I finally know..

Since Monday I have found out so much. It's been a lot to take in. I have so much to get out of my head, but first I should give some background.

Junior year of HS I started water polo. My couch was worried that I was going to drowned during "Hell Week" but little did he know that I was going to get hooked on H2O Polo. The next year I joined synchronized swimming to get in shape for polo. During the season I injured my ankle but didn't think much of it. Then in the spring I started water polo. I'm not sure which season it was in 2002 but I partially dislocated my hip. The school trainer didn't know how to treat hip injuries, so she had be on stretches and off sports for a week.

In the Fall of 02 I began the University of Michigan and joined the Synchronized swimming team. I was on a team routine and a trio. Practice was 2.5-4 hours three times a week, plus competitions on the weekend. That December I fully dislocated my right hip. I had never felt such pain in my life. I went to the University Health System and they put me into physical therapy. I was barley able to get to classes and I couldn't stay in single position for longer than 5 minutes. The pain was unbearable. I had an adverse reaction to the pain medication and had to stop taking it after one day. I didn't swim for a month and when I returned I quite my trio routine. After this season I never went back to synchro or polo because of the pain it caused, specifically when egg-beatering.

Fast forward to today. I don't allow myself to do squats, lunges, egg-beatering, yoga, or hip exercises because of the pain it causes me. I also have to be careful when hiking downhill, playing tennis, or rock climbing because these activities can also cause pain. A past boyfriend also commented on hearing my hip pop whenever I walk and could feel it if his hand was on my hip while walking.

Trust me, living a limited life sucks. I wouldn't say this affects my daily life but it does limit my activities. I typically say it is weird to "know" your hip is there. Normally a person just moves without noticing a muscle or joint is involved in the process (think of blinking).

Monday I went to Dr. Ernie Sink a Orthopedic Surgeon out of Denver Children's Hospital. He took some three x-rays and gave me my diagnosis: Femoroacetabular Impingement. Basically my hip socket is too deep and thus my femoral head (top of the the leg bone) hits my hip bone when my leg is perpendicular to my body. When the bones hit it can cause my hip to dislocate out the back of hip socket (butt area). Doesn't that sound pleasant? The x-ray above is the image from my right hip. You can see two divots on my femoral head. That's where bone has been sheared away from the impingement. I now understand why my hip hurts when I egg-beater. It is basically a constant bone on bone grinding. Sigh. Well that's all I am up to writing tonight. In the coming days I'll update about prognoses, further testing, and possible surgery.

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