Recovery hip labral repair: 2 weeks post op

I wanted to write a bit about my recovery from surgery to repair my labrum for a couple reasons: 1. I'm a bit bored not training :P and 2. I'm hoping it might help someone else going through it since I'm learning it's a somewhat common injury.

I chose to have surgery with Dr. Andrew Wolff out of Washington Orthopedics and Sports Medicine. During my first appointment we decided surgery was the best option given my type of tear and goal to get back to full function. He was very thorough and despite my panicked email that I was making the right decision, assured me that surgery was inevitable and would be best for my return to competing at a high level.

My surgery itself was a bit of an ordeal but ended up working out very well. I had to be in DC at 8:45 AM so we had left the house around 4am. We were almost to the surgery center and got a call that there was no power due to a downed tree and they would call when I should come in for the surgery. We were so close so we went in anyway, hung out in the waiting room all morning (I was so hungry!) and then finally went out to go for a walk in a local park when they said they would call around 2pm. I was just excited that I was cleared to drink some Gatorade!

                              

The doctor actually called a while later and let us know my surgery had been rescheduled to 4pm at a different surgery center. The patient before me had a bit more going on than expected so my surgery started around 6pm. I had a wonderful pre and post op nurse. Here is a very unflattering pre surgery picture:

After the surgery, Dr. Wolff spoke with Brian and let me know that the tear was larger than what the arthrogram had indicated, so surgery had been the right decision. There was also a bony growth (CAM impingement) on my femoral head that was likely pinching the cartilage and causing the tear, and needed to be shaved down. I very slowly got down some animal crackers and ginger ale (in between naps). I finally got to try getting around on the crutches, immediately almost puked and had to wait again. We finally got to leave around 9pm. Poor Brian drove the 4hrs home, with me not being very entertaining, and we got home at 1am.

I have a couple machines that I spent quite a bit of time in. The first is a Continuous Passive Motion machine that lifts and lowers my leg at whatever degree of flexion it is set at (started around 30deg and instructions to go up to 70deg). That one is 3 hrs a day for 3 weeks.

The second is a compression/cooling machine that reduces inflammation and decreases the chance of getting a blood clot. The non operative leg piece wasn't working but my Zoot Sports compression sock was an excellent substitute. In fact, I've been going through all my Zoot gear despite not working out, since it's sooooo comfy.

I can't believe how much he was able to do in just two small incisions! Modern medicine is pretty awesome. I am definitely feeling better already than I expected I would, and I am sure a huge part of that was picking the right surgeon.

Brian was very helpful, but also very encouraging of me getting up and around and learning to do things on my own. I really think that my moving about a bit right away helped in my recovery. I was very careful, and moved slowly, and still spent a lot of time down, but it was great to at least be hobbling around. A couple days after the surgery I was getting a bit bored and sick of Netflix, so we met a couple friends at the brewery nearby. I just had some of their homemade soda, but it was nice to be out of the house. Our friend John, who just broke his knee, met us out and the bartender referred to us as Scratch and Dent.

John getting unsolicited advice that he shouldn't wear his knee brace...

Scratch and Dent out and about

June bug has been an excellent nurse and does not like to be far from me when I have to be in the CPM machine or am just taking a breather.

       

However, she is not as understanding when it comes to fetch. She is at least getting better at her drop accuracy. But if she thinks the ball is within my reach, and I disagree, she gets very frustrated.

The weekend after my surgery, I had my 28th birthday. I was kind of bummed that we couldn't do much, but Brian made me a cool pop up card and we got coffee and took the pups to the park to run around. I can at least use the throwing stick to toss balls for June. He also arranged for some friends to meet us at a pottery painting studio for some non-mobile fun, followed by Ritas and then a nice dinner out for the two of us. All in all, a really fun day, even on crutches.

Surprisingly, some of the hard things to do are: sitting for long periods, and putting on my sneakers... This is as far as I got one day before Brian intervened.

He also bedazzled my crutches with bike bar tape since the grips were all sticky.

