# Torn labrum (hip)



## Someoldguy

Shot in the dark here, but wondering if anyone has had or dealt with it before.

Did the full MRI anthrogram, and was confirmed as a torn labrum with an acetabular hip impingement. Dr says get surgery to repair. Rode on it all last season, and was annoying but doable a few days week for about 4 hours of laps. Insurance deductible is $12,500 so surgery can't happen until I change plans next year.

My understanding is the worst that can happen is arthritis onset earlier than normal, or will need an entire hip replacement. Have a good friend in Huntington Beach that surfs almost daily and had same problem, although he is a few years older than me at 48 now. He said the torn labrum repair surgery was a waste, went back and had hip replaced and all is fine now.

Season passes purchased, trips booked already for Utah/Tahoe early 2016. Praying this damn hip hold together for another year.

Yeah I know - COOL STORY BRO...just wondering if anyone else has experience with a torn labrum in their hip. No, it's not a torn labia as my friends love to call it.


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## Trabi75

I had my labrum repaired in May. Im doing better now than I was prior to surgery and I boarded all year on it, until that last huge storm at snowbird in April. I was OK that day til the last run then ihad so much pain i could barely turn. My only problem now at 5 months post op is I still have groin muscle weakness, but it is stronger now than it was last year at this time. I do have pain in the other hip at times but I won't do surgery until it stops me from doing what I want. My dr always says only to do it if it is making me alter my lifestyle and I don't want to. He feels like I'm still young to get areplacement and i doubt a replacement gives as much mobility as a normal hip does. This surgery is fairly new and they don't have alot of studies on the outcomes. They will not do it if you have a certain amount of arthritis because it won't work.also about mid 40s in age is a cutoff for good success. Again probably related to arthritis. I'm 40 now. You will get arthritis eventually and that is what will destroy the joint. They told me without this surgery I had 5 or 10 years before I need a total hip,and that labral repair will postpone that.
I chose surgery ultimately because it was beginning to affect my lifestyle. far I'm doing good. I still have a very tight groin and it is very weak, but stronger than it was before surgery. Other than that I have zero hip pain.my only worry is that all the groin pulls the last 4 years nay have permanently damaged my adducter muscles, but hopefully I keep improving (I wanna play soccer one last time )
That said everyone is different and bit every recovery is the same.i suggest doing surgery only if you are feeling limited and you don't want to change your lifestyle. Also if you do, don't rush recovery, my dr us strict about not returning full for 6 months, the people I hear of that have problems are those that rushed it. 
Oh and my bill was about 35000$ but my insurance paid 100% so I was lucky there.
Now I posted a novel and a bit disjointed here (sorry )but I will add a little more background if you get bored and want to read it. 

I had my hip pop out and in during a soccer game 5 years ago. All my leg muscles cramped at the same time. After the game the only pain ihad was agroin strain. I never went to a dr for the first 2 years but I kept pulling my groin and having quad cramps. Finally I went in and they suspected an impingement. I chose to do pt and did great for about 8 months. I did alot of stretching, cycling for a few months then I took those stretches to weightlifting activities that are similar.I went from 40lbs adduction lifts to After 8 months easily doing 140lb adduction with 4 sets of 20 reps. I could easily do more but was slowly increasing weight over weeks. I was running and sprinting but I would still get cramps in my quad if I did leg raises and leg extensions with much less weight then I could handle. But I was better than I had been in about 3 years since having my hip pop out and in during a soccer game. Finally I played soccer again and had a great game. The next week I simply kicked a ball from a funny angle just warming up and my groin snapped. Because I could never get rid of the cramp I went back to the dr and they ordered mra. He called and said that I had severe torn labrum for the last few years. Since the groin injury last fall I couldn't do more than 40lbs adduction and it never improved in 6 months so I did this procedure. And it seems to be now improving a little.


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## Trabi75

Again sorry about the novel. If you have other questions I will try to be more specific.
Just remember everyone's different and recovery and results are different. Maybe try to get a couple opinions. My ortho was dead set on me doing both hips. The specialist he sent me to advised pt first then to just do the one giving me all the trouble. Now I'm hoping I don't start getting pain in my other go too because it's my back leg and I don't want my powder days to be cut short. 
Oh and if you're doing pt or weightlifting, avoid squats and lunges. work on flexibility and strengthen you abductor and other leg muscles.just avoid the movements and exercises causing the impingement.


