4 weeks post hip arthroscopy (again)
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2 weeks post hip arthroscopy (again)
The best perk of being a PT you ask? Most definitely... having PT friends. After a long day in clinic, Jackie (ahem... Dr. Piccone) worked some PT magic and finally got my muscles to chill the F out. Combo ultrasound + e-stim for the win! It provided a similar effect that dry needling would have (although not quite as specific or focused) and seriously helped get my spasms in check.
I always tell my patients that surgery is "elective trauma." And although those procedures are necessary to fix an underlying structural deficiency/injury, it always leaves you with collateral damage. In fact, you are often left MORE broken leaving the OR than you were when you went in. I am forever thankful for the skillful hands of Dr. Mei-Dan, but I know that it would all be for nothing without all the fabulous PT's in my life who have helped put me back together again (and again... and again... and again... and again... and again) after surgery. Both physically and mentally. So THANK YOU. I love you all and am so grateful to have had you by my side through all of this <3 10 days post hip arthroscopy (again)
When I think about all of MY patients that I've treated following hip surgery and the goals/expectations I have for them 10 days post-operatively, it completely baffles me that I find it so incredibly difficult to allow myself the same patience. The following day was Friday and I was completely worn out. A lot of my friends were going out to celebrate the end of the work week and I found myself almost numb as I sunk into the couch. I didn't want to eat or read or watch TV. I didn't want to do any of my own rehab (which I hadn't done in 2 days because I was so tired and sore.) I just sat there until I fell asleep... sitting up. When I woke up I still felt so heavy and numb and I knew I needed to snap out of it. I needed to actually do something to make myself feel better. So, around 10 pm, I went to the gym and got on the stationary bike. Almost as soon as I made my first revolution, I broke out into tears. And instead of trying to stop them and put on a tough act like I always do, I just let them fall. I was in and out of tears nearly the entire time I was on the bike but, when I finished, I felt like this giant weight had been lifted off my shoulders and I could breathe again. These moments- the ones that break you down and test your resolve- are the moments that pave the way for true growth and change. They are not a sign of weakness, but rather, a signal of readiness to completely surrender to and accept the journey that you are on. So in other words my friends... let yourself have a good cry and then go kick some ass :) In addition to kicking some ass this next week, I plan to practice a bit more self love and patience- a life long skill that I think we all need to nurture more often than we probably do.
3 days post hip arthroscopy (again)
0 days post hip arthroscopy (again)
Day of Surgery
Once inside, Dr. Mei-Dan found an area of cartilage damage with underlying subchondral bone defect. He performed small micro fracture to promote cartilage healing and smoothed out the cartilage in the area. This defect was not picked up by any of my imaging studies and the only reason he found it was because he was "searching" for it based on my clinical presentation and a slight artifact on CT. He believes this defect is most likely the root cause behind all of my symptoms. However, just to be safe, he fixed all other structural abnormalities while he was in there since I have tended to be a bit of an enigma throughout all of this. Interestingly enough, he found that a portion of bone on the acetabulum (socket portion of joint) had actually grown under and around one of the previous anchors, leading to a protrusion of bone and labrum. This protrusion may have been acting like a pincer-type irritation of the surrounding tissues- but especially the labrum, as there was evidence of peripheral tearing/fraying. As such, the anchor was surgically removed from this site, the extra bone growth was shaved down and the labrum repaired. I also had a bursectomy of the iliopsoas bursa due to chronic inflammation and, to finish, he closed the anterior hip capsule and tightened this closure to make up for my inherent collagen laxity and to prevent me from over-stretching it (I was a dancer and figure skater... I can't help it!). All in all, he seemed quite pleased with how things went! So fingers crossed this is the last time this hip finds herself up on an operating table :)
6 weeks post hardware removal (34 weeks post pao)
29 weeks post-pao
28 WEEKS POST-PAOAnd finally, the last step in the process... those big nasty screws are officially out of my hip! The timing of this surgery was a bit unfortunate (in typical Jenna fashion) because I had a big due date for my final capstone project 2 days after surgery. And surgery was super easy this time around, but then again, I think anything would be easy compared to PAO! Pain is managed very well with Rx meds and it hasn't impacted my mobility at all. In fact, I'm planning on returning to my clinical rotation tomorrow, just 2 days after surgery! I'm really interested to see if having the hardware removed has any impact on some of the muscular irritation I've been having in the front of my hip... so stay tuned! I'll keep you in the loop!
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AuthorJust a physical therapist and her journey being on the other side rehab. Categories
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