The Harmonious Hip: Fences

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Fences

The International Association for the Study of Pain has a definition that is widely used: "Pain is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage".

I'll admit, I've avoided posting for a while because my goal is to keep this blog positive. However, my goal for this blog is to be therapeutic as well, and I suppose if I'm not able to be completely honest...well, that's not very therapeutic for either me or my followers, is it? I especially want to be a good resource for my fellow "hip chicks" and if I'm not completely honest about this process, then that's not fair to them either. Girls, you're not the only ones suffering and you're not alone. These hips hurt, and they hurt bad...really, really bad. But, we're all in this together, ladies! And we're not going down without a fight, right??

So, I've done another musical since my last post. Bim, bam, boom...rehearsals and production DONE! It was a whirlwind of an experience, only 3 weeks total, but as always very, very rewarding. This one was especially bittersweet however, since I don't know exactly when I'll return. I have 2 PAOs on the horizon, with many months of recovery....and unless a particular role calls for a "girl on crutches", it'll be a while before I'm on a stage again. And that's a very, very hard pill to swallow for me.

Honestly though, the pain has gotten so intense lately, I find that I am simply just suffering through my days. I try not to complain, but my dear friends (who know me all too well) can see it. They can see it in my tired eyes... in the way I desperately seek a chair to collapse in... in the way I avoid challenging tasks (which isn't like me at all!) I think I would find myself more depressed, if it didn't hurt so darn bad. It is equal in both hips, more intense in one or the other at a time...probably because I exchange favoritism of one over the other from day to day, moment to moment. It is sharp and grinding and they "catch" when I walk, as if there's something stuck in the joint. Now it is not only localized to the groin anymore, but reaches all around the circumference of the acetabulum and is deeply rooted in the posterior as well. Standing hurts, walking hurts, sitting hurts.... and everything in between. Taking NSAIDS around the clock and using my ice packs as usual. But, when I get home from work in tears from the pain, nothing's gonna help but the narcs. And, that makes me mad. Real mad. I know, I'm probably just being a stubborn fool....but I HATE being dependent on a pain pill. And I hate feeling crippled. And I hate that so much of my life is "on hold". I'm sort of between a rock and a hard place....and a barbed wire fence. Trapped. Well, at least until someone comes to my rescue with some wire cutters....

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What is Hip Dysplasia?

You may hear about babies or pets with hip dysplasia, but it can affect adults, especially young women. Hip dysplasia is an abnormal condition affecting the hip socket, oracetabulum, and the thighbone, or femur. In someone with hip dysplasia, the hip socket is too shallow, or the femur is in the wrong place. Doctors check for hip dysplasia in babies before sending them home from the hospital -- it's an easily treatable condition in newborns. But if hip dysplasia isn't detected and corrected at an early age, the health of the hip will deteriorate over time because of its misalignment. Depending on the severity of the situation, this could result in pain, osteoarthritis, difficulty walking or an inability to walk. It can also contribute to a marked deterioration in a person's basic quality of life. It's not just dogs and babies, y'all!

Periacetabular Osteotomy (or PAO)

PAO: The Mother of All Hip Surgeries... A procedure that cuts the hip socket out of the pelvis to allow the socket to be repositioned and then screwed back into place. This allows the ball & socket to move fluidly, preventing further cartilage damage and preserving the joint in patients with faulty hips. The PAO preserves and enhances the patient's own hip, NOT replacing it with artificial parts like a hip replacement. The hip may still develop arthritis over time, even when the operation is successful. However, PAO is still the preferred treatment in young adults to postpone the need for hip replacement as long as possible.