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## Trabi75

Before repair, after repair, incision site


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## Someoldguy

Trabi75 said:


> Again sorry about the novel. If you have other questions I will try to be more specific.
> Just remember everyone's different and recovery and results are different. Maybe try to get a couple opinions. My ortho was dead set on me doing both hips. The specialist he sent me to advised pt first then to just do the one giving me all the trouble. Now I'm hoping I don't start getting pain in my other go too because it's my back leg and I don't want my powder days to be cut short.
> Oh and if you're doing pt or weightlifting, avoid squats and lunges. work on flexibility and strengthen you abductor and other leg muscles.just avoid the movements and exercises causing the impingement.


Thanks for this info, been very helpful. I am stuck in a crappy health plan until next January so nothing I can afford to do until then. I'm 44 now, so guess it remains to be seen what the hip surgeon (ski and snowboard hip specialist from Vail) I have been referred to will say. Saw another orthopedic specialist and was told the "arthritis sooner, hip replacement sooner if you keep snowboarding on it". I just can't keep throwing money at Dr visits until insurance gets straightened out. The damn MRI was over $1k out of pocket.

It's annoying and very uncomfortable after I stop using it and the day is over, probably adrenaline from riding blocks out the pain I would guess. I have most likely been aggravating it by doing lunges/squats to prepare for this coming season as you mentioned. Will take your advice and stop those and focus more on flexibility and abductor strengthening.

6 month recovery time doesn't sound as bad as I feared, ideal situation is to get my days in this season then get this surgery done by May 2016 and be good to go for the 2016/2017 season.

Once again, thanks very much for this informative reply.


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## Trabi75

I think hip replacement is a faster recovery, but for this if they resurface the bone like they did on me you need time for the bone and hip capsule to heal. 

You can do leg extensions and curls to work on the quad abs hamstring strength without the deep hip flexion That squats and lunges require. My Dr said I could do squats again when I'm full recovery since they also shaved out the bone causing the impingement, but since my other hip is giving me problems I will continue to avoid them. I'm just really hoping my other go doesnt start causing problems since the mri showed small tears. The one I had done was a result of an extreme sports movement and was significantly torn that is the main reason I had it repaired. It wasn't achy so much as it caused me to pull muscles and cramp all the time and it finally shut me down for soccer.in going now I can play one more time by spring then I can quit on my own terms if I want. 
What you can also ask a specialist about is whether they can give you a shot for short term relief, until you have different insurance and or time to think about the pros and cons. I know that sometimes they will give a shot in the joint,if the pain goes away then it confirms that there is a labral tear that is causing the pain. I'm not sure on the details because they didn't suggest that to me,since they had the mra to go by and maybe since I had more pain from the muscle strains than pain in the joint anything. 
You could ask the specialist for some specific stretches and exercises to do your pt and strength training too. I described a bit of what worked for me but everyone's different and had different strengths and weaknesses.
It is a tough decision since there isn't a ton of info on the outcomes of this surgery and then to have then tell you is a temporary solution. 
Good luck


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## Argo

Phillipon is good but you can get it done down in the Front-range or other facilities for less expensive. I wouldn't let him do my surgery unless he was positively the only one doing it and stayed in the room until my case was done. He is really good but he takes a really long time to do it because he is teaching other people. There are others that do just as good a job. The extended time under anesthesia is what I worry about personally. I worked up there with them for years.

As for getting both done, I would. Most people that have one done, get the other done within a year or so.

Also, if Marc does do it, get it done in the Surgery Center and not the hospital. The SC cost less overall than the hospital will. Most plans will not cover it as it is out of network. There are a TON of people that come up and do it as cash pay....


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## Someoldguy

Argo said:


> Phillipon is good but you can get it done down in the Front-range or other facilities for less expensive. I wouldn't let him do my surgery unless he was positively the only one doing it and stayed in the room until my case was done. He is really good but he takes a really long time to do it because he is teaching other people. There are others that do just as good a job. The extended time under anesthesia is what I worry about personally. I worked up there with them for years.
> 
> As for getting both done, I would. Most people that have one done, get the other done within a year or so.
> 
> Also, if Marc does do it, get it done in the Surgery Center and not the hospital. The SC cost less overall than the hospital will. Most plans will not cover it as it is out of network. There are a TON of people that come up and do it as cash pay....


Thank you Argo, I've seen your posts in the CO conditions thread, and value your opinion seeing as you work up there. 

The specialist I was referred to (from another specialist here in Lakewood) is Dr. Ellman, he was highly recommended and think he worked out of the Steadman Clinic up there? His bio says he specializes in this particular hip problem and consults for the US ski and snowboard team for what it's worth. He does surgeries here in the front range and it appears he isn't in Vail anymore, I was just going on what the last specialist told me. 

