Update - 1 1/2 Yrs Since Surgery

It has been approx 1 1/2 yrs since I had FAI Surgery by Dr Safran (Stanford) and i just realized I haven't updated this blog in a very long time...The good news is I have been back to karate and jiu jitsu training since week 12 :)

My surgery hip feels great and has more range than the other. I still am diligent about therapy exercises, heat and ice. My workout days go something like this. Soak in the hot tub and roll out muscles with pvc pipe. PT work / functional training followed by stretching. Karate / jiu jitsu training with or without a partner followed by an ice bath. During training I will spend time with the foam roller, stick roller and lacrosse ball loosening up anything that feels tight. This seems like a lot of extra work (and it is) but it has allowed me to train consistently without getting sore :)

Best of luck to you and your recovery!

12 weeks update - Good News!

I went in for my 12 week post op visit today with the surgeon and my range of motion is better than my other leg :)  The doc was asking certain Q's that I didn't feel I had answers to, so I told him "it's hard for me to say how far my hip is away from being back to where it was before surgery as I was training in karate and jiu jitsu the day before surgery and I haven't done it since. However, I think I will have more ROM on this hip than my other..." (he smiles and says - well let's see about that)

So he does all kinds of resistance tests and I feel strong (actually stronger than the other leg). Then, he goes in for the ROM tests and says the numbers...20, 60, 15...  In conclusion he says " you're right you do have more range of motion in this leg now" :)
I went in there cold too - not after PT.

I went into the surgery hoping the damage would get fixed, I would become pain-free and I would gain some clearance allowing more height and range in my kicks as well as a more comfortable stance for training. It looks like it's happening. I am very thankful to the doc and therapist who have pushed my through the pains as well as my own uncertainty to reach this. However, I am somewhat sad that my other leg is limited by this bony abnormality I have been blessed with :(

He did say that I can begin doing some kata (karate forms) very very lightly on my own now and in 1 month I can do them with more velocity and speed. In 2 months I can get back into partner training with light contact and in 3 months it'll be business as usual - Dojo training, Jiu jitsu, running etc...
Super Elated right now!

10 weeks - Getting Strongerrrr

Yesterday was the 10 week mark. I'm feeling dangerously good :) So good that my body starts doing kicks and other karate motions while working out. My range of motion is getting better and better. It will be interesting to see if this leg will have more ROM than the other. It kind of feels like that now but I can't really push it yet. Once I'm able to throw round kicks and side kicks I'll be able to tell.

Lately I've added the elliptical, lots of balance training including single leg mini bends on the small balance trainer. Also, lateral shuttle, high knees moving fwd with hip tilt, butt kicks, front kick and side kick iso squeezes on the balance trainer, lots of stretching. I even did about 4 katas the other day (slowly) along with some light bag training (punches / strikes only), as well as various striking drills. Furthermore, since being introduced to balance trainers I've been doing a lot of core work (cause it's so darn cool on the balance trainers). I have the Bosu and the small balance trainer that looks kind of like an inflated frisbee   In addition, I have been working a lot on upper body with the TRX, and pullup bar as well as core push ups on the Bosu :)

I have been working out about 6 days a week and am starting to lean out. I love this regiment!

• Soak in the hot tub - roll all muscles with a pvc pipe and stretch
• bike for about 5-10min
• elliptical for about 5-7min
• all of my PT with upper body and core included 
• stretching, and massage stick work throughout the workout
• finish up w/extended tabata sprints on the airdyne (30 on 10 off for 5min)
• ice bath 5-10min

....Getting Strongerrrrr....

8 weeks

Yesterday was the 8 week mark. I had PT and the therapist said my flexibility and range of motion are great. They are are where he wanted them. He said you have approx 14 weeks before scar tissue prevents additional flexibility. He said that the aggressive stretching I have been doing has paid off and that if I did nothing else and waited till I got back into karate in about another 8 wks I would have the same flexibility as before.

The therapist gave me more advanced level  exercises. I did many band walks squats, balance exercises, lunges etc... Very sore today though.

Last weekend I had my son and a few kids out for baseball practice and actually ended up playing a game with them.... i was able to rotate my hips aggressively while up to bat and run (w/ a limp) around the bases. I still have somewhat of a limp but the therapist said it will go away with strength and even strength in both legs. The unstable moments and random pains are just about gone :)

6 weeks - Magic Number?

Today is exactly 6 weeks from my surgery. I am still icing a few times a day. I can work all day but have to sit down once and a while otherwise I fatigue. I haven't used crutches in a while. I am going in to PT today and am supposed to get a bunch of new phase 2 closed chain exercises...
Overall, I am progressing. I still have unstable moments and pains once in a while. I still have a limp that is better or worse depending on fatigue of the joint.

I have some kind of muscular pain by my groin going to my thigh. The therapist tells me to stretch through it. I think it might be adductor or psoas? The pain has been coming on even while biking. Yesterday it came within 5min. I am far from out of the woods but am up for the challenges ahead...onward and upward!

Day 35 - 5 weeks

It is exactly 5 weeks today. I've been walking without crutches for the past 3-4 days. I have a gout flare up on my left toe which makes for an interesting limp... My therapist turned me loose on a couple closed chain exercises and said now we can get more into the advanced stuff :) I notice less pain when massaging the hip flexor area where the incisions are.  I got up and down my brother in law's stairs last night for thx-giving dinner just fine. I've been walking a lot. The other day I took my son to the baseball field and carried some light gear and pitched a lot to him. Yesterday I stood around a lot but got kind of sore and experienced some pain when I got home. After a good icing or two I was ok.

I worked out today and am feeling good.

Day 28 - 4 Weeks and feeling good

I am 4 weeks post op today. I went into work for a full day yesterday and felt great! I brought 1 crutch with me but never really used it. I was a busy-bot and actually had a lot of fun working and dealing with clients. My work is video production / editing / transfer and duplication. Lots of multi-tasking , meeting deadlines, and working with computers and equipment.

Over the past few days, I have been working out once a day and feeling stronger and more mobile. I usually jump in the hot-tub massage all muscles with a pvc pipe then head in to the dojo and do 20 min on the bike followed by 3 sets of all my current PT drills along with a lot of stretching. In regards to new exercises, my therapist said were in a holding pattern - stick with the existing drills and to focus on stretching.

I think I'm about ready to loose the crutch all together but am not in a hurry. I'd rather be safe than sorry... I still get that unstable feeling once and a while but overall I am progressing.
4 weeks - time served :)