bursa. That was two weeks ago. The pain from the tear is still evident. I too, can't sleep. I find if I put an oblong decorative pillow under my thigh on the bad side, I can sleep without causing pressure and pain. I have developed an inpingement on the opposite shoulder from sleeping on that side for the past year. I have an appointment with a hip specialist who specializes in arthrscopic surgery. My fear is with the traction they use to seperate the hip joint will disturb the hardware in my lower back, as I had a fusion in 1999. Any thoughts on this would greatly be appreciated. Thank you and good luck to us all.

-- Charlotte Miller (philylady@hotmail.com), June 18, 2004.

Anyone heard of Geoffrey Westrich in New York? I have an appointment with him in about a week, hoping to get a diagnosis for a four-year long undiagnosed injury in my hip. My spine surgeon has ruled out the low-back area as the culprit and is suspicious of labral tear, based on my symptoms - chronic right hip pain, groin pain, deep hip pain with weight bearing when rotated in a certain direction.

Anyway, I was just wondering if anyone here has experience with Dr. Westrich. I will be traveling from California to N.Y. to see him..so far my interaction with he and his office has been incredible...they are so accommodating and willing to help with out-of-town travel arrangements, etc. Would love to hear any other feedback if you have it.

And good luck to all of you fellow hip pain sufferers! This thing has been hideously frustrating :-( The hardest part has been trying to get a diagnosis. I just pray I am almost there!

Tracey

-- Tracey (tkuhlin@earthlink.net), July 22, 2004.

Six months ago I was in a skiing accident and I ended up with a displaced femur fracture. Now that my femur is titanium and mostly healed I have run into many more problems. I had a condral defect and a meniscus tear in my knee which were fixed three months after my initail surgery. Then, right after I started walking again I was diagnosed with a labral tear. My doctor seems to think that this surgery will be simple and that recovering full activity is an absolute given.

I don't know much more about the procedure, but I would highly recommend the STEADMAN HAWKINS clinic in Vail Colorado for any and all sports related injuries. I have felt completely secure with each step they take, and from what I have heard, they do a high percentage of their surgeries on patients who had problems with their initial surgeries somewhere else.

-- Seth Reese (rf797@yahoo.com), August 31, 2004.

Hi Everyone,

This injury is brutal. My symptoms are severe going pain (on the inside top 1/3 of my legs), hamstring tightness and soreness and hip tightness - not hip pain. So, you can imagine, that it took a year and 3 physical therapists who all treated it as a groin injury, before I finally got an MRI done (arthrogram-fun:)and it showed a hip problem...a labral tear.

So, I just got back from my appointment today with the surgeon to see if an arthroscopic surgery would solve my problem. He said I also have a hip impingement, but that there was a 50/50 chance the torn labrum was mostly or totally responsible for my upper leg pain and causing the instability and trauma to those muscles. I am taking this next week to think things over and research and I was wondering if anyone had similar symptoms? My bad hip also 'clicks' when I walk and I feel like I have to pop it a bit before I can do any kind of moderate activity so it will loosen up. I can't do ANY lower body weight lifting or it will feel like a ran a marathon the next day! Basically, since I still try to do some activity even with this pain, my groin has been pretty much strained 24/7 for 2 years and I wonder if I have done some permanent damage to that area.

I am a former national team athlete and there was never 'one incident' but just a lot of over use. One day, I just started getting soreness that wouldn't go away in my groin and hamstrings. After about 5 min of running, my groin pain sets in and I can't do any more. I used to train 7 hrs a day, so this has really impacted my life over the past 2 years. I was also told I had arthritis, when in fact, I didn't and 3 doctors later confirmed this. They are so quick to think that. If anyone says this to you, get a second opinion. It can be devasting to think you have it for even 1 second.

If anyone has similar symtoms or any advice or comments, I would really appreciate it. I am calling the surgeon back in less that a week to decide whether or not to book the surgery. What do you guys think? I am also in my mid 20s, so this is an athletic over use thing, not something that has hit me with age.

Thank you in advance for any help you can give me. Did anyone have these symtoms and get surgery? Anything else that would be helpful?

Best regards, Merrin

Merrin2@gmail.com

-- Merrin (Merrin2@gmail.com), December 01, 2004.

