Hi kl

how did your doctor diagnose your slipped capital femoral epiphysis? Did he take x-rays of your hips? If indeed that is what your diagnosis is, that would mean that you probably had this condition as a child and never even knew about it. From what I know about this condition, this is something that only happens to adolescents. Once a person stops growing, it is impossible for their femoral epiphysis to slip. The cartilage strip which is the epiphysis turns to bone at the age of skeletal maturity. Once this happens, there is no way the epiphysis can slip. I suspect that you had a slipped capital femoral epiphysis as an adolescent but never knew about it. That is possible. What you are left with now is the "leftover" deformity of the femoral head and the resulting aches and pains. I too had a slipped capital femoral epiphysis - actually I had it in both hips - at the age of 13. I had pins placed in my hips to stop the hip from slipping any further. I am now 29 years old and I have residual pain and loss of motion in my hips from this condition. I suspect that your "slip" wasn't all that severe; if it were you would have noticed it way back when....Let me know if you have any questions, or if there is anything I can help out with.....
Take care
jason

Hi,

thats what the doctor told me, that it was something that happened when I was a kid. I had problems with my left knee,but later on had to get a knee operation, and thought that was what the problem was. Apparently, due to not being diagnosed I have moderate o.A. Since I been going to this orthopedic doctor since sept. She caught it last week, since I haven't had any x-rays since that time. She heard grind, and wanted to check on the o.A. Good news is I now know why I have inflammation, that cant be controlled. Just trying to get as much info before I go to the orthopedic surgeron next week. She told me that it was major surgery and I really needed to get it taken care of as soon as possible. Did they have to break your hip to fix your problem? My doctor, said that they would break my hip, clean it up, cut the femur , reposition the head, put a plate, pin and screw it. So I am a little freaked about the whole thing. If you wouldnt mind and tell me if that is what you had, and how long it took to recover.

Thanks so very much

Hello,

sounds like what your orthopedic specialist is recommending that you have done is an operation called a femoral osteotomy. I never had that done......Yet! But I know all about it. The only thing that I had done as a kid was the operation to put the pins in my hips to stop the epiphysis from slipping any further. That was a pretty minor operation and it didn't take me long to recover afterwards. The problem with that operation though, is that the pinning of the epiphysis doesn't really fix the problem; it only prevents the problem from getting worse. So, the femoral head fuses in the position that it was in when the pins were placed through it. In other words, i'm left with the femoral head in an abnormal position. In order to restore your hip to a more normal position, you would have to have a reconstructive osteotomy surgery done. I have considered having this surgery done numerous times. But, I have always heard conflicting opinions from various surgeons that I have consulted with. Some of the orthopedic surgeons have recommended it for me. They said that it would relieve alot of the pain and stiffness in my joint, and would prolong the life of my hip joint. There have been other surgeons who have advised me to just leave my hip alone. They said that the osteotomy might not make things any better, and could quite possible make things worse if the operation doesn't do what it's supposed to do. In actuality, I just had a recent orthopedic exam and a fresh set of x-rays taken in january, and this particular surgeon advised against me having the osteotomy. He said that my hips were not bad enough to have an osteotomy yet, and that alot of times the osteotomies don't turn out all that good.....So, in other words, i'm really not sure of what I should do...One of the main complications of the osteotomy is a condition called avascular necrosis - where the blood circulation to the head of the femur can be compromised. That's the last thing that you or I would need on top of all this other caca...Lol..........But for me, my main complaint and my main reason for even considering an osteotomy would be to increase the range of motion in my hip(specifically right hip). The pain is not that bad for me. I get periodic aches and pains and alot of muscle type aches and strains, but nothing real bad. My main problem is that I cannot move the way I would like to, and I would give anything to be able to have normal functioning hips. My internal rotation is about zero degrees, which is something that bothers the hell out of me.......What about you? Are you more bothered by pain than by a lack of mobility/motion in your hips? Can you bend your leg and/or hip in all directions? Are your legs equal in length? I would be curious to know what you are most bothered by........See ya...

