Joined at the Hip

What could I possibly have in common with Alex Rodriguez, Tara Lipinski and Mario Lemieux? Certainly not their athletic prowess or major league bucks. But you might say that we’re all joined at the hip.

Actually, we’ve all been sidelined at one time or another with hip labral tears, caused by what’s known as femoroacetabular impingement (FAI), or hip impingement syndrome. All of us have had arthroscopic surgery to correct the problem; mine was in mid-July.

So what exactly is this hard-to-pronounce malady? In a nutshell: too much friction in the hip joint. This occurs when the ball of the joint rubs against the socket. The result: a tear in the surrounding thick tissue, or labrum, which often causes pain or stiffness in the area, especially after running or sitting for prolonged periods. (Boy can I attest to that!)

Some people are born with this deformity, while others may develop it from too much activity (or maybe even an accident). In my case, it was probably a bit of both, according to my surgeon, who says he’s seen a steady rise in hip impingement cases in both the pros and in amateurs like me.

My hip pain first surfaced during training for the New York City marathon in the summer of 2010. I had tried to cram in too many long runs in too short a period of time, and ultimately had to abandon plans to run that race. But who knows: if I hadn’t overtrained, this simmering problem may not have manifested itself. (At least that’s what I keep telling myself.)

In fact, FAI, though increasingly common, is often difficult to diagnose. According to the Hospital for Special Surgery, where I had my surgery, it takes, on average, 21 months and visits to at least three health care professionals before a diagnosis is finally made. Oftentimes, doctors think the patient merely has a bad case of tendonitis or bursitis, both inflammations.

For me, it was eight months in the dark — during which time I made visits to a sports-medicine specialist, massage therapist, exercise physiologist and two physical therapists. Tendonitis, they all thought. It was only after having a painful contrast-dye M.R.I., that I finally had a definitive diagnosis.

Even A-Rod’s doctors and trainers initially weren’t sure what was causing the Yankee third baseman’s chronic groin and back pain. (We know now it was FAI.) And I found similar stories when comparing notes with two colleagues at work and two friends from town, also FAI sufferers.

But there’s good news in all this. The prognosis after the less-invasive arthroscopic surgery is good. Seventy-eight percent of surgery patients get back in the game after  about nine months, on average, and 91 percent of them are able to compete at the pre-injury level (or maybe better), according to another study from doctors at Hospital for Special Surgery.

I’ll keep you posted on my progress. And I'll be looking into other sports-related injuries, too.