I have started physical therapy at Atlantic PT with Lucas. He has been great and was very optimistic. At my first appointment (about 1 week post op), he said my range of motion and weight bearing capability at this stage was really great. In the first few weeks the main goal is to wean off the crutches by bearing as much weight as is comfortable and walk as normally as possible. 2 weeks post op I am down to one crutch due to a slight limp, but doing well and as soon as I master one exercise they make it harder, which I love!

                               

Up to 70 deg of flexion in the CPM machine! I drink my Beet Performer in it for all of it's anti inflammatory an antioxidant benefits.

Crutches on the beach were more difficult than anticipated...

Our friends visited with their little ones, it was tough to not be able to run around and play with them but we enjoyed brushing the pups and reading books together.

At my two week post op appointment I got my stitches out and got some instructions for easing back into biking and swimming. The top row is the tear and the third row down is the repair.

Two weeks post op and I was able to pull 2000yds in the pool and get on my bike in the easiest gear for 20 min. Definitely less than what I was used to, but it's a start to getting back. Feels great to be able to do what I can.

I had expected a much different type of wrist band the weekend of June 28th, but I am confident I will be back at it and more motivated than ever.

Step back to move forward

Recently, I was starting to think that maybe 2015 just wasn't my year. There has been quite a bit of frustration with applying for jobs (and subsequent rejections), and then a hip injury that started back in March/April. Then again, back in 2008 after my dad lost his job and I shattered part of my jaw in a cycling crash, I was feeling similarly. What I tried to remember today, is that I came back even stronger in 2009, and I will come back even stronger again in 2016.

Let me go back a bit. In March, I started to have some hip flexor tightness right before my half marathon. Whether or not this was related to the issues I had later, or just hip flexor tightness, I'm not sure. I went on to race Shamrock half marathon with little issue and managed a PR performance. Not a bad start to the season. A few weeks later in early April, I was out for a 15 mile long run. I had been feeling strong but in the last couple miles felt some sharp discomfort in my hip groin area. I was so close to the house, I finished up the run. If I could pinpoint when my labrum tore, that would be the start. It got a bit worse in the runs after, but not enough at that point to cause me to think I needed to stop running. About a week later I started to have quite a bit of pain/discomfort on impact during running and somewhat during walking. I stopped running and thought ok, well I'll take a couple weeks easy, get an MRI just to rule out anything bad and be careful. 

This is as far as I made it on one of these runs

I felt that I needed an MRI with injection (arthrogram) to rule out a labral tear, but the diagnostic place said I didn't. I got my MRI done, and it came back completely clear. According to the test my hip was perfect. Nothing was saying I couldn't run, and it was feeling better walking around, so I went out and tried a couple easy runs. It was even worse afterwards than before I took time off. Something was definitely wrong. I went to an orthopedist and he sent me for an arthrogram (MRI with injection). Even when I was at the imaging center, the doctor doing the test said that if I had a tear it must be small, because a larger tear would have shown up on the first test.

So I was certainly surprised when a couple days later, I got a call saying I had a large labral tear and a small stress fracture in the femoral neck. I was told to take it very easy until they could talk to the doctor. A week or so later, I was told I would need surgery and that the surgeon wanted to do a debridement (removing the torn part of the labrum). Luckily I have a very good friend who is a physicians assistant and is an awesome athlete that has had a gnarly knee injury that she came back from. With her advice, along with a little research, I realized that a debridement should be avoided at all costs, and to instead look into getting the labrum repaired. It also made me nervous that this doctor wanted to jump straight into surgery with no talk of how I would get back to full running form.

Labral tear in my left hip

I chose to get a second opinion with a hip specialist in DC (Dr. Andrew Wolff) that does many hip labral repairs on athletes. I saw him today and feel like I finally have a plan. He was very nice and answered all of my many questions. At first he was hesitant to jump into surgery and wanted to wait and see how my hip felt in 2 months once the stress fracture was completely healed. After some more talking about the pain/discomfort I was feeling (and when parts of it started/subsided), and my goal to get back to full training without issue, we decided arthroscopic surgery to repair the labrum and fix any impingements, was the best option. He also said that most of the time with this type of injury, even after other methods are tried, it usually results in surgery. He really understood my desire to get the recovery started. I will be going in for surgery next Wednesday, four days before I turn 28. He went over what to expect for recovery and will send me home from surgery with a lot of information. He also said that if I am progressing well in recovery there is a possibility that I will be able to do more quickly. 

