FAI pain management, tips?

[LadyWolf26]

Hi, I've been having hip pain on and off for over 8 months. I have gone to see two different doctors as assigned to me by the Navy, have had two sets of x-rays and two MRIs to include an arthoscopy with contrast and MRA. Finally last month the referee me to a hip preservation specialist who took a third set of x-rays at a different angle and was able to tell me within 10 minutes what my problem was. I have a mixed FAI or hip impingement of both hips. Currently I am doing exercises to attempt to strengthen my hip and have a follow up in a month but the pain is always there and is getting worse. Ordinary OTC mess like tylenol, Aleve and Advil don't even come close to touching the pain, neither do hot showers rest and heating pads. It's become hard to sleep sometimes and uncomfortable to sit or stand for any real penthouse of time. The doc says I will most likely have to have surgery to have the bones shaved down but the follow up isn't for another month and God only knows how much longer after that till I can get the surgery. Is there ANYTHING I can do to gel deal with this pain????

[LadyWolf26]

The pain originated on the outside at first then recently moved to the inside or more of the groin area as you put it. The doc gave me the exercises to do for a month to see if it would help any but all it's done is made it worse. I was supposed to do the exercises everyday but I can barely do them once a week. It causes my hips to hurt even more. It's starting to affect my work and I've been having people ask me all the time if I'm okay. It's becoming annoying. Again, when the docs who were treating me couldn't figure it out, they refered me to the specialist. He even drew it out on paper for me since I had never heard of it before. He said it was pretty obviouse and was surprised no one else had seen it. I have looked up the symptoms of the condition and the majority of them match to what I have been dealing with so for once I believe I can trust what he says. I had asked for copies of all my MRIs and had my mother who is a radiologist look them over and she did there was nothing abnormal, same as my docs so I can assume that this specialist is correct in his diagnosis.  

[Philip D Parks, MD, MPH, MOccH, FACOEM]

Hello again,

Thanks for the additional details.

Does your pain radiate to your groin area? Or, does the pain radiate to the lateral (outside) of your hip?

Based on your posting, it sounds like you are being treated conservatively (for now) with the motivation of seeing if physical therapy may help you avoid surgery. It is important to note that exercises designed to strengthen muscles typically do not yield meaningful results in less than 4-6 weeks.

Did the radiologists or the hip specialist rule out the possibility of an injury to your hip flexor tendon? Or, based on your discussions with your healthcare providers, are they certain that FAI is your diagnosis and cause of your pain?

Again, based on your posting, it appears that you are receiving standard of care for your symptoms.

- Dr. Parks

This answer provided to you is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice. The information presented in this Medhelp.org posting is for patients’ education only. As always, I encourage you to see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case.

[LadyWolf26]

Dr. Parks, I am 26 yrs old, I have been in the Navy for 5 yrs and while I am of a medium build frame I am within weight standards. The only other joint problems I have are an old shoulder injury sustained in a car accident when I was 17 and I used to get pain in my left knee but not any more. I am not a smoker and I am not on any medication. My job in the Navy is as an avions technician for helicopters. As for the cause of my pain, I am uncertain. I returned from deployment in December last yr where I was running everyday on both a treadmill and on the steel deck. I was deployed for 7 months with no problems. I returned to the States and took about a month off from running to get settled in at my new command when I picked up running again. I was running for about a month when I went out for a run one afternoon and by the time I got back home my hip flexors were on fire. The closest thing I can relate it to pain wise is it felt like shin splints but down the front of both hips. I've been having dull, ache-like pain ever since that has been happening more frequently. The Navy has not given me anything for pain management despite my multiple complaints.

[Philip D Parks, MD, MPH, MOccH, FACOEM]

Hello,

Based on best practices and evidence-based medicine, your providers are likely treating you appropriately.

A few questions for you:

1. How old are you?
2. Are you overweight or obese?
3. Are you a smoker?
4. Do you have any other joint problems?
5. What is your job in the Navy?
6. What do you think is/was the cause of your hip pain? What changed about 8 months ago?

~ Dr. Parks

This answer provided to you is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice. The information presented in this Medhelp.org posting is for patients’ education only. As always, I encourage you to see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case.