Jason

Hi,

my range of motion, is very limited, not sure if its due to the bone spurs or the slipped femur. I went thru 7 months of physical therapy, about 3 in the pool and the rest thru muscle strenghten exercises. I could do regular physical therapy after getting a cortisone shot, but they only worked for a few weeks. The most problem I have is moving my hip/leg, left to right, bearing weight on the joint. I have been on crutches since last september. I can not walk long distances even with the crutches due to the pain. I have better range of motion, moving my leg up and down, but not what is considered normal. I will have to ask my doctor what my degrees are. I really do appreciate the info you have given me about the operation. I am not sure if the risks are worth the complications for the surgery. Are you doing any p.T ? Is it possible that you are starting to develop o.A ? You are about the age that I started having problems with my hip. I was told that it was burtisits, piriformis syndrome, and a host of other muscle pains. I went to one orthopedic, that swore, that at my age my hip could not be stiff. I had no history of trauma in my hip. It took a couple of years for it to show up on x-rays that my joint degenerated, but the doctors have to wait that long for the bone to get worse before it shows. I know that isnt much help especially when your in pain. It really stinks at our age, to not to be able to do things that people are age are doing. I was very active and gain some weight when I wasnt able to do what I used to do. Really have to watch the weight, lol, cause thats all I heard from the doctors. Until last week, she told me losing the weight wouldnt have worked, lol, after I lost the weight! I am going to get a second opinion on the surgery, but want to keep my hip as long as possible. But I sure would love to be active again!

thanks for all your help, once again

Hey there,

no, I have never done any physical therapy for my hips. But, I do a god awful amount of physical exercise. I work out roughly 5 x per week - cycling, eliptical trainer, stairmaster, treadmill, e.T.C in addition to weightlifting. I admit that I probably overdue the amount of activity that I should be doing, but I enjoy being active and, above all, it's very, very hard for me to keep my weight down. The bad thing about having an orthopedic problem is, if a person gains weight easily and has to exercise alot to combat that, all that activity tends to make the orthopedic condition more aggravated. But if I stop, I gain weight easy......As far as my hip joints, I try not to do too much high impact exercise, like running or jogging. I really do alot of weight lifting for my legs - leg extensions, leg presses, e.T.C. I know that the stronger the muscles in your legs are, the less stress that is placed on your hips and knees. My plan is to protect my hip as long as I can. I'm sure that eventually when I get to be an old man, I will probably need a hip replacement.
If you are in as much pain as you say, a hip replacement may not be a bad idea. Have you ever asked about a hip replacement? The technology that they have nowadays, they are doing hip replacements on younger and younger people, and the replacements themselves are lasting alot longer than they used to. If you haven't already, do some research online on the ceramic hip implants they are doing now..There is a world class professional ice skater who just had a ceramic hip implant in his hip and he's back skating better than ever. It's worth looking into. Another thing that is kind of odd is, having a hip replacement is actually a smaller operation than having a reconstructive osteotomy. The surgical time and the recovery times are much less with a hip replacement than with an osteotmy. But, it's always better to have your own hip than it is to have an artificial one. .......But, getting back to your situation, did your condition just come on all of a sudden, or was it a gradual thing? You mention that you have been on crutches since september, i'm sorry to hear that. You must be in alot of pain. As far as your hip joint, is your oa really bad to the point where you have a narrow joint space? Also, do you happen to know what the shape of your femoral head is? As for me, I have very early osteoarthritis at the moment. My joints space in both hips are good. The main problem is that my femoral head is deformed, and it's this deformity that causes me the problems. My problems aren't from a lack of joint space or anything.........Anyways, I enjoy chatting with you, and it's really nice to be able to talk with someone else who has had this problem.........
See ya,
jason

Hey jason,

my doctor has really stressed that I need to keep my own hip as long as possible. She says that the first time you have a replacement only last as long as 15 yrs, and the second time its replaced dont usually work as well as the first. She also told me a third time is not usually recommended. The last cortisone shot I received, she had a hard time getting the needle in the hip joint, took forever for her to get it. The space on top is not too bad, you can see some space, I have bone spurs on the outside of hip. She called it hip impingement, thats why I dont have much mobility. The bottom, which she told me has some space on a normal x-ray, I have none, you cant distingish where the femur it and where the hip is, its just one big white area. She didnt tell me what a normal one looked like compared to what mine is. She just said that if she didnt know my age, she wouldnt have thought it was some one so young. The last x-rays I had done in sept. She told me that my hip was bad for my age, but the o.A wasnt sever overall.

