Tennis Girl Two Year Update

[tennisgirl]

Hi All,

Last week I saw Dr. Gross at the two year mark for my surgery.  It's been a mixed bag for me.  I got off to an excellent start, had several horrific months of pain (which no one could explain), and now I think I'm at a plateau.

Per Dr. Gross, my implant is perfect and it's 99% unlikely it is not firmly adhered to my bone.  I did have blood tests run this summer and my cobalt and chromium numbers are also quite low.

I still have very uncomfortable pain at the incision site, for which Dr. Gross could not help me.  I have seen a physiatrist, physical therapist (still seeing those two), a chiropractor(ART) and a pain clinic for a year and a half without much improvement in this area.  I roll the area, massage it, heat it, ice it, put Capsaicin on it, Voltaren gel....you get the picture.  When I mentioned this to Dr. Gross, he surmised that because I wasn't in terrible pain at the time of surgery, the relief I may experienced from joint pain wasn't as significant, so the incision pain is more of an issue.  He advised me if I need to have my left hip done to wait longer when I am hurting more.

As you can imagine, I was a little upset...I mean, you can bet I would have waited longer had I known I would have the incision pain.  It hurts more than my pre-op hip.  Thankfully I do not have the hip joint pain, but I will say my back, thigh, and adductor muscles are still hurting post surgery.  Still trying to get those issues worked out.  I've had injections for possible hip bursitis three times without relief.  I tried an injection to see if the cup was rubbing a tendon...no relief.  I had one physical therapist call me a hot mess.

So the good news is I can/do play tennis, but I'm frustrated with residual pain.  I'm hoping some of you have some ideas that I haven't thought of or tried.

Mindi

[hernanu]

Hi Mindi, I was wondering about how things were working with you. Have they looked for calcification in the muscle?

Sounds like you've covered a lot of ground. I'm sorry this has followed from it - I knew you did the bursitis treatment, hoped some of that worked things out.

I hope things get better and the pain goes down or is gone.

[keepmovin]

Hi Mindi,

You have to be so frustrated with this issue, and that no one can directly give you an answer is making the matter worse.

I understand that you still have sensation, pain around the incision point - I, too, have a discomfort I could never really explain from my first surgery - left hip, but it's not pain.  However, I did/do suffer with occasional bursitis and I do have back issues that interfere with full recovery on my left side.  I have pinched nerves on both sides but more on my left.  My left incision always caused me problems, specifically at one point and was noticed by the PT 2 years ago.  If I palpitate it, I can feel lumpiness - not a smooth healing, like scar tissue has built up.

I attempted to get guidance on this but to no avail.  I think the healing process is not a perfect science and things don't always  heal the way we hope. 

However, I did try one thing for my back issues and hip (before my right was done) and that was acupuncture.  You didn't mention that you tried this so I thought maybe one more thing to add to your list of things to try.  It did help me.  I do plan to go back come January.

Back issues can affect hip, thigh, and leg depending on what's being impinged upon.  Orthopedic hip Drs. specialize in hips and knees.  The back is a whole separate specialty.  Not saying this is the problem, but might be worth looking into.  Have you had MRI's on your hip or back?

I'm just trying to brainstorm for you a bit as I have spent years trying to identify my issues and know how frustrating this can be.

Keep looking at all options and possibilities.  Hope this resolves itself soon!

Debbie