Merrin, Have you scheduled your surgery yet? I am 8 weeks post op from right hip arthroscopy for labral tear and hip impingement. My symptoms were a lot like yours. I suffered for many years with right side pain. Mainly it would be contributed to female organs. My recovery is going well, although it is long and slow. I used a walker for the first few days and then on to crutches for another week. At first I couldn't even lift my right leg without using a strap to pull it up (after surgery). I not only had a torn labrum but a bone spur in the left inferior pubic ramus (on my right hip) and some bone growth that prevented my hip from rotating into the socket fully. I believe this grew to try and stabilize the hip. Also since the injury was so old, a small amount of arthritis was forming. I went to a doctor in San Francisco for the surgery. I was put into a special traction device and my hip was dislocated for the surgery. He was able to reach deep into the socket and grind off the bone spur completely, which before surgery he wasn't sure if he could reach all of it. The torn and frayed labrum was smoothed and contoured, and the other bump was ground off so now my hip can rotate in its socket. I now have full range of movement. It is still sore in there but it is getting better with time as it continues to heal. I started physical therapy 5 weeks after surgery. I am doing exercises to strenghten all muscles involving the hip. Therapy is helping relieve the pain also. Inside my socket feels pretty good now. It is still sore where the bone spur was ground off, but only in certain extreme rotated positions. The psoas muscle is still sore. A lot of my muscles have been weakened from having this injury for so long. Unfortunately this past weekend I did a little too much and the psoas went into spasm and I was really hurting. Some massage from therapists and my PT exercises lightened it. Just a reminder that I am still healing and shouldn't be lifting yet. This past week I joined Curves and surprisingly, when I am in pain the exercise helps! Before surgery whenever I exercised the pain would get worse. I couldn't even do water exercise without getting in tremendous pain. I feel that the surgery has worked since exercise is actually helping me now rather than cause so much pain. Exercise bike is a good exercise for the hip also. I have not been able to return to work yet, as my job is very physical. I am on my feet on cement floor all day and it requires quite a bit of lifting, some up to 50lbs. I pick things up from the floor which requires squatting and then lifting with a lot of weight in my arms. I also push heavy carts around. I have a lot more than just the hip joint of healing to do. I suffered for more than 30 years with right side pain. I am not in my 20's anymore. This injury I believe happened in my childhood when a horse reared and fell over backwards on top of me straining all my inside leg muscles. Although I walked home at the time, I did not walk again for 3 days, then I always walked with a limp from then on. Over time more and more symptoms showed up. I went to various doctors over the years. I have positive feelings that I will get well if I just be patient, do my exerices and not lift heavy stuff yet! Good luck

-- Kathryn (ibpboo@aol.com), December 07, 2004.

Merrin- Get surgery done. Period. There is not one blip of doubt that having my hip scoped was the right thing to do. I had a (apparently record setting) massive labral tear in the right hip- anterior to superior to posterior with additional hyperproliferative synovium which was cut out. Also some mild arthritis starting to cause some trouble. At age 31 I found it rather disheartening to often find myself either falling over or yelping in pain as my leg froze in position. This started in Feb. 04, and I didn't see an orthopod until almost October. Probably a combo of sports (football, hockey, full contact indoor soccer....) and a fall I took 2 years ago.

I am exactly a calender month postop today. (surgery was Nov. 10). I am typing this from my workplace, where I have been all of this week. My doc told me people usually go back to work in 2 weeks, but I've read a bunch of experiences and that seems like a bit of silliness. Even if you do sedentary work, its near impossible to think that you can sit in any one position for too long- or stand- at a job. I have a 3 hour walking restriction at work, but we know how that goes.

The more I do, the worse my soreness is. But then again, the more I do, the stronger I get. I was given SQUAT for PT post op. I don't mean to DO squats. I mean SQUAT. DIDDLEY. Nothing. So I took it upon myself to get Dr.Phillipon's postop routine, as well as a few others. I started PT day one post op, and pedaled a bike day 3. I am feeling strong today, but I'm more sore these past few days than any since the first 7-10 days. There is some fine line I have yet to find between "GOOD PAIN" and "BAD PAIN". My doc gave me some vicodin yesterday to get me through the nights- I haven't been sleeping very much at all.

But, in general, it has been not too bad. Certainly way better than I expected. I'm a nurse so I knew all the "what ifs" that might kill me.

Gotta run- but I wanted to address this too- you CANNOT have anything but GeneralAnesthesia as far as I know. In order to distract the femoral head out of the hip you have to be paralized and sedated. Which means intubated and sedated. And I'll add this- I was a high risk anesthesia case b/c I'm sensitive to narcs, so I woke up in PACU with nothing but the duramorph the doc shot into the hip joint. I'm no super tough guy, but I have to say that it wasn't that bad. I was hurting, yes, but if what I had was the 'no drugs' pain, ye who get some goodies into your system will be just fine!

Jeff

-- Jeff (quixzika@yahoo.com), December 10, 2004.

I had my Hip surgery with Phillipon two weeks ago today. It has been successful (not easy) to date. I am off of the pain meds, and happily not getting the Fragmin injections (for clotting) anymore as it stings a lot. My surgery went a little longer than advertised (3.5 hours). They cleaned me out, anchored my labrum to some bone with what looks like an eye-bolt, shaved an extra bump on my femur, and sewed up some loose ends. That is about as technical as I can get.

I was back to work in 8 days, although they would have written me out of work for 4 weeks. I started PT and am feeling some pain, but getting better all of the time. I do not know at what time I will know if the surgery was successful, but I have a followup with Phillipon early next month.