I have problems with my back since an accident, about 10 years ago, and the last 5 years, my hip has been bothering me. So, its been a gradually thing. It wasnt until about3 years ago, that I started having alot of pain in my groin area, and the moblilty started to decrease. My family doctor took some x-rays and told me there was some degeneration but not alot. He sent me to a orthopedic, the orthopedic I seen told me there was no way that there was arthritis in my hip. He didnt even look at the x-rays and told me it was my back. That began different diagnosis, from muscle strain, to piriformis, to pulled groin and so on. Last august had appoint appointment with my family doctor, and told him how much pain I was in, and how I couldnt walk that well. He took some x-rays and sent me to a different orthopedic, the one I am seeing now. She confirmed it was moderate o.A, and felt that if I lost some weight, took medication, and with physical therapy, that I could control it and stop it . Unfortunately, even under her care, it had gotten worse, but she found the problem. She told me, that its usually caught at a young age, and didnt even look for it. She was kind of excited about finding the cause of the immflamation but she didnt really point out that much, so I am not that sure how deformed the femur is, just that its slipped down, instead of up. Then she told me what the surgery involved and said it was major, and I didnt need to wait very long to get it done.

When you told me your femur was deformed, is it flattened? Or is there other ways for it to be deformed. Is it the head of the femur, or where the leg joins the femur? I couldnt find that many x-rays online to see what a mild, moderate, and sever slipped looked like. Which did you have? Also, have you always had problems with your hip after you had it pinned? Or has it been more recent due to early o.A. And defomed femur.

You have no idea, how much you have helped me with all of this. I hope that you can find some relief from your pain. I am glad that your able to be as active as you are. Do you have alot of problems with bursitis, and muscle spasms? Have you taken a cortisone shot, to see if that gives you a bit more mobility? The last one I took really increased my mobility, just didnt last long for me, but you may have better luck with them.

Take it easy
kim

Hey kim,

going by my x-rays, my left hip looks almost normal. It has a nice round shape and looks pretty good. My right hip, the one that bothered me since I was young, looks like it's been flattened out on top- it's almost a square shape. There is a little roundness to the top, but nothing like what is normal. The joint space is good, but there is a little bumpy spot on the edge of the right femoral head, which is what i'm told is indicitive of early osteoarthritis. The thing that puzzles me is, my range of motion and mobility are the same for both hips, even though my right hip is considerably more deformed than my left. But, my right leg is the leg that has always bothered me and continues to bother me to this day. In fact, my hip rarely hurts; most of the pain is in my knee and shins. I also have early osteoarthrits in my right knee, so it's hard to say how much of the pain is referred pain from my hip, and how much is pain actually from the knee. But, I believe to this day that because my hips are the way that they are, that that puts alot more stress on my knees and ankles. When the hip slips like it does with what we have, it slightly changes the angle of the whole leg from the hip to the knee. Thereby increasing the load or stress on the lower parts of the leg. As far as cortisone shots, I have never had a shot in my hip. I had one cortisone shot one time in my right knee that helped a little bit. Since most of my pain is below the hip, I have never considered getting a shot in the hip. But if my hip ever starts hurting alot, i'm sure I will try that out. But, i'm with you in that I would like my hips to last as long as they possibly can. But i'm a big chicken when it comes to operations and hospitals, and the thought of having a reconstructive osteotomy scares the bejesus out of me....Lol....There is another poster on this forum who has had the osteotomy a short while ago....Her user name is hoping4nomorepain and if you scroll down on the message board you will find her posts to my topic on slipped capital femoral epiphysis and hip replacement. She's a nice girl and i've exchanged e-mail messages with her...She's helped me out alot....Anyways, i"m glad that you have been helped by some of my info. I understand how frustrating and scary alot of this stuff can be.
Take care,
jason

Hi jason,

sorry it took so long to reply. Went to doctor thursday and he ordered a bone scan. I will see him in about 3 weeks. Right now he thinks he can take the bone spurs off of the hip with out dislocating the hip. He isnt keen on the major surgery, thank god . All depends on the bone scan, he said he will be really interested to see where the hot spots are. So right now he thinks we can leave the hip in its position.

I wanted to ask you, with your hip pinned does your leg tilt outwards? Everything that I read never said if that is corrected with the pin. Also, I used to lift weights alot before my accident, can you do squats ?

When they pinned your hip, does it fuse to the joint and that is why you dont have mobility in your legs? I am being nosy, but was really wondering about that .

