A few months back I was having some serious hip discomfort. It was more of a dull ache that wouldn’t go away. After some tests, X-rays and an MRI I was told I had a cyst caused by hip dysplasia and a torn labrum. You can read the thrilling information here. I was also informed that I would likely need surgery to correct the issue. I wasn’t too thrilled at the prospect of four weeks on crutches and then three-four months of physical therapy. I wanted to be ready for hunting elk in the Fall, but I also wanted to fix it if it needed it. I was at a crossroads.
Yesterday, I had a consultation with an arthroscopic surgeon and she gave me some good news. While my labrum is torn, and my ball joint has too much bone and needs to be shaved down, I don’t need to have surgery right away. She went through the motions of testing my flexibility, hip rotation, and checked to see if I was in any pain. Now, there is a very slight ache everyday, but on a scale of 1-10, it’s about a .2. Yeah, not too bad and it’s something I have dealt with for over 12 years. While I shouldn’t wait more than a couple years, as long as the hip is working, I am good to go. She seemed impressed that I can run 4 miles a day and my hip isn’t sore afterward. Heck, even I am impressed.
My hip only hurts when I twist and turn the hip, like getting in and out of my car or squatting down. I guess my CrossFit competitions and medicine ball training will just have to wait (that’s sarcasm for you folks).
The prognosis is that the labrum will not heal itself and I will need to have surgery before too long. If I don’t, there’s a chance that I would need a full hip replacement in the future. Yeah, I am not into that prospect right now. My plan is to have the surgery in a couple years, so long as it’s not bothering me. If it hurts, well then, I am headed for the OR as soon as possible.
Now that I have taken care of getting it looked at I can plan my elk hunt, whitetail hunt, or any other hunt I want to go on this year. I plan on a few hog hunts on public land and possibly going out of state for whitetail. I have a few opportunities in hand and just need to decide on what I want to do (and what my bank account says I can do). I am thankful I don’t need immediate surgery, especially this time of year. Here’s to staying healthy and hunting hard in 2014!
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