Will look into this Dr. Phillipon and make sure to ask the questions you mentioned here. Very helpful info.

As for the cost, I had planned to just buy a premium insurance plan with a low deductible during open enrollment next month and make certain that the Doc I choose takes the plan I enroll in. I can't believe people do cash payment for this.

Funny thing is I don't even know how the hell I tore the labrum, I just started getting an occasional random sharp pain, and usually an uncomfortable dull ache that kept me awake at night in my right hip. It's not like I slammed and knew something was wrong, it just slowly started hurting, more and more as the years have gone by. Could have been a surfing incident about 5 years ago where my back foot stayed on my board as it slipped out and I sort of did a split. Hell if I know, only thing I can remember that might have affected the hip.

Anyways, thanks again, advice has been much appreciated.


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## Trabi75

More than likely it is being torn due to an impingement in the hip joint. The femur or the acetabellum is shaped in such a way that had the joint moves it pinches the labrum and tears and wears it diwn. That's what is slowly happening in my one hip. I never injured it but they saw tears and the angle of my femur was slightly off.in the hip I had repaired the condition was extremely bad due to an bad injury to the area.
Most people do bit have a particular event they can pinpoint,it just kinda creeps up on you,is part of the reason is hard to diagnose.
I've also heard good things of that clinic you mentioned as well as dr philipon, from others. I'm in Utah and there is only one specialist my ortho would recommend. I was lucky he wasn't too far away. He was very good and confident as well. The only problem was I got really nauseated coming or of anasthesia and had to spend the night in the hospital. It's normally outpatient though. 
I never had pain really.they put a nerve block in and buy the time it wore off the next day I just mild soreness from the incisions,which left fairly quick


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## Argo

He was a fellow and trained in vail. Not a part of the group though. He was good when he was in vail and one of the guys I'd see down in the Denver metro area


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## Kwanzaa

I came on here to ask this exact same question, nice to see its the first topic on the sub section. I found out in September i had torn my hip labrim 2 years ago, been riding / weightlifting with it since it started but my performance has fallen sharply, ie 300lb squats down to 135lb squats. 

i had my first cortisone shot done 8 days ago, doesn't seem to be helping with pain, and i know ill just end up hurting it more because i wont feel as much pain. My problem is i can't "drive" or generate any power with my left leg (torn labrim side). I ride goofy so left leg is what i need to ollie, etc

I was looking at getting a hip brace, something similar to this

http://www.braceshop.com/media/cata...78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/c/e/centron.jpg

and a pair of compression pants with support would help take alot of strain away 

Endurance Generator Tights - CW-X

Anyone know if theres another mechanical device that can perform that function? i looked around, never seen one for runners / athletes, etc, they all seem to be used for surgery recovery


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## Trabi75

I'm not familiar with any hip braces or the like from personal use. Through my Google searches I did see something called a serf strap. It seems like it would be more of a wrap that is done the same way as that brace you posted. Compression shorts/pants would help a bit,I think. 

There is a Facebook group 'understanding hip impingement, fai' its possible someone there might have experiences with different braces etc. And it's a good source of information. 
It helped me learn a bit more, but I definitely relief on my Dr's more. 

In the meantime, work on increasing your stretching and strengthening of your hip flexors. By lengthening your muscles it will decrease the impact inside the hip joint. I was told to avoid deep squats and lunges before I had surgery as this movement will cause more damage, it may depend on the type of impingement(I'm just repeating what I was told) they said after surgery I would be able to do squats if I wanted to, not sure I will because my other hip had some slight tears, nothing like the one that was fixed. So I'm doing leg extensions and hamstring curls, and soon deadlifts (I hope) instead of squats.
I know how you feel about your performance dropping. It is tough to deal with. After I got hurt playing soccer, I couldn't get better than 75% sprinting and cutting for about 3 years.then I finally was told I might have an impingement and I chose to do pt and worked hard at strengthening those hip flexors and my flexibility. After 8 months I was doing real good and finally played a indoor soccer game again. I felt 100% or close to it. Then I went the next week to play again and warming up, my groin muscle snapped. Never had a pull like that before so I went back to the ortho and they wanted to do an mra turns out my labrum was extremely bad and that's why the groin snapped. 

Sorry I keep getting of track a little to much and talk to much. For me I tried the pt approach and it was working but i think it may have been a little too far gone by the time I found out what type of exercise I needed to do. 

So yeah there are non surgical options like strengthening, brace /wraps, activity/lifestyle modification. When those don't work you may want to consider surgical repair.
Again this is the way it was presented to me and my interpretation. Everyone has different experiences. 

Sorry for my long winded nature.


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