Take care
kim

Hey kim,

that's good to know that your doctor thinks he can help fix some of your problems without doing the major cut up job....I'm curious to know, what was your doctor's reason(s) for not wanting to do the major surgery on your hip? I have had many orthopedic specialists who have advised me against having that operation also due to the complications and the uncertainty of the operations success on the hip joint. Would be curious to hear what your doctors opinion was?
As far as my leg, yes, my legs do have a tendency to tilt outwards. When I walk my feet tend to point out to the side somewhat. It's not as bad as it was before I had the pins put in my hips. Before I had the pins put in, my feet used to point out to the side almost like a duck - it was that pronounced. But after the surgery and the months and years afterwards, the pointing out of my feet has improved to the point where it's not that pronounced. One thing I do notice is that when I examine the tread on the bottoms of my shoes, the tread wears out unevenly. One side of the shoe will be worn considerably but the opposite side of the same shoe will be almost like new. I think that has to do with the angle that the leg hits the ground.
As far as exercising, I can do practically anything I want. I can do squats but that's one exercise that I avoid. I never do the traditional squat but I do perform the modified squat on a machine at the gym. It's at more of an angle and it's easier to control the movement. I do alot of leg extensions and leg curls which are really good for developing and strengthening the muscles in the legs, most noticably the quadraceps and hamstrings....Over the last two weeks i've gone running twice for the first time in years. I ran a mile on both times and although my hip muscles were sore afterwards, believe it or not the running I think makes my legs feel loser and more pain free...If you can believe it.......The only problem that i'm starting to have alot now is a clicking/snapping sensation in my right hip. This is starting to bother me to no end. Most of the time it doesn't hurt; it's usually just a nusuance. But lately once in while it will cause pain...I'm not sure if it's a muscle, a tendon, a ligament or what that is catching in my hip but it's really bothersome...........Anyways, didn't mean to ramble on here.......Take care......
Jason

Hey jason and kim,
hope you don't mind me butting in here but we all have the same problems thought we could help each other. So I had a trochanteric osteotomy in august of 2001. I was achually scheduled for a hip replacement was in the hospital just about to go in for the surgery when my doctor changed his mind to give my an osteotomy instead. Not too sure how I feel about this yet, still in pain have had 2 surgeries since. 18 months after the osteotomy I had all the metal taken out, they thought that would help but it didn't and got progressively worse.
So my hip is kinda like a combination of both of yours, my left hip was a square and there was a piece that jutted out which would slam against the hip bone each time I moved it, and I also had quite a few bone spurs located on the ball. So 8 weeks ago a had another surgery to shave off the bone spurs and move a peice of bone down to stop the slamming. So I have been in a brace since then my hip has to be at 15% out and I can only sit at a 70%. Well it hasn't been too bad found it kinda good because this way there is no way to screw up! But on thursday is the day it comes off! Yeah!
Kim i'm sorry to hear you have been on crutches since september must be awful. I got slipped epiphisis at age 12 and mine was also a severe slip slipped down and around or something, but it also took them along time to find it. I stopped going to doctors for awhile cause I was so frustrated went to physios and they would move my hip in ways that wasn't possible, I achually think they might have made it worse. I have a hard time with physios now, but will be starting all that im sure soon.
Anyways sorry jason you have heard all this before just wanted to tell you both if there are any questions that I can answer for you I would be happy to help. You feel really alone with problems like this and its nice to meet people that can relate. Kim I wwould tell you the same thing as you doc to keep the hip as long as you can but I also say its not worth living in pain everyday, and that is one thing most doctors don't understand. Sure 18months to them is nothing but to us its a very long time and puts your life on hold.
Please feel free to write even if its just to vent I understand.
Kristen (21 years old)

Oh yeah kim I have heard some horrible things about those cortizone shots, I have gotten one in my hip about maybe 4 years ago, but apparently the cortizone never leaves your body. Dunno for sure what it does in the long run, its good that it helps you but maybe you should do alittle research if you haven't just incase. Wouldn't want it to make your hip worse when your older!

