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Fractured hip and labral tear

Evangelina

Diva in Training
Hello,
I had a complete hip fracture from a skiing accident 15 months ago. It was a brutal recovery, starting off with emergency surgery, metal in the hip, 5 months on crutches etc.
13 months PO I was able to go skiing again.

Now I was diagnosed with a labral tear, caused by the fracture.

I have had two labral tears before but this was “before” I broke my hip.


Question - has anybody else had this scenario?
 

nopoleskier

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Hi, and Welcome! sorry no medical help either. I hope you get it sorted out and heal quickly, hat's off to going back to skiing!
 

newboots

Angel Diva
Ouch! How awful. I, too, have nothing to offer but well-wishes.

:hug:
 

SkiDaze

Diva in Training
Hello! Sorry to hear about your injury. I’m new here too and am scheduled for surgery on August 9 for labrum tear and hip impingement repair which I am dreading. I did not have a fracture, my right hip just has a structural abnormality that, thanks to an active lifestyle, resulted in the labral tear. No way to completely fix that tear without surgery and I have to have the hip bone shaved down so it doesn’t just get torn again. I am meeting with the surgeon in a couple of weeks to get the lowdown. I’ll be scrolling through the boards here to see how others have managed post-op. I’m scheduled for a Christmas ski trip to Copper Mnt which will be 4.5 months post-op. Are you considering surgery?
 

Evangelina

Diva in Training
Thanks everybody for the well wishes.

@ SkiDaze,

sorry to hear about your labrum tear.
I assume you have FAI which caused the labrum to tear. I had that in both hips and had surgery for both.
The surgeries and recoveries went well but took a long, long time to heal.

I am not trying to be a party pooper here but I would not plan on that ski trip at 4.5 months PO. It's most likely not happening.

The recovery of a scope involving bone shaving is tidious, you will need a lot of patience, PT for many months and most likely you will not get the okay from your OS till you are a minimum if 6 months PO anyways for going skiing again and even that is being very optimistic.
I am really not trying to be negative but it is a very long recovery and I don't see how you would go skiing at 4.5 months PO.
Depending on how long you are on crutches, you will have atrophy, you need to work on strengthening, your endurance will suffer, you need to work on balance and gait..
I have done that surgery twice, at 4.5 months PO you will not be ready. Just a friendly heads up.

The recoveries ARE doable but they take a long time. A year at best case scenario.

For my situation, no, I am not having surgery for it again. If it was a normal labral tear it'd be different but it isn't. My situation got more complicated since the fracture and surgery/ metal input and is not possible anymore. (Long story short.)

It is what it is.

I wish you well with your surgery. It is doable. Listen to your OS, do your PT and give it time. Lots of time.
 

newboots

Angel Diva
Welcome , @SkiDaze ! Great to have you here. So sorry you are having surgery; hanging out here can help you with your ski jonesing while you recover, and divas will offer lots of support!

It’s quiet during the summer (Northern hemisphere), but picks up quickly in the fall.
 

SkiDaze

Diva in Training
Thanks for your words of encouragement and support. I had my surgical consultation and the doctor said I should be fine to ski by Christmas (4.5 months post-op). Because there is no fracture the recovery is much shorter. I’ll be sticking to the groomers and surely won’t really know for sure until closer to the time if I’ll be up to it but it’s good to have ski goals! I also work part-time at a small ski resort in PA (Just purchased by Vail Resorts) and hope to be up for that by the start of our season.
 

artistinsuburbia

Angel Diva
I've searched for this board and was very sad to find that it exists since that means someone else is injured too. Of course am insanely curious how everyone is doing. Was just diagnosed with a hip labral tear, a torn tendon, and a sports hernia. I have IKON passes for this season. Going down the rehab route first to hopefully strengthen up for ski season as I've apparently had this issue for a while and it's due to a muscle imbalance causing a hip impingement and yeah, I'm pretty depressed about this development. I spent the 2013 ski season with two torn ligaments in my ankle and avoided surgery then as well but was not pushing 50 at the time. SO I'm really hoping to hear that you ladies are beyond these injuries and on the mend for both selfish and altruistic reasons.
 