I won't lie and say parts of this haven't been frustrating and disappointing. Racing was finally coming together at the end of last season and I was seeing some really positive gains. Then I had a really strong winter training season and I was amped for some strong racing and training this season. However, it's best to not dwell on what could have been and instead look at what I can do in the present to get back to what I love. While I am nervous and not super excited about getting surgery, I am relieved to have a plan set. This will be the first time in a long time that I have had to take a significant time away from running. Running has always been a very grounding and centering activity for me, so it is very hard to take time away from it, but I am hopeful that by taking this time I will be able to come back very strong. It will be good to take a step back, get refreshed and re-energized and build back up. As my coach said, sometimes you need a forced step back to realize how much you love it and come back guns blazing. I am also going to take the opportunity to do some different stuff like kayaking, paddle boarding and volunteering. I am so thankful for my friends, family and coach for the never ending support. It means more to me than you will all ever know. I am also so appreciative of my amazing sponsors for their continued support and understanding. 

Being injured isn't all bad when you get to go kayaking with friends (pictures from Michelle)

I'm focusing on spending some more time with friends I don't see enough during training

taking the pups for some fun little outings

We got to spend some time with my brother when his ship came in. I didn't think climbing the rigging was a great idea... but I enjoyed watching them do it!

It has been great to see the other side of triathlon by volunteering. I hope to give back to the sport I love in some small ways while I'm out from competing

Zoot Winter Gear Escapades

Hey everyone, Brian and I are very excited to announce that we will both be continuing to work with Zoot Sports for the 2015 season. Brian will remain the captain of Team Zoot for the Mid Atlantic region and I will be on the elite team. We have loved being with Zoot for the past three years, they have awesome people working for them and exceptional products. We recently received a package of winter gear and were very impressed with it. Please enjoy the following photo montage and Brian and I's awesome modelling skills. Complete with some reviews/comments on the gear. Photo credits go to my brother's awesome girlfriend Gillian Bell, thanks Gillie Bean

Hey guys

hey guys

hey guys let's go for a walk!

These Zoot gloves are really cool, they have a wind resistant flip top to protect those little fingers from the cold

Brian and I love the thumb holes, and pockets are pretty awesome too, ya know for all our stuff

off for a run

Here we go

oh yeah feeling good

oh Brian's going to give me a hug

nope not a hug

this is how champions do push ups

oh hey 'dere

The new Zoot Solana, really love the fit and feel of these shoes, bonus: awesome colors

All I need is one layer of these megaheat layers to run in 30deg temps...pretty sure Zoot makes it out of polar bear skin/fur....not sure, still investigating

Not sure the Zoot layers were specifically made for fat tire riding, but we're going with it

Definitely awesome for fat tire riding

Multi-use layers

Awesome Zoot wind breakers, flat Chesapeake farm land = lots and lots of wind

seriously guys, lots of wind

reflective detailing so you don't get hit by those pesky drivers texting

just a leisurely jog in the woods

#winning

the final kick

serious business meets....

monkey business

more monkey business

Brian insisted that this picture be put in to demonstrate that he is king monkey

again king of the monkeys, I mean the guy eats about 5 bananas a day

is this more aero?

or this?

Brian really loves this new Zoot kit

We love our Zoot gear for training, but we also love it for fat tire riding, rock climbing, hiking, evenings in front of the fire with a couple good books and a glass of wine...

obligatory action shots

hey 'dere.... show off

riding off into the sunset

Hey Zoot, we're pretty sure a modelling contract must be in the mail for us now after this shoot...but in case not, we're interested if you're interested ;)

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, this blog is 40 pictures so consider that a 40,000 word review on the awesome new winter gear. Thanks for reading and thank you Zoot for the sweet gear!