Hi kristen,

so, glad you posted here, wanted to ask you a few questions about your surgeries. At this point dr, thinks he can cut the bone spur and a little part of my hip so my joint can move a bit more. I have to wait for bone scan to make sure, may have to do the osteotomy , dont think he wants to say one way or another. When you had your bone spurs scrapped with this last surgery, is it a long recovery? Is it out patient? He told me it would be an incision a few inches, so I know its not arthoscopic surgery. Not sure if he will have to dislocate the hip, again, waiting for bone scan. Too many variables for me, lol...

What was your recovery time for the osteotomy? How long were you in the hospital? How long for p.T? All these questions :d

if he can get away with getting rid of the bone spurs, he said he would leave the hip, due to the complications of the osteotomy, he didnt say what kind he would have to do. Just really didnt want to unless there was no other way.

Thanks alot
hope to hear form you
kim

Hi kim,
I glad you wrote me with your questions, and hope I can help alittle. Ok so for this last surgery I was in the hospital for 3 night, I do have to say though that I am very stubborn on getting out of the hospital and doing this for myself. It might be alittle bit longer if you aren't used to this. They told me 3 to 5 days originally. So my doctor did have to dislocate my hip cause like I said he had to cut bone and move it and I guess because the spurs were on the top too. So I found the first 6 weeks pretty hard lots of resting but I did go out alittle just for the mental health you know. But had to limit the time. I found that sitting has been the most painful part so far. But I haven't put any weight on it yet hopefully that will start on thursday. I have alot of q's for my doc so maybe he can tell me something about myself to help you. He doesn't tell me too much but I do know I have a really bad hip.
The incision from the osteotomy was about 12 inches long , but thankfully each surgery since has been able to go through the same one. But for the one I got 8 weeks ago it was the bottom half of the scar then about half way up it is cut like in a y (hope you understand this!) I remember the osteotomy was a long recovery pretty painful I had alot of bruising at first so that causes alot of difficulties too! As for the p.T I haven't really been able to do that yet also hoping to start that very soon, its going to be long and tuff but if it makes it better in the long run i'll do it!
Are you in pain 24/7?? What makes this worse for you?? Oh yeah I was also in the hospital only 3 days with the osteotomy but like I said stubborn, they wanted me to stay another night but no way! Rather be at home, and those beds!are not very comfortable!
Hmm what else can I tell you... All the surgeries I have had have been at least 3 months on crutches, but I know for some this was longer that normal because of my case. The last month was usually like weening of them, alittle more weight each week.
I think if you are getting the bone spurs shaved mf I wouldn't expect it to be too long a recovery expecially if your hip isn't getting dislocatee, but there is always the surgery pain at the beginning. Hope I helped alittle , feel free to ask anything else!!
Kristen

Hi kristin,

thanks for all the info, I am like you I hate being in the hospital. I am in pain 24/7, even when taking pain killers, it just takes the edge off. Other wise I would be unbearable to live with and pulling my hair out, :d
do you have a lot of problems with bursitis and muscle spasms. I have alot of problems with them, doctor thinks its the bone spurs and or the femur pushing on the area. You spoke ealier of what your femur head was like prior to your surgery, was it kind of mushroom shaped ? Thats how mine is, thats why have to wait for bone scan, to see whats gonna happen. Doctors dont want to tell us too much, think they get stuck and make a mistake.

Did you have any problems i.E. Complications with your osteotomy? That is what scares me more than the surgery, I am such a chicken, lol.

Did the doctor tell you what the chances of the bone spurs coming back were, I couldnt get one from my doctor. Maybe, you got a better answer than I did. :d

i wanted to ask you one more thing, do you have a problem with flat feet? Since I been told that this is my problem, I was wondering if my duck feet where a result of this.

Thanks for everything
kim

Hi

the doctor isnt keen on the surgery because of the complications, mainly, the high risk of the femur head dying. Which he said I would have to have the hip replaced and he didnt want to do that because of my age. Especially since before my hip problems I worked construction, and there would be no way that I would be able to go back doing. He hasnt said one way or another if I will be able to go back to my former occupation. So I may be hoping for something that wont happen. My hubby dont think it will be possible. One thing I find out after I have surgery, lol.

Do you have a problem with flat feet? I been wondering if that was one of the reasons I have them. Lol.... I know what you mean about walking like a duck, I do also, lol... Thats why I was asking if the tilt will get better. Does it bother you ? Is one leg longer than the other, that causes the shoe wearing on one side more than another? I have to check out my shoes to see if mine do that. I hardly wear shoes unless going to doctor, lol....

