Hip Arthroscopic Surgery recovery and things to consider

[Combine]

Greetings SS.

It has been a long time since I've posted. I wish I could say I've made amazing gains since then but I do not have the numbers to back that up. And well, I have no idea where I am now.

Anyway, I've recently (2 weeks ago to this day actually) had Arthroscopic surgery performed on my right Hip to fix both a "femoroacetabular impingement" (Femur and Acetabulum were abnormally shaped hindering range-of-motion and causing pain) and a torn "nearly nonexistent" labrum. Outside of getting used to crutches, I haven't been able to do much of anything else as my doctor and physical therapists have stressed not putting any weight on the right leg for three weeks. After that, I imagine I won't be able to put much weight on it anyway.

So, I guess I wanted to hear other peoples take on how I can gradually ease back into working out, let alone any heavy lifting (heard it might take months before I can do any of that), especially if anyone has any first/second hand experience with something like this. I of course intend to get my doctor's opinion as well.

It's been rough though, having to pretty much be immobile outside of passive motions, especially during the summer and at this point in time when I'm unemployed and have all the free time in the world to devote to things.

[Gwynn]

You will see there's been a bunch of activity and posting around this very issue, if you search the board. From what I recall, many have seen positive results after this surgery.

[Combine]

Hmm, I wasn't able to find anything related through a search (tried searching "hip surgery" but didn't get anything), but I'm glad to hear that things might turn out well after this.

Don't get me wrong, the post-op confirmed that this surgery was needed (Labrum almost nonexistent was pretty big surprise) and I'm glad i got it done at my age when I'm still somewhat young. I'm just worried about being able to get back into physical activity, especially for my lower body, as well as what handicaps I may be limited to considering what was done.

[Carlos Daniel]

Combine, with you being who you are (people do remember you around here, I can assure you that), it's gonna be harder than usual.

I think what Rip would say is that as soon as you can, start trying to do the lifts and little by little try to increase the ROM. Start with just your body if it's all you can do and then move to the bar and then lift as usual.

[Gwynn]

Hmm, I wasn't able to find anything related through a search (tried searching "hip surgery" but didn't get anything), but I'm glad to hear that things might turn out well after this.

Don't get me wrong, the post-op confirmed that this surgery was needed (Labrum almost nonexistent was pretty big surprise) and I'm glad i got it done at my age when I'm still somewhat young. I'm just worried about being able to get back into physical activity, especially for my lower body, as well as what handicaps I may be limited to considering what was done.

Try searching femoroacetabular impingement

[Combine]

Combine, with you being who you are (people do remember you around here, I can assure you that), it's gonna be harder than usual.

Sheesh, I haven't posted in well over a year and people still remember me? Talk about leaving a bad long-lasting impression.

So what you're saying is I'm going to have to work harder on it than anyone else? Or because my body was already weak to begin with it's going to take longer to heal?

Well, no matter. What you said is true, ROM is going to have to go up slowly somehow. Physical therapy is helping with that to start with. I'm just wondering about how long it will take before I can actually stress things. Probably not anytime soon since I still am forbidden from putting my own weight on that side.

And my forum searches still haven't found anything related to post-surgery conditions from hip arthroscopy, just threads where the person has been diagnosed but hasn't had surgery yet.

[aporter600]

I just had surgery April 19th on the left hip, still awaiting the procedure on the right. If my budget and insurance benefits allowed, I would have the other one done today. I only get 60 PT visits per year, so that's why I need to wait, plus I am broke (wife just had a baby). You'll be on an airdyne immediately after surgery and adding resistance with a stationary bike within weeks. Over the past three weeks, I have started doing more weighted exercises to strengthen the muscles in my leg. It will take a while to get the glute to fire after being stale so long. This will cause some tightness in the psoas, piriformis, IT band and your hip flexors. I know a few guys who have had great success after surgery, and some who had to go back in and clean up scar tissue, more impingement, and even have their psoas released. As long as you don't force it, get your ROM down, and protect the integrity of your labrum, you should be okay. My surgeon told me I can go back to squatting and pulling after the other surgery, but I will just have to pay very close attention to depth on the squat; no ass to grass. In the past two weeks, I have started back weight lifting, but still not clear to press overhead yet: lots of incline DB presses, lat raises, basic bro style workouts.

Just make sure you get the CPM machine to use while sleeping. This will slowly move your leg during the night, keeping your leg fresh, and preventing scar tissue.

To give some perspective: Alex Rodriguez, Michelle Kwan, and countless other athletes have gone under the knife for this. Hell Big Nog had both hips done by Dr. Phillipon at the same time, fought eight weeks later......and won!

[Combine]

^^^Well, thank you very much for giving such a detailed account of your personal recovery from the procedure. I can sympathize with the money problems, I'm unemployed and my health insurance refuses to cover Physical Therapy, so that all comes out of my pocket (still haven't gotten the full surgery bills yet).

Three weeks post-surgery my doctor said I could stop using crutches and start walking again, which I've done. Though things are obviously awkward with the movements having not used them in some time. I definitely have some scar tissue build up around one of the incisions, but I hope it's not something that will need to be fixed. It's still difficult to drive as well due to the muscles still being sore. Haven't even thought about when I'll be able to go back to the gym. Physical therapists don't seem to want me to do much outside of their care. Not sure how I feel about that.

[aporter600]

I know a lot of people who don't use physical therapy after the first few weeks. Here is a good site that a lot of people use for rehab:

http://www.damiangriffin.org/rehab.html

[Combine]

Thanks for that link! I guess the only thing I wouldn't be sure of is when I'd know if I can move onto a new stage or not. It's been nearly 4 weeks since surgery so I don't know if that's long enough to be counted in stage 2. That's probably the most annoying thing about post-surgery's is that you don't know what you can and cannot do, other than not doing anything that causes pain or discomfort.