The old blog
Welcome to Catching a Third Wind, an independent, informational website dedicated to helping those who suffer from femoroacetabular impingement, a.k.a. FAI or hip-impingement syndrome – an oft-painful joint condition, challenging for some to pronounce and even more challenging to diagnose. Quite simply, it’s too much friction in the hip joint.
FAI is most common with professional or elite athletes as well as individuals involved in activities requiring repetitive hip movement, such as running, cycling, dancing and skating. The Yankee third baseman Alex Rodriguez and Lady Gaga were treated for it. And so was I – twice – the likely result of years of running. It was during training for the 2010 New York City marathon when FAI began to boldly impinge on my life, and sideline me from some of the activities I loved.
Catching a Third Wind started as a blog and served as a cathartic chronicle of my recovery from two bouts of FAI, both of which were corrected through arthroscopic surgery in 2011. My diagnosis came after eight long months, during which time I sought help from a sports-medicine doctor, massage therapist, exercise physiologist, two physical therapists, an orthopedist, a radiologist (who ultimately administered a contrast-dye MRI that revealed a labrum tear), and, finally, a surgeon. Many were convinced I had a bad case of tendonitis, perhaps because I felt a bit better at times during early PT. (Read more about My Story.)
Hip MRI Image from HSS
Studies show diagnosing FAI typically takes two years and visits to three or four health professionals. As the malady progresses, symptoms may include a dull, consistent ache in the groin area, sometimes spreading to the thigh, buttocks and lower back; some may experience a catching or popping sensation. Stiffness and discomfort may even occur while sitting down.
Catching a Third Wind is NOT intended to diagnose FAI or offer specific treatment advice. Nor is it a goal to promote any doctor or health care practice. As a fellow sufferer who also happens to be a professional journalist and a student, I am looking to objectively share the research and experiences gathered while in the throes of recovery, or as I like to say, my quest to catch a third wind. Look for articles, links and fresh interviews to come, and I invite your comments and suggestions, too.
VIVIAN MARINO