On to the road of recovery!

Hey guys!

So my life has taken a new turn for a little while...

After a long competition season dealing with a hip injury, I am finally on the road to recovery! Back in March (wow I just realized that was 8 months ago!) my hip started bothering me. At the time, as most dancers do, I went to the doctor and was diagnosed with a hip flexor strain/illiopsoas tearing. I was prescribed PT, waited a while, kept dancing because I was told it was just a tearing/straining in illiopsoas. By the end of the season the pain was still there, and actually eventually began worsening over summer. Things just didn't feel right and I began to worry that I had been misdiagnosed. I finally trusted my instincts and went to a new doctor. At that time I was diagnosed with a labral tear and also FAI(femoral acetabular impingement) and hip dysplasia-basically my hips are all out of whack! After trying PT and seeing no improvement, it was time to move forward with surgery. Lesson: Dancers, we know our bodies!!! If you feel something is wrong while you are going through recovery, see another doctor until you feel things are improving!

(PS: Lots of things have been learned throughout this whole process but we will talk about those later:))

Right before thanksgiving break I underwent a hip arthroscopy, where they went in through 2 portals in my hip area. My amazing surgeon not only repaired my labrum, but also shaved down my hip socket, and my femur bone to get rid of some extra bone that would potentially cause another tear later.

Here are some pics from inside my hip throughout the procedure!

It's pretty gross, but kind of cool! You can see how shredded up my labrum was which explains why it was so painful, and nothing was solving it. The crazy thing though was from the MRA the doctor thought it was small enough that PT could fix it.

I know that this recovery process is not going to be easy, but I am thankful to be on the other side now. I never expected this 8 months ago when my hip first started bugging me. It took what felt like a crazy long time to get here, but I definitely recommend making sure you find the right doctor, and exhaust all recovery options before undergoing surgery because you never know- just a little of PT may fix everything without ever having to undergo the knife.

This process has already taught me so much. I am learning, and working to fight, and evolve everyday. Looking forward to hopefully dancing again sometime in the spring to gear up for summer, my senior year, and then college!

Look out for more recovery-related posts along with tips and things I have learned throughout the process:)

#labraltear #surgery #roadtorecovery #focusonendgoal #future #movingforward #hip #dance