Unscheduled Pain

a few weeks after going boxing (2x/wk), golf (at least 1x/wk), and strength training (2x/wk), i started having pain in my groin, similar to pre-PAO pain.  it hurt while i walked.  i iced and took aleve.  a few days in, the pain traveled to the outside of my hip trochanter area.  it hurt a ton to walk and was probably the worst pain i felt besides the incision pain post-screw removal.  i really thought i would need to take a crutch out to walk cuz i was limping a lot and had to walk really slowly.  i stopped going to the gym after i had to stop mid-session in boxing b/c i couldn't do any type of footwork from the pain. even jump rope impact was hurting. we ended up practicing left hooks on heavy bag and i overdid it and my shoulder got messed up.  so i had ice packs on my hip and shoulder for a couple days. i went swimming a couple of times (i'm learning how to do front crawl) and nothing hurt after swimming.

i kept bugging nurse triage to try to get an answer from the hip team. when i finally got a call back from Dr Millis he admitted he dismissed my emails thinking the pain would go away but my complaints lasted for 2wks. the pain was improving but Dr Millis put me on his calendar fairly quickly and i got xrays at the appt. xrays showed good space between bones in the joint. i also had some heterotopic ossification HO in the muscle on the outside of the hip where they made one of the bone cuts. hip team said the joint looked good so probably have some tendonitis (rectis) and muscle fatigue, and maybe some irritation from the ossification. so i'm supposed to rest and take it easy.  PT said i shouldn't swim either, which could aggravate the tendonitis. i think the pain stemmed from rotation/pivoting movement used in boxing and golf.  i didn't feel any discomfort from my regular strength training.    

Dr Millis was planning on taking another MRI at month 9.  this unscheduled visit was just shy of month 8.  we got a lucky same-day dGEMRIC appt at the Waltham location so we drove out.  did the contrast injection and was in the tube for about 45min.  the movie goggle helmet wasn't working but i fell asleep with headphones on (i'm always afraid of being bored during the MRI since the only thing to read in the tube is the manufacturer's serial and model number).  Waltham looks pretty new and seemed to be renovating some wings. it is very quiet and parking is free.

the MRI results showed improvements all around but also an abnormal signal in the anterosuperior acetabulum which was there pre-PAO. Dr Millis has no explanation for this abnormal signal and doesn't seem to have any plan for it.  i have pain in the top left hip area which might match up to this anterosuperior spot. it's getting better since i haven't done any gym stuff in almost a month (but i've been cheating and going to swim class).  hopefully my lack of activity will help my hip be 100% pain-free as we have a 2-week golf vacation in scotland coming up.

just got a suggestion, that my gait might be messed up from being on crutches and post-surgery in general, and the messed up gait is causing some pain.  also maybe the fascia in that area is tight.  so i can try to get my gait checked (physiatrist or chiro) and get a massage to loosen up the fascia.  will see if these help!

7-mo post-PAO & 1-mo post-screw removal

my hip gets tired while walking around.  i don't see why this should be this case since the screw removal didn't bother anything inside...unless the bone itself is tired. i've replaced most of my steristrips after 1mo. the scar looks good.  i feel a little tenderness around the incision area. possibly bone holes where the screws came out.  the area where i fractured my butt bone continues to be sensitive still while sitting.  while i may be clinically healed (i.e. the bone is grown in per x-rays), i probably won't feel 100% until a year. same with the hip.

at least with crutches, i was still getting daily upper body exercise.  while waiting for my screw-removal incision to heal, i really didn't do much.  i started doing light exercises 3wks post-screws, trying not to stretch out incision.  pushups, shoulder raises, lats, rows, planks, crunches.  squatting feels weird perhaps from being tight.  lunges are ok.  full-range situps and leg raises for abs still don't feel good.  went boxing for the first time again 1mo-post screws.  cardio/endurance is way down but hip held up fine.  hip actually felt no pain jumping rope on one leg, so that's an improvement from a month ago.  my boxing trainer (one i haven't seen since pre-PAO) said i looked fatter.  on my way home, my UPS guy said it looked like i was limping. so, i'm fat and limping.

i'm back with my old trainer!  hurray. his workouts cause me more fear than getting PAO.  we're working on rings again, kettlebells, bodyweight stuff.  i'm very sad that i can only manage 3 pull-ups now. technically chin-ups cuz i have to do them underhand grip for now. i was regularly doing 5x5 in early april and regained my personal best of 7 pullups (overhand) in mid-Feb.  my trainer suggested i'm having a hard time with pull-ups too b/c of my weight gain (probably about 8-10lb). all my other strength doesn't seem to have diminished that much. we did trap deadlifts 65lb 5x3.  trap deadlifts use quads more than the hip but i'm still squatting very cautiously cuz i feels things shifting and clicking. my trainer also noticed my lordotic curve looks straighter than before, perhaps my hip is still tight in front.  also started golfing again regularly.

Prep for Screw Removal Day Surgery

*stop fish oil/aspirin etc 2-weeks prior to surgery (any blood-thinners)
*pain meds (the strong stuff) from PAO for the first day or so. it will hurt a LOT.
*bathing wipes, in case too lazy to shower the first day
*extra pillow or two to put under knee of operated leg for a couple of nights
*extra steri-strips and tegaderm if want to help scar heal pretty (won't need right away)
*freeze gym membership (incision should close in 2wks, extra time off to avoid stretching skin)
*think of wearing dress or something very loose upon discharge (your incision won't want to be touched)
*granny undies for discharge (Dr Millis put on a huge roof insulation padding bandage that probably made me 4 sizes bigger)
*crutches (for the first few days)