16 months post hip arthroscopy (again...)
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1 year post hip arthroscopy (again...)
9 ish months post hip arthroscopy (again)Summer is here and things have been looking up! My hip is feeling better every day and find myself ever more encouraged to continue progressing through my rehab program. I spent my 30th birthday in Lake Tahoe with some of the most important women in my life- the ones who have been by my side through this ridiculous hip saga and who have always seemed to bring a smile to my face when things were tough. I took this pesky hip on a few hikes while we were out there and didn't even think about it once. It felt so good to get out in the mountains again and be able to hike without my body limiting me.
Besides working on my own personal rehab, I've been very busy completing further training in pelvic floor dysfunction and dry needling because these were such important and effective management techniques for me during my rehab. I'm very excited to be able to help others on their hip journey with these extra tools. Even though I've been doing a lot of extra studying for these certification programs, at least I can say I don't ever have to study for boards again because... I PASSED!!!! Woot woot! I'm officially a Board-Certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist! 30 sure is looking up :) 7 ish months post hip arthroscopy (again...)
20 weeks post hip Arthroscopy (again...)The last few months have been a bit of a whirlwind. I started my new job at UCHealth, have been studying like crazy for the orthopedic clinical specialist exam (yikes) and preparing to present a poster at the Combined Sections Meeting in NOLA. Needless to say, this has left very little time for my own rehab. And... go figure... my hip hasn't been doing all that great lately. As much as I would like to blame my busy schedule on this, I know that there is a part of me that just doesn't want to rehab myself anymore. The last 5 years of my life has been an ever evolving rehab regimen and, quite frankly, I'm bored. You can only do the same exercises for so long without losing your mind!
While I was at our conference in NOLA, I did a lot of walking. We're talking miles upon miles each day. My hip was killing me. And of course, being surrounded by 15,000 PT's... people noticed lol. However, if you were going to be experiencing pain, being at a PT conference is not the worst place to be. One of my good friends taped me up for some of our longer days, which helped quite a bit, and another did some manual therapy for me. #PTfriendsarethebestfriends Even though this conference was a lot for my body to handle, it was just what I needed to re-energize myself. I had definitely fallen into a slump, which is totally understandable given the circumstances, but I didn't quite realize it myself until it was brought to my attention (thanks fraaands). So here is to a fresh start... after boards haha. 12 weeks post hip arthroscopy (again)
IN OTHER NEWS! I recently accepted a job offer with UCHealth! Talk about coming full circle right? I feel so incredibly lucky to have undergone all my orthopedic care with UCHealth- the nursing staff, anesthesiology/pain management team, in-patient rehab team, orthopedic PT's, surgical PA's, MA's and, of course, Dr. Mei-Dan... everyone on my care team was the absolute BEST. I am so honored to be joining the organization that did so much for me and my hip. I am so looking forward to embarking on this new adventure- and to be doing so with a HEALTHY and HAPPY hip :)
8 weeks post hip arthroscopy (again)My 6 week post-op visit has come and passed, meaning I am now CRUTCH FREE! And more than that, I've been feeling really good. I went to the Broncos game last Sunday and, even though they continue to insist on ripping our hearts out every game, I had such a great time. I live about 10-15 min walking distance from the stadium and was able to walk over to the game. I love living downtown, but it was absolutely killing me having to Uber all over the place- even to the coffee shop a few blocks down the street. It was so liberating to just walk over to the stadium. And then to be able to cruise up and down stairs without even a second thought? That was the icing on the cake! I had been to 3 football games at University of Colorado this year (all on crutches...) and, even though I had fun being out with everyone, every game felt like an absolute production. I had to think about parking, distance to the field, feasibility of tailgating based on location, crutching around the stadium with a huge crowd of drunk college students, the BLEACHERS.... I could go on and on. I was so incredibly thankful for my independent mobility at THIS football game that I could almost cry. It's been a long road. It's hard to maintain a positive outlook when every time I get so close to being completely back to normal... I find myself back in an OR with a lengthy rehab ahead of me. But on THIS day, I was overcome with this unwavering feeling that everything is going to be ok now. I don't really know how to explain it, but my body feels whole again. And what better week to have this realization than the week of Thanksgiving. This time reminds me of my favorite quote by Melody Beattie: "Gratitude turns what we have into enough." Not only is this a wonderful reminder during the holiday season, but it is a much needed reminder during all the times in our lives where we find ourselves in a funk. And let me tell you, recovering from surgery can put you in the BIGGEST funk of all time! Practicing gratitude for where your body is at in the recovery process and celebrating all the small (yet monumental!) victories along the way is the only way to stay sane through such a demanding process. Of course there are a million things that I am pretty bummed about not being able to do right now (like ski opening day or go for a trail run with my my dog), but today, in this moment, I am going to celebrate that my body is able to walk up an entire stadium worth of stairs and that I can go to a concert and dance with my friends. I'm going to celebrate this because I couldn't do this 2 weeks ago. And more importantly, I am going to celebrate this knowing just how far this body has come in order to get me here... and that before I know it, this body is going to get me back to where I want to be going.
5 Weeks post-hip arthroscopy (again)
4 weeks post hip arthroscopy (again)
3 weeks post hip arthroscopy (again)Normal interventions to address this would include stretching the involved muscles, but post operative ROM precautions prevent this. The tone in one muscle in particular, coccygeus, was so high that my coccyx (tail bone) had actually sub-luxed and was sitting off to the side! It was so incredibly painful that I could barely sit down. THANKFULLY, I know some fabulous pelvic PT's. I briefly described what was going on to my friend (and complete rock star PT) back in Salt Lake who gave me a few exercises and manual stretches to try and, within 2 days, all of my symptoms had completely resolved. COMPLETELY RESOLVED. I continue to be completely amazed at how the simplest things can sometimes make such a significant difference on pain and dysfunction. For all my hip warriors out there- if you are experiencing pelvic pain or "odd" symptoms related to bowel/bladder function, know that you aren't alone. And more importantly, there are things (often quite simple things!) that can be done to help you feel more comfortable during your recovery. Even if your orthopedic PT is not trained in pelvic floor rehab, he/she should be able to answer some questions for you and direct you to appropriate resources. I have begun my training in this area and am SO excited to be able to apply it in the orthopedic setting. If you have questions about anything, shoot me a message... I'd LOVE to nerd out with you!
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AuthorJust a physical therapist and her journey being on the other side rehab. Categories
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