Thats great that you have started running, but wont that wear out your hip futher? I have read some things, but it could be pertaining to a hip replacement and not your own. Not sure

your hip snapping may be from loose ligiments in your pelvis. Its called snapping hip syndrome. I have that on and off for years, the chrio. I go to dont thinks its a big deal, he tells me to rest, and ice it. But if it brings alot of pain you should go to your doctor to make sure its not something else. For me it was the same, more of a pain of the noise than actual pain, but there were a few times, that the pain took my breath away. I felt kind of foolish calling the doctor after he told me what it was. You just dont know, and better be safe than sorry. Does the pain take your breath away, and a few minutes later its gone, but you feel sore?

Does the mobility of your hip make it harder to do free weights on your lower body? I figure lunges are out with squats with free weights. Live in a very rural area, dont have any places with weight machines. So I am stuck with free weights, that I havent touched in years. Lol

i am hoping that one day I can be as active as you are. Did your doctor recommend you not doing certain activities with your hip?

Talk to you later
kim

Hi kim,
im sorry to hear you are in pain 24/7, me too isn't it awful! Same thing with the pain meds just the edge. How do you sleep?? I haven't slept well in like 10 years, what people sleep all night??? So yes I have had problems with bursitis not really muscle spasms though. To tell you the truth I don't know too much about what is in there now because of the latest surgery. But will hopefully know more on thurday have lots of questions for him!
My femoral head was a square basically hopefully its rounder now I am very eagar to see my xrays. You know I never even thought about the bone spurs coming back, thank you for asking me that another q for thursday. It will be interesting to see what he says I sure hope theyt don't grow back.
Well my feet are achually opposite of yours, they have too much of an arch. I have gotton orthotics recently though haven't had too much time to see if they ake a difference cause im not walking now. But my shoes would wear on the sides too. And my left leg is about 3/4 of an inch shorter than the right so I guess when walking I would slammed down on the left leg kinda hard.
And my back has been hurting alot the last couple of years too, the only answer to that they give me is its becasue of my hip. Well will it go away when the pain in hip does??Kinda makes sense, hopefully it will ease soon too.
Nice to hear from you write again!
Kristen

Hi kristin,

the pain is the worse part, and I havent slept more than a few hours in years also. Especially, since my hubby is the restless sort and has a tendency to throw his leg on my bad hip. Wakes me up very quickly, and takes a while for the pills to kick in. My sleeping schulde is so messed up. :d maybe one day we can sleep a full night like normal people !!!

This thursday, you go back to the doctor, I hope every turns out good. You will have to tell us how everything goes. Your doctor probably wont give you much of an answer on the bone spurs, if he is anything like mine, lol..... He told me we can hope they dont come back. Not much of an answer, but you cant pin these doctors down. Lol....

Do your feet bother you with having too much of an arch? My mother in law had problem when she got older because they fell. And here I thought she had perfect arches, made me feel rather embarassed that I complimented her. ( before I married her son, she probably thought I was not quite right in the head. Lol) I got a wonderful mother in law and wasnt exactly the best thing to say when you dont know some one all that well, to say the least
i use orth. Arch supports and they really helped me, esp. When I was on my feet all day. What do they do for arches that are really high? Dont mind me, I am just nosy. Lol....

Has your leg always been shorter or has that been cause of the surgeries? I read about thp and how they try to match the leg lenght, but it isnt something that is 100%. Kind of scary, with everything else when you have hip problems, and know that its in the future. On the other hand to be painfree and have a pretty active lifestyle, I think I could live with a little thing like that. Hmmm.....I think I would end up being really short then, lol....

Do you have any problem with your knees because of your hip? With your back pain is in your low back or more like in your butt? I been dealing with back pain since 1996, and I know how you feel, it sucks!!
I been going to a chiropractor and it helps with my back alot. I have a few bulging discs and problems with my si joint. I am hoping that will go away when I get my hip fixed. You may have the same problem. That is what has confused my chiropractor, couldnt figure out why it was always inflammed. When I told him about the hip, he said that its all connected and hoped that would help with the flare ups.

