I finally did it!
I finished a half marathon today — the Halloween Half in Morrristown, N.J., where participants were encouraged to run in costume and water stops included plenty of candy for the taking.
This was the first half marathon race, not to mention longest run, since my two arthroscopic surgeries (one on each hip) to fix hip impingement and labrum tears nearly four years ago.
What took me so long, you might ask. I guess I was fearful of re-injuring myself, and so I took an ultra-conservative approach to my workouts and training. (I couldn’t bear the thought of another setback, or worse, more surgery.)
By “conservative,” I mean running no more than three times a week, and never two days in a row, and varying my workouts with a lot of cross-training, like spinning and rowing classes, weight-lifting at the gym and hiking. Additionally, at least twice a week I would do all those stretching and core-strengthening exercises that I had learned in physical therapy before and after my hip scopes.
I’ve been wanting to do another half marathon for some time (my last one was two days before my wedding, in June 2007). My training approach was — you guessed it — conservative as well, building up slowly each week until I was able to run 10 miles comfortably and at a fairly brisk pace. I did one 10-mile run each week from late summer through the fall, and then upped the mileage so that when I reached 12 miles, it, too, felt comfortable.
My time in this half marathon wasn’t very fast, really. But I wasn’t trying to be fast. My goals for this race were rather modest: I wanted to finish (with a smile), I didn’t want to be last, and I wanted to avoid being caught by zombies along the course.
I am two years (Feb 2014) post FAI Impingement surgery with full labral repair and I am currently struggling with returning to running. I was on crutches for three weeks after the surgery (although I hated using them) and then progressed to physical therapy twice a week for 5 months. By the end of PT I was running up to 6 miles. I was trying to run twice a week with strength training in between with the hope of competing in Philadelphia’s Broad Street Run (10 miler) in May 2015. Unfortunately my surgically repaired hip started bothering me again during my runs so I slowed down to running once a week. Winter came and went and I ended up passing on the 10 miler, but I was able to compete in a 5k in May and ended up finishing in the top 25 which I was very happy with even though my pace was at least a minute off of what it used to be but it was an accomplishment. Summer came and went with running at least once a week for 5 miles or so. This was satisfying. In the fall I continued running but again I started feeling sharp pain in the affected area so I shortened my distance to 3 miles and was happy with completing these runs. In December 2015 I ran 4 miles one afternoon and by the evening I couldn’t walk. My hip was on fire. I hadn’t had that pain since post op. I went to my primary who prescribed a steroid to relieve the inflammation. Of course when I went back to my surgeon the inflammation was gone and he said I had full ROM in my hip. He believed my running was the source of the inflammation and the pain was most likely due to scarring and possible build up of arthritis (xrays showed some arthritis in the hip area again). I gave myself 4 months off from running and returned this past Monday. I ran for 20 minutes on the treadmill. It was all I could do since at minute 12 my hip started to get tight and by 20 it was sore. I again struggled to walk later that day and my hip bothered me the following day. On Wednesday I tried riding the stationary bike and had to get off at 8 minutes because my hip was tight and sore. What is an addicted runner to do?? I have gained 15 pounds since my surgery and it is killing me. I know I’m not running marathons anymore but I’d love to be able to do a 10 or even 15k without being in pain for days after the run.
I am so sorry to hear this, Pat! I can completely empathize with your feelings of frustration about not being able to run without pain. Believe me, I’ve been there.
I’ve managed to stay relatively pain-free since my hip scopes by cutting back on running (from every day to just two or three days a week) and doing a lot of cross training. This includes rowing and spinning. I also continue to do my PT exercises at least once a week. That’s been a big, big help. Also, I now take days off from working out from time to time.
Your issue with scar-tissue buildup after hip arthroscopy is not entirely uncommon. I seem to be hearing similar complaints. While I’m hardly in the position to dispense medical advice, I was always told that ice, anti-inflammatories and rest were the best treatments for inflammation. A good friend of mine, and fellow FAI sufferer with some arthritis in the hip area, had luck with PRP, or platelet-rich plasma, therapy. (There’s a description in my FAQ section.) She opted not to have surgery.
In your case, I wonder if revision surgery is in order. They’re often done to remove adhesions, or scar tissue. You might want to ask your doctor if this is an option. Or seek another opinion. I personally prefer the doctors at Hospital for Special Surgery. My surgeon was Dr. Struan Coleman.
I hope this helps. Please let us know what happens.