After having my shoulder scoped 18 years ago and thinking that was like a bad trip to the dentist, this surgery is definitely much more than that. Even the incisions are bigger. That said, I am back to work already and feeling pretty good.

BTW, I heard that Phillipon is moving the practice to Vail after Feb 2005 and not taking any new patients.

Good Luck all, Mark

-- Mark Solomon (Marksolomon67@yahoo.com), December 20, 2004.

I had two labral tears repaired arthroscopically on 11/9/04 with a local orthopedic surgeon. I am also 52 years old and I have groin pain, sometimes worse than other times. The clicking has been fixed. I do not know if this surgery will be successful for me, due to the arthritis which caused my tears. If you are a younger person, you may do well. There is no non surgical method for labral tears to my knowledge, so find a qualified surgeon and get this done. It takes up to a year for the hip to totally heal, so the healing process is slow. I will write you closer to a year to let you know if this was a success for me. Good luck to all. Charlotte

-- Charlotte Miller (philylady@hotmail.com), December 27, 2004.

I am a 34 female. I was diagonised with a possible labral tear in my hip. I am currently getting ready for the mri with contrast. I am not sure if i will be able to have contrast as i have severe allergies to contrast in itself. I will say my doctor said when they do surgery, they only remove the torn part of the labrum. I know where I am located that there are no docs. to perform it here so he is suggesting Boston. The success rate of this is mixed. My girlfriend had hers repaired, and three weeks later it retore during minimum activity. She has chosen not to get it done again. I am not sure what my decision will be with this. I am experiencing groin pain and outer hip pain. I have had cortizone shots, didnt work, Physical therapy agitated it and made the hip swell, MRI without contrast shows nothing. I find this to be a nusiance, I have times where things are okay, and others when not. I cant climb stairs, and have exesive popping or clicking in the hip. My hip does this at least six times a day on a non active day. It happens when I switch positions. Crossing your leg is next to impossible. I cannot lay on my side and let my leg rest on the other. I have to place a pillow to keep the joint in a stable position. I wish you success with your surgery, and let me know how you make out. They should not take your whole labrum. I did read that you can have it done under epidural, but not recomended. Dont know why that is though. God luck.

-- Diana Dodson (dduck88@frontiernet.net), February 14, 2005.

Hi, after and MRI with a dye, I have a labrum tear on my left hip. Besides the groin pain, does any of you also experience lower back pain problems and pain in the butt? Besides my groin pain, my lower back is the worse. I am waiting to see dr. Philippon in Vail now, but it has been a week and nobody from his office has call me back yet :( For the people who have done the surgery, how are you feeling? did the doctor tell you that one day you will be back to 'normal' and be able to run, bike and do other things or not? what is the rate of success from the surgery? i heard only 50 -50 is this true? Please respond THANKS

-- bebitarun (bebita_me@yahoo.com), February 24, 2005.

Hi All: Although I am am athlete and my labral tear may be due to years of exercise and overuse, I also have epilepsy and had a seizure the other day (Monday afternoon 2/21). Throughout the course of the seizure, I apparently tore several ligaments in my hip, tore my labrum, tore the hip capsule and temporarily dislocated my hip (which is now thankfully back).

On Tuesday, I went to my regular doctor. He sent me for xrays which, of course, turned up negative for fractures. Since then, the pain increased so I went to an Orthpaedic and he sent me for an MRI which gave me the above diagnosis.

My question is: as a 30 yr old woman - do I go for arthroscopic surgery for this type of injury at this young a age, or do I wait? If I DO go, which doctor does anyone suggest in NYC? (the reason I went to the doctor I did on Thurs was b/c he was the last one a/v due to all others being out of town for a Ortho Conf)

Thanks you and I hope everyone feels better! Evelyn EP23@aol.com

-- Evelyn Pate (ep23@aol.com), February 27, 2005.

Hi everyone (again),

To answer Alison's question and update everyone...

I wrote a few months ago about a labral tear with groin pain, hip clicking and hamstring tightness as symptoms. I am getting arthroscopic hip surgery in 3 days. I was told that it is a 50/50 chance that it will solve my problem since I also have a hip impingment. So, I'm not sure if it's 50/50 in general for people who only have a labral tear. It could be a bit better. My surgeon is not sure which one is the main contributing factor and won't know until we fix the tear and see what happens. Obviously, the scope is our first option since the tear should be repaired anyway and it's minimally invasive. The impingment surgery requires a total dislocation of the hip joint and is an 'open' surgery with an increase of possible medical complications. From what I've been reading, the post-op people have been pretty positive about getting the scope done.

So, I will let everyone know how it went and how things are going 1-2 months later. IF ANYONE HAS ANY LAST MINUTE ADVICE, please let me know. Wish me luck!

Merrin

-- Merrin Thompson (Merrin2@gmail.com), March 14, 2005.