History

Ok. So. Before my hip journey goes any further, I suppose I should go back to how it alllll started....

So, when I was around 15, I jumped off the horse I was riding because I'd rather not have been decapitated by a barn, and landed funny in the yucky, manure, clay mud. I had a sharp pain radiate from my hips out. I didn't think much of it. I have a pretty high tolerance for pain...

From time to time I would have pain in my hips but I wouldn't think much of it. That is, until it got really bad in the late spring of 2007. I FINALLY decided to go see a doctor about it. Every one told me to go, and when asked why I haven't gone yet I'd simply reply, "I work at a doctor's office. I KNOW what they DO to people!"

My first visit was quite fun...I got to wear these hot (ok not really) blue shorts and have my picture taken! (ok just x-rays) So there I'm sitting in my exam room waiting for my doctor to come in and he finally does. My first thought: "Wow...he reminds me a of a stalker...and Data from Star Trek!" So he introduces himself and I get on the table, because apparently that's how he likes it...hahaha... And he examines my range of motion and asks me questions and I answer them. He's very quiet, but reassuring. He leaves to go get the x-rays.

While he's gone, I keep thinking..."This is going to be just like my shoulder when I hurt it, and nothing is going to be wrong and he's going to look at me like I'm on crack..." So he walks back in and sticks them on the little light board and is looking at them intently. Then he goes for a pen in his pocket...

"Oh crap!" I'm thinking. Pens on x-rays usually are never good. He says they look pretty normal BUT...(but is never good in this sense...) He draws on the x-ray in this little figure-8 on my hips. And explains that I have femoroacetabular hip impingement of the pincer kind....say what?! Basically, my hip sockets cover too much of my femur and they scrape together some. Fun huh?

So he tells me that it can be fixed with surgery, and since my right hip bothers me more we'll do a contrast MRI to see if there's any labral tears...tears in the lining of my hip socket. Honestly, my heart sank. Couldn't it have been something a little more simple wrong!? I teared up when he left the room...surgery?! He was so nonchalant about it too. Typical surgeon. So I left as well and set up my MRI.