Last January/February, I did a fitness challenge to help me drop holiday weight gain. I aced the challenge, averaging about 15K steps per day. Many of the steps were obtained by hiking steep trails, not just walks. However, towards the end of the challenge, I started to feel sharp pain in my right groin area, especially but not only when I walked up an incline.
Between then and now, I’ve seen my PCP, a sports medicine specialist, and a hip surgeon who is nationally renowned. I’ve had X-rays and an MRI. The MRI definitely shows degeneration of the right hip, but none of these docs think hip replacement is necessary or would even necessarily solve my problem. The issue is they don’t have any other advice either. I’ve been told:
- Surgery is unlikely to help, definitely not a sure thing
- Physical therapy would not likely improve the situation
- I can take anti-inflammatory meds but those aren’t intended for long-term use
- I can just put up with the occasional but sharp pain
The pain isn’t bad if I limit my physical activity to very little, but I’m an active person and this isn’t good for my health in many other ways. I’ve tried lower impact things like swimming and biking, but the repetitive motion still causes pain.
I have an appointment with one more orthopedic surgeon in February, but three docs have already told me similar things. I don’t want to be inactive the rest of my life, but don’t want to live with more pain either. I wish someone could come up with a plan so that I can return to my usual activity level with minimal pain.
What would you do if you were in this situation?
Between then and now, I’ve seen my PCP, a sports medicine specialist, and a hip surgeon who is nationally renowned. I’ve had X-rays and an MRI. The MRI definitely shows degeneration of the right hip, but none of these docs think hip replacement is necessary or would even necessarily solve my problem. The issue is they don’t have any other advice either. I’ve been told:
- Surgery is unlikely to help, definitely not a sure thing
- Physical therapy would not likely improve the situation
- I can take anti-inflammatory meds but those aren’t intended for long-term use
- I can just put up with the occasional but sharp pain
The pain isn’t bad if I limit my physical activity to very little, but I’m an active person and this isn’t good for my health in many other ways. I’ve tried lower impact things like swimming and biking, but the repetitive motion still causes pain.
I have an appointment with one more orthopedic surgeon in February, but three docs have already told me similar things. I don’t want to be inactive the rest of my life, but don’t want to live with more pain either. I wish someone could come up with a plan so that I can return to my usual activity level with minimal pain.
What would you do if you were in this situation?