10 days post core decompression
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1 week post core decompression
4 days post core decompression
I was so fortunate to be under the care of such an amazing team at Rocky Mountain Institute for Hyperbaric Medicine. Everyone was so kind and you could tell just how passionate they all were about their work. I was sad that I would only be able to do 4 of my 40 treatments with them, but I did have to return to Utah at some point :)
1 day post core decompression
DAY OF SURGERY
nearly 1.5 years post-pao...As you all know, I have been doing awesome since PAO. I have returned to my full level of activity prior to surgery (and then some!) and have been enjoying living the active lifestyle I always crave. But over the last 2 months or so, I've been having some gradual increase in hip pain following activity. At first it wasn't much... and I just chocked it up to normal muscle soreness. However, as time went on, it seemed to progress- and progress quickly. It was a deep pain that would come on at night and make it difficult to sleep, but was a different pain than the pain I had with the labral tear. This pain was in a ring around my hip and was a bit worse in the back compared to the front (typical of labral pathology). The moment that I knew something was wrong was when I was unable to run more than 1 mile without being completely wrecked later that evening. I got in touch with Dr. Mei-Dan and explained to him what was going on. I knew these symptoms were definitely intra-articular (going on inside the joint), but they were not consistent with a labral tear. What was most strange about it was that my fellow resident was unable to provoke the pain upon physical exam. The only thing with which I could really correlate the pain was weight bearing, which may suggest a stress fracture, but my level activity and rehab progression would not indicate such an injury. Dr. Mei-Dan seemed puzzled as well, so he ordered an X-ray and MRI for me to complete out in Utah. As I sit here in front of my computer, I still find myself in disbelief of the words I am about to write. As a medical provider at the U, I was able to view my images immediately after acquisition prior to the radiology report being released. Once I saw them, my stomach dropped. I called Dr. Mei-Dan immediately and forwarded him my images. He then confirmed my fear... that I had avascular necrosis of the femoral head. Avascular necrosis is a condition in which bone begins to die due to a compromise in blood supply. It's a very serious condition that, if left untreated, results in complete destruction of the bone. (Click for more on Avascular Necrosis) Below are a couple serial T1 weighted MRI images. The femur appears bright white on the left side of the images with a rounded top (the femoral head). The black hole in the femoral head represents subchondral edema (fluid in the bone) and is indicative of necrosis. Good news is that we caught it early and with appropriate medical intervention it is possible to not only slow the progression of the disease but even stop it altogether. However, the sooner you intervene the better. Dr. Mei-Dan was so awesome throughout all of this. He coordinated everything with me over the phone (during his personal time) and got me scheduled for surgery ASAP. Next thing I knew, I was hopping on a red eye flight back to Denver to go under the knife for the 5th time on this incredibly, high maintenance hip of mine...
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AuthorJust a physical therapist and her journey being on the other side rehab. Categories
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