x

Another Injury Update


Another month without fitness content warrants another injury update, right? In case you missed my first injury update, I haven't been working out since mid-March due to some issues with my hip. I first thought I just strained a groin muscle that was very slow to heal. It turns out after an MRI/Arthrogram to be a labral tear in my hip. I won't try to explain what that is myself, so if you're really curious about exactly what that is, this article breaks it all down.  But it is a somewhat common injury in athletes, especially in dancers. I had another appointment today to look over the MRI and discuss what can be done about it.  It was kind of crazy to see how a tear that looked so small has been causing me pain from actions as simple as sitting in a chair. After injuries during my dance days, I have built up quite the pain tolerance. To a point where I have even pushed through performing with a stress fracture on a vertebrae in my spine. Although I think I am now adjusted to the fact that I do not have to push through like that anymore, and it is somewhat relieving. The scan also showed some fraying on the other side of the hip labrum (although that is fairly common and did not seem to be much of a concern), and I have some extra bone in my femur. The labral damage seems to be caused by my ballet training and workout schedule, and I was likely born with the bone part of the issue.

From what I was told today, labral tears usually involve some other issues like damaged cartilage in the hip and bumps on the femur from hip impingement. Luckily, my hip is only affected by the tear. However, the only way to truly fix it is surgery. There is a chance I can manage the pain with physical therapy, and possibly some injections. But if I do end up needing the surgery, I should be back into workouts within a few months after it. I'm obviously hoping this will not be necessary, we will see how my hip responds to strengthening exercises and another trial of a prescription anti-inflammatory (as I did not respond too well to the first one). I don't think I've ever heard of someone getting excited about physical therapy exercise before, but I sure was happy to be given an exercise plan today! I've been so worried that I would make my hip hurt worse or cause more damage with certain exercises, so I have barely worked out in close to 3 months now. I tried some arm and ab workouts a few times (that my nutrition coach Noor was so wonderful to put together for me!), but the ab portion usually caused some pain. So I just waited until I had word from my PA on what would be best for healing. These exercises I was given to do are targeting the glutes (I was told it is important for that area to be strong if surgery is needed), although there is a decent portion of abs and a little bit of arms involved as well. I just tried them after work today and so far only resulted in a little bit of pain! Although I know I will be very sore tomorrow (well today, as you're reading this!), I felt so weak in several exercises. I have noticed some muscle loss over the last six weeks or so, and I am hoping to start to get some of it back this way.  Before this injury, taking more than a week off of exercise made me feel a little crazy. So I will take whatever I can get to get at least a little movement going again! As I mentioned in the first update post, it is a little sad to see a lot of fun happenings in the Charlotte fitness scene that I have had to just watch on Instagram. Although I need some additional time off, I am really trying my best to stay positive. It will be worth it in the long run that I am not risking further damage pushing the injury. I have been reading a lot of other blogs that documented their experience with the same injury, and I have found them very helpful just to read a first-hand story from someone that has already been through it. So I am thinking I will be making these posts more regularly after some of my appointments to share my progress as well. It seems like there has almost been a movement of people trying to be more "real" in their blog and social media presence, and showing more than the highlights. So here is my attempt at that, the fitness side of my life isn't always jumping around in a matching activewear set at whichever boutique fitness studio I pop into that day. Lately it has been a lot of sitting on my couch and giving this injury what it needs to heal!

Thanks for reading!

No comments:

Post a Comment