SkiDaze

Diva in Training
Hi Artist! I’m 7 weeks post-op today from surgery to repair my right torn labrum and resurfacing for FAI. I’m 47, so in that same sled of pushing 50. Yikes. Time flies! Anyway I am feeling good. Not fabulous but I have plans to ski over Christmas break in Colorado and think in 11 weeks I’ll be ready, at least for groomers, which is where I like to be most of the time anyway. My physical therapist and surgeon said yes to this plan but of course I’ll have to wait and see how things feel closer to the time. I’m extremely motivated and you sound the same way.

My sense is that the impingement caused the muscle imbalance not the other way around because impingement is basically a misshapen hip joint that disrupts the normal function. There is a Facebook group called Hip Labral Tear Recovery group and it's been very helpful in understanding the range of possible outcomes and pre and post-op advice. I’ve been pretty lucky that my recovery so far has been really smooth. It helped that I was in pretty good shape before surgery, good range of motion,and had no fractures or arthritis to deal with. Wishing you the best of luck!
 

artistinsuburbia

Angel Diva
@SkiDaze So happy to hear that you are on the mend! That gives me hope! Unfortunately in my case I have arthritis in my lower back and my pelvis is tilted too far forward because the front core muscles were stronger than my back. He's hoping that by strengthening the glutes and my core that it will help to stabilize things. Ugh. I'd really rather avoid surgery so I'm willing to try anything at this point! I've resigned myself to the groomers either way as I don't want to push too hard and end up in surgery either way mid season.
 

Jazza

Certified Ski Diva
Thanks for your words of encouragement and support. I had my surgical consultation and the doctor said I should be fine to ski by Christmas (4.5 months post-op). Because there is no fracture the recovery is much shorter. I’ll be sticking to the groomers and surely won’t really know for sure until closer to the time if I’ll be up to it but it’s good to have ski goals! I also work part-time at a small ski resort in PA (Just purchased by Vail Resorts) and hope to be up for that by the start of our season.
Hi @SkiDaze, I hope your surgery and recovery goes well. I’ve had FAI in both hips and both operated on. I skied at 6 months post op the first time and 9 months post op the second time. Just be diligent with your physiotherapy. The thing I noticed most was how much the psychology of Injury can impact your confidence. The first time I skied post op, I took a private lesson as if lost my mojo. It really helped. Fast forward 4.5 years I’ve now had a total hip replacement and skied 6.5 mi the post op. For some stupid reason I did not have a lesson. I really should have!
 

SkiDaze

Diva in Training
Hi all! I’m happy to report that at just over 4 months post op from surgery for FAI and labral repair I was back on skis at Copper Mountain Colorado. It went GREAT! I felt zero pain except for that little motion of sitting on the chairlift and lifting your knee from the hip to get your foot up on that little footrest. (At 6 months that no longer hurts) And traversing was a little pinchy, but the downhill part felt AMAZING. My turns felt better and more even than they had in years. I babied myself afterwards with rest and ice and had no residual pain, even after 4 consecutive days of this.

I worked hard to get there by keeping up with my PT as you suggested and I still can’t take off more than a day or two per week from activity but motion is lotion so the more I keep active, the better things feel. Still working on increasing distances for walking and hiking. Keep on skiing!
 

Jazza

Certified Ski Diva
Hi all! I’m happy to report that at just over 4 months post op from surgery for FAI and labral repair I was back on skis at Copper Mountain Colorado. It went GREAT! I felt zero pain except for that little motion of sitting on the chairlift and lifting your knee from the hip to get your foot up on that little footrest. (At 6 months that no longer hurts) And traversing was a little pinchy, but the downhill part felt AMAZING. My turns felt better and more even than they had in years. I babied myself afterwards with rest and ice and had no residual pain, even after 4 consecutive days of this.

I worked hard to get there by keeping up with my PT as you suggested and I still can’t take off more than a day or two per week from activity but motion is lotion so the more I keep active, the better things feel. Still working on increasing distances for walking and hiking. Keep on skiing!
Congratulations @SkiDaze! You must have worked so hard to reach this point at 4.5 months post op! You really right that motion is lotion - an adage adopted by us hippies! Keep at the rehab (it never really stops...) and upwards and onwards with all of your activities! So happy for you!
 

SkiDaze

Diva in Training
Thanks Jazza! I was extremely motivated because I had the trip planned already , way before I knew about my surgery. And I work part-time at a local ski hill and wasn’t about to miss out on the season. Even so, it was touch and go until I tried it out but find that skiing is easier than yoga or hiking at this point.
 

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