I haven’t got it fully diagnosed, I’m going to see a doctor next week. But I’ve had this problem for over a year now. It started off as a catching when I got to the bottom of my squat a year ago. Then I was helping a friend move and I pulled my lower back/glutes and that put me out for a couple months. I still have pain in my lower back if I overextend it.
I haven’t been able to do ANY heavy squats or deadlifts for a year now and after reading about FAI and hip impingement I’m a little worried it’s not going to get better without surgery.
I just want to hear from anyone who’s had this problem, if there is anything I can do to make it better in addition to going through the PT/surgery route.
It really sucks not being able to go heavy in my deadlifts and squats, but I’ve still been doing them just at a much lower weight. Should I just discontinue doing them all together? Would resistance bands and body weight exercises to improve hip mobility and stability help with this problem?
I’m not really keen on chiropractors and other alternative medicines, but would a chiropractor help?
I’m no ortho expert or physio, but my understanding is that FAI is generally a problem associated with hip flexion not extension. If hip flexion causes discomfort, especially with internal or external rotation of the femur, or if your hip ext/int rotation ROM is terrible when the hip is flexed towards 90 degrees, then it MAY be FAI. You need a professional opinion and/or further imaging to be sure.
I have FAI, and deal with it by keeping my remaining hip mobility as good as possible and by squatting and pulling sumo (ext rotation is better for me), icing and occasionally using NSAIDS after lower body work. Unfortunately, if it is FAI, surgey is the only definitive treatment, but be selective with your choice of ortho, surgical treatment of FAI is relatively new and there is no long-term outcome data.
Do you get the pinching when you do quadruped rocking? Can you get it to stop if you hold yourself just right (e.g., think to actively suck the femur into the socket properly)?
Do you get the pinching if you place pressure on the front of your femur with your hand (to hold it in the socket properly)?
Surgery… Should be a last resort. Try and see what muscular issues you might possibly be having that you might possibly be able to fix…
I had fai surgery last week. You either work around it while it slowly gets worse or you get surgery. I waited five years, made it much worse and needed a good amount of repair. If it is fai and very minor then try to work around it. But surgery early on is better that shaving down a femor, hip socket, and labral repair like I needed.
[quote]jimmyhatz wrote:
I haven’t got it fully diagnosed, I’m going to see a doctor next week.
[/quote]
You need to know what exactly you’re dealing with before you can proceed to the next step. Do NOT be afraid to get a second, third, or more opinions.
[quote]It really sucks not being able to go heavy in my deadlifts and squats, but I’ve still been doing them just at a much lower weight. Should I just discontinue doing them all together? Would resistance bands and body weight exercises to improve hip mobility and stability help with this problem?
[/quote]
Bands and body weight training are things almost everyone can benefit from, IMO. Like anything else, however, you need the correct application for the task at hand.
agree on surgery being last resort, but depending on the condition last resort might be really the only resort. Something like FAI isn’t something that can really be corrected by loosening up the hips or something like that. In that case, it’s basically change your lifestyle to minimize certain movements or get the surgery.
Also agree on if it’s FAI and it’s causing you issues, it’s better to get it done sooner then later.
Get it looked at. X-rays by a knowledgable hip doctor and a examine should be able to tell you more what you’re dealing with.
[quote]fisch wrote:
agree on surgery being last resort, but depending on the condition last resort might be really the only resort. Something like FAI isn’t something that can really be corrected by loosening up the hips or something like that. In that case, it’s basically change your lifestyle to minimize certain movements or get the surgery.
[/quote]
In case it turns out that you do have FAI, torn labrum, etc., here’s my story:
YMMV but loosening up the hips actually did fix my FAI. Couple years ago I was diagnosed with FAI (both cam and pincer type), did TONS of mobility work (turns out I had all kinds of issues with the hips) and in the meantime continued to deadlift, squat, jump, etc. About two years later had to have another MRI (turns out I also have a labrum tear that was causing pain) and in that MRI they couldn’t detect any impingement, no excess bone growth.
I’m currently seeing a prolotherapist to repair the labrum, he also makes the claim that prolotherapy can fix an impingement as well. Given the results I’ve had so far with his treatments, I’d believe him.
I know this thread is old but I’m trying to get in touch with CacheMnyMustang because of what he said about healing his impingement without surgery. I don’t have PM rights and can’t figure out how to email him. Can anyone help?
Or, is there anybody here who can guide me at least? I’ve had hip impingement for 7 years…had arthroscopy done about 6 years ago and they couldn’t shave the bone. It’s been progressively hurting more each year, and starting to hurt in the other hip too. I’ve tried cortisone, basic physical therapy, trying to just ignore it, eating better, basic stretching…nothing helps. Will buying a book on hip mobility and doing it religiously really cure me like the guy above me? I’m still young and not even 30…its so frustrating
I know this thread is old but I’m trying to get in touch with CacheMnyMustang because of what he said about healing his impingement without surgery. I don’t have PM rights and can’t figure out how to email him. Can anyone help?
