Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Was I a Psychotic, Crazy Bitch for a Year?

Why am I posing this question now? (J, this is purely rhetorical, do not feel compelled to answer). While we were in Miami last week, my SI joint went out of whack for about a day and a half. It was most likely a posteriorly rotated inominate on the right, but I honestly don't remember anymore. When this happened, I had immediate right sided PSIS pain and right sided groin pain.

When the groin pain started, I immediately reverted into a bad mood, very irritable, and just downright annoyed. See, after 2 hipscopes, I don't care what the reason, there should be NO GROIN PAIN. Yes, I knew it had nothing to do with the labrum or FAI but it was the same pain all over again, and I was not a happy camper.

Being that this is my 3rd pregnancy, I have had plenty of experience with SI pain in the past, and it has never led to groin pain before, so in a way, yes, it is related to the labrum and FAI. IMHO, there is probably still healing going on, and the temporary change in geometry put pressure on areas that are not supposed to handle pressure, and instantly gave me pain and put me in a REALLY bad mood.

The good news is that it resolved quite easily and quickly. Once I had a moment, I used a self muscle energy technique to re-adjust the pelvic bones and voila, everything was back to status quo and I was once again happy!

This leads to my to digress for one quick moment. Many pregnant women suffer with SI pain for months and do not seek treatment. Sometimes the OB says it just "normal", sometimes they don't know something can be done. back pain in pregnancy is one of the least tapped resources in physical therapy, and one of the easiest and quickest things to fix in most cases.

A comment was posted this week on an old post asking if anyone has had a successful scope, being that most people don't read the old posts, I will say yes, I have had 2!!! If anyone would like to share a success story, please do so!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

not psychotic... just a little bitchy at times, but you are allowed!!

Anonymous said...

susie, this doesnt relate to thsi post but i was wondering if you have ever had a cortisone shot in your hip? I want to make sure I'm making the right decision in having one done. I've heard that sometimes people are worse off after the shot, that the shot is quite paniful, and that it can tighten your joints, and that it may cause you to continuously need them over time. If you have any insight or feedback on this I would appreciate it.
Keep on writing :o)

Anonymous said...

the shot is only painful for the split second the dr plunges the huge needle through the muscle that hasnt been numbed by the lidocaine or whatever numbing agent the dr may deem necessary other than that i felt great for 2 weeks after mine i would advise getting it not sure how susie feel.Susie???

Susie said...

I love cortisone injections!! I didn't find the joint injections too painful at all, just uncomfortable. My psoas injection was pretty bad as was the aftermath, but that may have been luck! I had great relief from my 2 pre-op injections (one in each hip) and the pain never returned to the pre-injection levels (I had surgery pretty soon after the injection). I think anyone contemplating hip surgery should get one. It will ultimately tell you if the pain in your hip is actually referred from your hip or somewhere else (like your back). You should get a decent amount of relief immediately from the lidocaine. This wears off after a couple of hours, for some people, there is a lot of pain and soreness for 1-3 days after this. I had a lot of pain that day but woke up great the next day.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for your responses! I already had arthroscopic surgery on my hip, a year ago. The Doc is recommending the shot...but like i said before was a little hesitant about getting one. Thanks for the insight.

Anonymous said...

Hi, great resource, thanks for your time putting this together. I had hip arthroscopy 5 days ago and wonder if you have any info on these questions..

(1) My surgery was for a labral tear with no arthritis or FAI. I'm told I had a significant portion of labrum removed (the entire anterior section) and have articular cartilage damage. The surgeon was not able to repair the damaged areas so removed them. I'm concerned about the long-term consequences and can understand that my surgeon is reluctant to give a definite outcome. Do you know of any studies of other resources which discuss the impact of losing labrum and articular cartilage (other than the one for labral tears with FAI)?

(2) My post-op hip pain is minimal and well controlled, however I have excruciating pain in the same-side heel, which I suspect may be due to the traction. Analgesics make no impact, and the pain seems to be getting worse as each day passes. It varies from a bone-crushing intense ache to a pins and needles feeling, and is worse at rest (e.g. in bed, it wakes me from sleep). I have mentioned this to my surgeon but he dismissed it.

thanks

Susie said...

I recently posted a link to an article comparing outcomes of labral repairs vs debridements, but nothing that will specifically answer your question. Just like your surgeon can't, no one will know the true extent of what the future will bring to your hip. It will depend on so many factors inclusing your activity level before and after, exactly where and what was debrided. the whole joint surface is not a weight bearing surface all the time.

Your heel pain can be a form of nerve injury, it may or may not go away on its own. If it persists, ask your doc abt Lyrica or some other nerve pain med.

Good luck!
Susie