My journey through arthroscopic hip surgery

April, 2015

As I get ready to embark on an interesting journey of surgery and healing, some friends and clients have suggested that I write about my experience and insights, so here goes. 

I am sharing my journey because I know the experience of pain and the decision to or not to have surgery is common. And I am hoping others may be able to learn something from my experience. To follow my journey, visit my website at https://healingbridge.com/newsletter/ and sign up for my E-newsletter OR, go to my business Facebook page: Look up Healing Bridge Physical Therapy to like us, and sign up to get notifications so you’ll know when I’ve added a new post.

My arthroscopic hip surgery is scheduled for the morning of April 16th in Tigard Oregon (just outside of Portland).

A two-year journey of “discovery” resulted in finding that not only do I have a right hip labral tear, but also an annoying little cyst inside my hip joint (on the acetebulum). As I’ve watched my movement and function decline over time, I have decided to let a surgeon poke into me to see if the pain can be resolved. AND, I’ve been encouraged to write about it.

One interesting part of this journey is being a patient and a curious healthcare practitioner. I have already made some interesting discoveries, particularly around what I love most to learn and teach: The brain and pain.

My first brain/pain discovery was last August when I finally bit the bullet and got an MRI. It showed what I thought I already knew– that I had a labral tear. But it described the many facets of it in such detail…OY! AS well as this unexpected cyst – my brain immediately wanted to know, “what did that mean?” What resulted was a week of significantly more pain!  Not because of any activity I had participated in, but because my brain was more worried than usual and wanted more information to take care of me.

In my “No Pain – Life Gain” classes one of the key things I teach is that:  The Reign Of Pain Lies Mainly In The Brain! Think about your own experiences. I have several friends who are deathly afraid of needles. Just seeing a needle can cause them to feel pain because their brain is worried, and when the brain is worried, more pain usually ensues. Thankfully for me, I knew what was going on, so although the pain continued to be increased for a couple of weeks, I was able to calm my anxiety about it by reminding myself that it was mostly because of my worried brain.

There is a difference between the primary suffering of pain, and the secondary suffering of our thoughts and worry related to this. So, as I get ready for the real pain of post-surgery, I’ll keep you posted! Stay tuned….