Or, is there anybody here who can guide me at least? I’ve had hip impingement for 7 years…had arthroscopy done about 6 years ago and they couldn’t shave the bone. It’s been progressively hurting more each year, and starting to hurt in the other hip too. I’ve tried cortisone, basic physical therapy, trying to just ignore it, eating better, basic stretching…nothing helps. Will buying a book on hip mobility and doing it religiously really cure me like the guy above me? I’m still young and not even 30…its so frustrating :/[/quote]
No. In some cases, trying to increase hip mobility in those of us with FAI (I just had the surgery in May) will actually cause it to advance faster due to putting the hip into positions it does not have the proper capability to do. I had no external, internal, or flexion in my left hip and now have excellent external rotation and better internal rotation and flexion. If you’ve tried all that you have, then chances are surgery is your only shot and getting this to go away. Also, at this point there’s a good likelihood that you may have torn your labrum. So . . . you should seriously get a consultation from a good ortho who specializes in hips.
I had to have a lot of work done and ended up back in the gym 3 months later. I was off crutches after 2.5 weeks for walking about my apartment, and 3.5 weeks off them completely. I was bearing weight for standing presses after 6 weeks. I competed in my first olympic weightlifting meet 7 months after the surgery. The progress is slow, and limping for almost 3 months is frustrating, but it was so worth it.
I will say that I still have pain if don’t keep up with my mobility and have had some bursitis on and off since about 3mo post-op, but overall I’m very happy, and my doctor is optimistic about my other hip and my long-term outlook.
I know this thread is old but I’m trying to get in touch with CacheMnyMustang because of what he said about healing his impingement without surgery. I don’t have PM rights and can’t figure out how to email him. Can anyone help?
Or, is there anybody here who can guide me at least? I’ve had hip impingement for 7 years…had arthroscopy done about 6 years ago and they couldn’t shave the bone. It’s been progressively hurting more each year, and starting to hurt in the other hip too. I’ve tried cortisone, basic physical therapy, trying to just ignore it, eating better, basic stretching…nothing helps. Will buying a book on hip mobility and doing it religiously really cure me like the guy above me? I’m still young and not even 30…its so frustrating :/[/quote]
No. In some cases, trying to increase hip mobility in those of us with FAI (I just had the surgery in May) will actually cause it to advance faster due to putting the hip into positions it does not have the proper capability to do. I had no external, internal, or flexion in my left hip and now have excellent external rotation and better internal rotation and flexion. If you’ve tried all that you have, then chances are surgery is your only shot and getting this to go away. Also, at this point there’s a good likelihood that you may have torn your labrum. So . . . you should seriously get a consultation from a good ortho who specializes in hips.
I had to have a lot of work done and ended up back in the gym 3 months later. I was off crutches after 2.5 weeks for walking about my apartment, and 3.5 weeks off them completely. I was bearing weight for standing presses after 6 weeks. I competed in my first olympic weightlifting meet 7 months after the surgery. The progress is slow, and limping for almost 3 months is frustrating, but it was so worth it.
I will say that I still have pain if don’t keep up with my mobility and have had some bursitis on and off since about 3mo post-op, but overall I’m very happy, and my doctor is optimistic about my other hip and my long-term outlook.[/quote]
The first week after surgery is very painful, and seems terrible, but worth it.
I just saw another orthopedic because I’m having similar symptoms in the left hip now, and the right hip’s been hurting more. He saw my MRIs, XRays, and Cat Scan and said that it only shows a very mild case of FAI, and that my joint space looks good. The left hip doesn’t even show impingement on the radiology.
I want to do whatever I can first before surgery, just so I know I truly made the right choice in getting it done. Does anybody know of any good movement specialists in the LI/NYC area?
[quote]AJ010 wrote:
I just saw another orthopedic because I’m having similar symptoms in the left hip now, and the right hip’s been hurting more. He saw my MRIs, XRays, and Cat Scan and said that it only shows a very mild case of FAI, and that my joint space looks good. The left hip doesn’t even show impingement on the radiology.
I want to do whatever I can first before surgery, just so I know I truly made the right choice in getting it done. Does anybody know of any good movement specialists in the LI/NYC area?[/quote]
FAI, like arthritis, can vary in degrees of pain from person to person. There are some people who doctors say should be in agonizing pain because they have no joint space, bone on bone, and tons of rocky cartilage in their knees. Yet, no pain and they functional perfectly. FAI can be similar. Your pain may be coming from a tear in your labrum (which can be missed on an MRI even with contrast) and you may be altering your gait to aleviate this pain, which in turn is causing your other hip to hurt.
