The Harmonious Hip: January 2013

Monday, January 14, 2013

When It Rains, It Pours...

Continuing with physical therapy 3x/week on this left hip. They're really working me hard at this point and I'm certainly feelin' it!!! I ventured out for a walk around our very large block last week and it was an absolute joy! Painful, but joyous all the same. I felt like a free woman! Pain is getting much better and I'm off all the nasty pain meds....just Mobic and Tylenol when I need it. But it's certainly not pain-free yet. The rain and cold definitely set it off, but usually the more active I stay, the better. Now, the goal is to increase range of motion and strength. The hip remains very tight and stiff and quite weak, but it's getting stronger with every PT session. The dim light at the end of this very long tunnel is starting to come into view. Yay!

I'm getting antsy to get back to work. Not only because I miss all my work peeps (hi DSU girlies!), but we are so strapped for cash it isn't funny. Like "Peanut Butter sandwiches and Ramen Noodles for breakfast, lunch and dinner" strapped. We're getting it done and making it happen, but we REALLY need my income....bad! So, there's this enormous pressure I've put on myself to hurry up and recover, so that I can get back to work ASAP. Well, if all that wasn't enough....Big Daddy totaled his truck last week. Thank God no injuries, but he banged up his truck pretty awful. Probably the WORST possible time for this to happen. Trying to come up with a deductible and living on only one vehicle...yeah, kinda stressful. Doing lots of prayer time and deep breathing and MORE prayer time. On a happy note, maybe I'll lose the weight I've committed to losing this year, living only on Ramen Noodles! Hey, there's hope! Totally kidding....sort of ;-)

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.