My hip-impingement journey officially began in the summer of 2010.
That was when I started to accelerate training for what would have been my next marathon in the fall: the behemoth in New York City. It was to be my 10th big race – I ran New York previously, in 1997, along with marathons in Boston; Cape Cod, Mass.; Scranton, Pa.; Albany, N.Y.; Atlantic City, N.J.; and Philadelphia.
But, alas, this one was not meant to be.
Midway through my training that summer, I began noticing a dull ache in my left groin area after long runs – defined by me as anything beyond 15 miles. (The right side, at that time, was fine.) Initially, the pain was less noticeable after shorter distances or during periods of rest, and at this stage, stretching helped to alleviate some of the discomfort. But when my long runs eventually resumed, so, too, did the pain. In fact, it seemed to worsen as time passed, emanating along the side of my left hip, and into the lower back and glutes.
Thinking I might have tendonitis, bursitis or maybe even sciatica (runners like diagnosing themselves, you know), I first turned to a massage therapist. The deep-tissue massages felt great on the table, but they failed to keep the pain away afterward. I even sought help from an exercise physiologist; he analyzed my running gait and made suggestions for preventing future injuries.
About four weeks before race day in early November and still holding out hope of somehow salvaging my training and running the marathon, I broke down and consulted a sports medicine doctor. He ordered X-rays of the affected area and assured me that there were no hairline fractures to worry about. He diagnosed the problem as severe tendonitis and suggested I rest up and do the race anyway, since I already had the training under my belt. Advice I had hoped to hear – but ultimately couldn’t follow. I saw no lasting improvement even after stopping running, consuming copious amounts of anti-inflammatories, icing and stretching – all the while continuing to cross-train with cycling and aerobic machines. Oddly, I felt bad just sitting down for long periods – stiffness often ensued.
I reluctantly gave up my spot in the marathon and asked the sports medicine doctor for a prescription for physical therapy. This will cure my tendonitis, I thought. After four months of PT to strengthen my glutes and my core (and only occasional short runs), I was feeling measurably better – not to mention, thrilled with the way my butt was looking – and hopeful of running regularly. Then a setback: I stretched my leg the wrong way while using a resistance band at home. And so I went from hoping to resume my running career, to just wanting to walk up the stairs sans pain.
A sliver of hope came at a Christmas Eve party. One of the other guests, an out-of-town orthopedist and brother of the host, politely listened, a cup of eggnog in hand, to my tale of woe. He suggested that I make an appointment with a local orthopedist and ask for a dye-contrast M.R.I. I waited ’til well into the new year to act on his advice – I guess I was still hoping I’d miraculously get better on my own. When I finally saw the orthopedist and had the M.R.I., I was told that the problem wasn’t tendonitis but a labrum tear in my left hip joint. The orthopedist referred me to a specialist in New York, who referred me to the surgeon who repaired the torn labrum and removed the bone spurs that had caused the cartilage tear. The diagnosis was femoroacetabular impingement, or FAI.
The surgery, performed arthroscopically, was in July 2011. So almost one year and several health care professionals later I was on my way to what has ultimately been a long and arduous recovery – interrupted by a second hip scope, on my right side, in December 2011. Both were “pincer” impingements, which is abnormal growth in the hip socket, though the labrum on the left side was more damaged than the right. And the good news was that neither side showed any signs of osteoarthritis. In fact, the surgeon told me that the cartilage was quite healthy.
I don’t know if I was born with hip-joint abnormalities, developed them over the years from all my distance running, or incurred a trauma during the 2010 marathon training that caused the labral tear. But I do know that I am healthy today, generally pain free and physically active. I am running at least three days a week, as well as cycling, hiking and lifting weights.
I also continue to do my PT exercises at least once a week to strengthen my core muscles. After all I’ve been through, why take any chances of re-injury?
VIVIAN MARINO
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