The first orth I went to felt that the pain was back related because of the discs and my age didnt warrent o.A. So, he didnt even look at my hip x-rays. He made a big deal out of my back, which I told him, that I had a problem with back pain. That is how my diagnosis went from bursitis, piriformis syndrom, back pain and ect. When I think of all that time I could have gotten this fixed, it really makes me mad. What a quack, lol... Especially when I told him this was different than my normal back pain. I was used to it, so it was more of slight nagging thing unless I had a flare up, but at the time I only had stiffness in my hip and a vague pain in my groin area. The pain was livable, but bothersome, and much worse when I worked.

Have you asked your doctor about the back pain or do you use a chiropractor? You might want to ask your doctor, it may even be really bad muscle spasms, and he could give you a muscle relaxer. Even after all these years I some times have a hard time knowing which is joint pain, and which are muscle spasms in my back. Wish I could say that about the hip, I can tell the difference on that joint.

Do you have problems with pulling your groin muscle. Some times I can streath in bed and pull one. Darn things hurt!!! My dad teases me and says you cant pull one your a girl.. :d

oh, on the back pain, this is the one the easies ways to tell if its joint pain, put ice on your back. If it helps it the joint, if it dont try heat. If the heat works its the muscles. I been on muscle relaxers and anti-inflammatory pills, my back dont bother me as much. But you can try the ice first, because if you heat first and its the joint it dont help, and can make it more inflamed and you dont want that. My ears will be burning because you will be really cussing me out, lol...

Have you ever had a bone scan? I go for mine wed. And read what I could find on the internet. Just want to know if its no big deal like they say. It dont sound like it is, just maybe alot of waiting :d

take care
hope to hear from you soon,
kim

Yeah, the complications that can occur following a femoral osteotomy kind of spook me too. The circulation dying to the head of the femoral head is the most severe complication, and it would be the complication that I would fear the most. Some of the other complications that I know can happen are infection and the bone not healing properly. A total hip replacement is a much easier operation; the only thing is that it's not permanent and it's not as good as a real hip. As far as my hip and my activity level, I am probably doing too much activity considering my hip problems. I agree that the running is probably not the best exercise for me, but I don't do it very often. I try to focus more on low impact things. The limited hip motion that I have does limit the things that I can do. Like when I do the modified squat, I can only go down so far before I start causing pain in my hip. For the most part my hips are pretty functional and they allow me to do pretty much anything I want. However, my hips do not rotate inward. And this bothers me alot. In other words, I can't rotate my knees towards each other. Sometimes when i'm at the house horsing around with some of the neighborhood kids I end up getting depressed. I look at these young kids and I see how they can move - how they can twist and turn and bend in ways that I haven't been able to do in years - and I get a little depressed. One thing that I haven't overcome is my self-consciousness about walking. Overall, my walking is pretty normal. I do not have a limp at all. However, I still don't walk properly. My hips being the way that they are, my gait is not normal and i'm sure someone with a trained eye could spot the fact that I have either hip or leg problems...And, of course, my feet would rather turn outward than point straight ahead. And, I must admit, there are alot of times when I make a conscious effort to "walk better". I will force myself to walk with my feet straight ahead, or I will try and extend my walking stride to make myself appear normal...I know it probably sounds fickle, but that's how it's always been for me..Another thing that I have trouble with is my ankle, especially on my right leg. In addition to knee pain, my ankle aches alot of times, and I believe it has to do with the added stress that is being placed on my leg because of my hip..My feet are ok, normal arches and everything, but the hip throws alot of other things off kilter...Oohhhh boy, too many problems that always seem to pop up..Lol.....I'm only 29 years old and sometimes I lay back and think about what i'm going to be like when i'm 50....
Talk to you soon,

jason

hi kristen,

glad to hear from you again. Please keep us informed of your progress and of course all the best wishes for your recovery. I had some more questions relating to your osteotomy? Prior to you having your osteotomy, were your legs equal in length or did the operation make one leg shorter than the other? That's one thing I never did ask the doctor about was the potential for leg length discrepancies following an osteotomy. I have done alot of research online and I know that certain types of femoral osteotomies will result in the operated leg being shorter. The thought of my leg being shorter doesn't appeal to me, and i'm sure that that will induce a slight limp. Right now my legs are pretty close to even, I think one leg is about 1/4" shorter. I know when doing an osteotomy that the doctor has to remove a wedge of bone in order to rotate the femoral head.
Also, as far as recovery from the osteotomy, how soon could you at least walk around on crutches following the operation?

Thanks again for being so helpful and hope to hear from you soon..
Jason