I'm new to this board (and condition), but I really appreciate reading everyone's experiences. It's given me hope to see other people with the same condition as me and their positive outcomes. Thanks!
My story: I'm 37 years old and have been playing basketball once a week for the last five years or so. In August I started distance running, running 20-25 miles a week. In October I ran a half-marathon (1 hr. 35 min.) and was really enjoying running. In November, I started to feel serious pain in my hips after I ran, then it became persistent. A few weeks of inactivity didn't help I went to the doctor, who referred me to Dr. Pritchett (I'm in the Seattle area). In January he told me that I have dysplasia in both hips and have developed arthritis in both hips. After an MRI he told me I also have FAI and torn labrum on both sides that may be part of the pain (they may have been caused by the dysplasia).
Dr. Pritchett says ultimately I'll need either hip replacement or resurfacing in both hips, probably in the next year or two - quite a surprise to me (as your diagnosis was to several of you, I'm sure). Based on feedback from this forum and other things I've read, it looks like hip resurfacing is a much better bet for me. At this point I've gotten cortisone shots in both hips and am waiting for things to get worse (Dr. Pritchett says I'm still too early for surgery).
Over the last couple months I've stopped running, but in the last couple weeks I've started to notice a weird feeling / pain in my left knee after standing for a while. My left hip is the side that feels worse right now. I'm trying to decide if it's somehow referred pain from my hip or if it might be a separate knee issue (it only hurts when I stand). Did any of you have knee pain / issues with your hip pain? Is there any way to differentiate referred pain vs. a real issue?