Just got out of surgery!

The day has finally come! I have been waiting for hip surgery since I found out there was a tear in January. However, the damage was done Dec 6, 2012, 5 days after setting a very unexpected personal best of 2.17m (7’1.5”) at our first meet of the year. Unusual for track, this was a freak injury. Usually injuries are more along the lines of overuse and repetitive strain varieties, but on this day I just happened to fall the wrong way hurdling and partially dislocate my hip.

I have battled with pain and restriction ever since that day, although I can’t complain too much. Despite the injury, I achieved every goal I could have dreamed of in my last two years of university track and field. I won 2 straight CIS national titles, finished undefeated at Can West Conference Championships with 5 straight titles, and finished as the U of Regina Presidents Award winner, one of Regina’s most prestigious awards combining athletic and academic achievement over an athletes career. As well, I qualified for Team Canada twice, in Russia and France.

After a nerve-racking wait of a few months, August 11th was finally here. Being a nerd/therapist/athlete, I asked for my surgeons report. The surgery consisted of the following:

• Knocked me out cold (Last thing I remember was wondering why they needed 10 docs and nurses in the OR)
• Traction R leg (essentially pulling it to create a gap in the joint, so there is room to work)
• Two incisions, both used for viewing and working portals
• The joint was cleaned up and repaired (tear of the labrum cut and reattached, damage of the hip socket)
• Conservative shaving of the neck of the femur, as it was too thick and hitting the joint
• Hip was evacuated

Overall, the surgery went great! In total, the hip was tractioned for 105 minutes, which explains why all my hip muscles are so mad even 8 days later. None of that will be lasting damage though. Both my surgeon and my physiotherapist were very excited about how well things went, which is promising! Now it is time to rehab it.

It is truly funny. The things that have annoyed me the most are not being able to carry things around because I am gripping crutches, and the stereotypical hospital food. Liquid diets suck, along with getting woken up every few hours to get your vitals checked. This week was strategically used to get a mental break. Aka play about 40 hrs of video games… Being an athlete is tough, so breaks like this can be very valuable, especially to help with burnout and overall mental health.

Rehab:

• Partial weight bearing on crutches for 4 weeks (to avoid over stressing the damaged bone and causing stress fracture)
• Reduced flexion and internal rotation to allow labrum to heal
• Gradually increase load and return to training over next 2-3 months

All that and only two tiny holes… And a lotta K Tape

In Summary:
Surgery went very well, although more work was done than expected. Too many drugs later, my body feels great and recovery is coming along well. Will be recovering over the next 6 weeks, and then slowly easing back into training.
Aug 11 – Surgery
Aug 11-Sept 8 – On crutches
Sept 8-22 – Still no workouts, but finally off crutches
Sept 22+ – Ease back into training over the next month or two, likely heading down to Phoenix to train full time in November or December, depending on recovery

Now lets see what we can do with a good hip!