Thursday, July 7, 2011

Micro Instability???

I'm sorry that I haven't been updating my blog too frequently, it has been tough lately since a) I'm not really sure what is happening in my hip and b)I have very little free time.
I have been in PT for 2 months now and overall have not seen a change in pain level or symptoms. I'm pretty frustrated bc I was really hoping that this would be the solution for me. I saw my OS yesterday to review things again and decide what to do.
PT has been addressing the muscles, and trying to correct a muscle imbalance, I have not made progress :-(
My biggest issue is that I am having all this pain, off and on, yet my MRI shows nothing. To me, this is worse than if it showed a lot of issues, I feel like I am crazy!! My OS assured me that I am not crazy :-) and agrees that we need a better way to image this hip. He is recommending a new MRI with a stronger magnet that can map out the cartilage in the hip. He thinks that I probably have some micro instability due to issues in the capsule and ligamentum teres, and hopes that this new MRI will show something. He also thinks that my labrum is very small, so it is possible that it is no longer providing the suction in the joint that it is supposed to provide.

He explained that he looks at hips in 4 layers- 1) the muscles 2) the 'inert' labrum, ligaments, capsule 3) bony structures 4) nerves. He suspects my problem is with level 2
If you have read previous posts, you will know that me and MRIs do not get along. So I was not thrilled to hear that my first MRI was not of the greatest quality and that I would need another one....So to 'cheer me up' he gave me a rx for Valium for it!
He thinks that if the ligamentum teres is the problem, it will show some changes to the cartilage around the ligament.
If this is the case, then he thinks it would require surgical intervention...then he started talking about the possibility of an open surgery....at that point I freaked out....really really freaked out!!! I told him that I just couldn't discuss it right now, and that I thought the best thing would be to get the MRI first, then discuss it, if needed. He agreed and is happy that we are both on the same page, meaning wanting to avoid surgery at all costs.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

is getting a new hip an option for you? At this point, I think it would be favorable to anything else.

Louisa B said...

Its so hard the energy all this requires, roll on 10-20 yrs and I bet this surgery is super successful. Good luck chick no words of wisdom just wishing you well x