Hi everyone!
This is John Thompson here, a PT here at Fitzgerald. I recently had hip surgery followed by physical therapy and wanted to share my experience with all of you.
Although I’ve dealt with nagging hip pain for almost two years, I kept finding reasons to put off surgery. In many cases physical therapy can help people avoid surgery, but this wasn’t one of those times. No matter who tried to fix me, the constant hip pain I had while walking continued. Ironically enough, I was able to hike and run up and down steep mountains, lift weights, ride a bike, and do almost everything, but walk outside on flat ground. Unfortunately, I was going to need a hip labral repair with a femoroplasty. This meant that the surgeon would repair my torn hip labrum, and shave down excess bone around my hip that lead to the labral tear.
Before the surgery, I did tons of research to know what to expect. I talked to people who had similar hip surgeries, talked to therapists who had worked with post-op patients with the procedure, joined a “hip labral tear” Facebook group, looked through countless surgical protocols, etc. I wanted to be as informed as possible. While this may not be how everyone attempts to go about the pre surgery process, trying to talk to a person or two who has been through the surgery, and you’d be getting tremendous help.
Finally, I made sure to prepare physically by working out up until the date of surgery and keeping my body as strong and fit as possible. In almost all cases, continuing to exercise as tolerated prior to a surgery will be beneficial and is one more great reason to try out physical therapy before you decide to have a surgery. Even if surgery is ultimately needed, working with a therapist prior to the surgery can help to build or maintain muscle and general fitness.
Despite all this, it was still amazing to see how weak surgery made me. The first few days I couldn’t even put my shoes on because my range of motion was so limited. Getting on and off the couch and rolling over in bed was a struggle as well. I didn’t even wear socks for the first 2 weeks because it was too hard to put them on and wore only shorts for a month (in January and February) because putting on pants was too difficult. All of this gave me a new appreciation for the difficulties that my patients may endure following a difficult surgery.
For the last 6 weeks, I have done physical therapy sessions with my boss, Holly Fitzgerald. There were a variety of reasons I wanted her to be my physical therapist. First and foremost, I know that she cares about her patients and does everything she can to help them reach their goals. Over the years I have seen that she is a great problem solver and knew she would be able to help with any issues I was bound to have. She would be able to listen to my questions and concerns and provide solid answers. I also knew she would help reign me in when I’m pushing myself too hard – as I have a tendency to overdo it from time to time. A great physical therapist should be able to do all these things-think critically, communicate effectively and listen to their patients, and know when to push a patient more or back off a bit.
As I always remind my patients, healing takes time. Although I want to be back doing the active things I have always enjoyed in life, I constantly need to remind myself that patience is key. The healing process for a surgery like this can take up to a year for a full recovery, and there’s no benefit to rushing that process.
The good news is that I’m continuing to get better and the PT is working! If you are dealing with any kind of nagging hip pain, come talk to us! We would love to help you out.
Stay tuned for more updates!
~ Written by Dr. John Thompson, a Physical Therapist at Fitzgerald PT and an avid hiker – learn more about him on our website here.
