Recurrence of Hip Pain post-Surgery

So much of what you have written above is very relatable to what I went through.

But this quote in particular:

Reminds me of how I discovered some study of cadavers where a high, like really high, percentage of them had torn labrums - yet almost none of them had had hip pain prior in their lives according the records. As Sarno said, torn labrum is just a "normal abnormality." Good luck! You can get through this.

 

Interesting note - After writing the above, my hip has started to try to get some attention. It's the same telltale pain I had before, like a burning/crawling sensation deep down in the hip joint. I now recognize this as the typical TMS pain, but it sure is interesting how it's up to its old tricks again.

 

As a rabid baseball fan I feel the same way about arm ligaments and the 'Tommy John' Surgery that has become a right of passage for modern pitchers. I have never seen it happen EXCEPT when the player is under enormous pressure to win/suceed. watching Shohei Ohtani this year throw a 95 mph pitch...Hit two home runs...and be shut down for a torn (whatever) ligament...Makes no sense

I bet EVERY rec player in my league has torn stuff... but we aren't making millions of dollars and being MRI'd every weekend...thank God!

I have to be careful/mindful when I discuss anything physical. SO many times I discuss some weird symptom and then get it within a few days.

 

My last post was in September and realized I'm long overdue for an update. Long story short, my pain is 100% gone. To recap my earlier posts, in August 2023, a renowned hip surgeon told me I had FIA (hip impingement) from a "significant" CAM deformity, torn labrum, cysts, and a whole bunch of other scary terms I've forgotten. Recommendation: FIA surgery (shaving the hip bone and labral repair) as well as the statement that this would only get worse. After this, I really decided to apply the TMS principles that have cured me of two past chronic pain issues. It was a very rocky ride over 1-2 months with significant flares and all that. This was a more difficult battle than other TMS issues I've had in my life because I never before have had such a dark diagnosis and prognosis. It really took me a few weeks just get myself to remain calm through all flares and I had several moments of panic, which set me back.

For me, I found that keeping a very detailed evidence journal helped immensely and showed the significant pain movement and fluctuations. Also helpful was learning about the crazy high prevalence of FAI (25-40% of the population) and labral tears (something like found in 95% of all cadavers). There were setbacks but gradually I was able to get my mind to indifference. Gradual resumption of activity was also key and always has been for me, and there were a couple difficult setbacks from this. In October, I had two pain-free weeks and then on a vacation the pain came roaring back (I think it's usually the opposite that happens). Once this happened, I knew I had it beat, as there was no reason for the resumption of pain on my vacation. After my vacation, the pain left and has been gone since beginning November.

I'm back to my full intense yoga practice and running distances and hiking and skiing as much as possible. What an incredible life hack this knowledge is. I wish the best to others on here and hope my story helps. Thanks to this board for the support and knowledge.

 

What a fantastic result. Unlike me, you managed to avoid the surgery in order to learn the "hard lesson" (I don't regret my surgery because it forced me to learn that hard lesson).

On the vacation, Sarno himself said that he often experienced TMS symptoms while on vacation so that is actually a common trigger (you feel guilty for taking vacation, it may not be the vacation YOU wanted, etc). I've had this happen myself.

Anyway very happy to hear you've had such a nice outcome.

 

I'm back for a few more comments.

It seems after checking this thread earlier today, the first time in months mind you, guess what has been bothering me?

My hip!

All the same symptoms, all the same pain areas, all the same sensation of pain (a burning, crawling, achey pain).

Now I know there is no need to panic, I expect to handle this just like I've handled all the previous relapses and flare ups. Just wanted to post my experience so we can all share in the misery and weirdness that is TMS.

 

That post was on Thursday and by Friday morning, it was all gone. Whew!

 

Yes, exactly - you're right, it doesn't have to be this big epic capital T trauma event - sometimes it is minor and only major because we've made a mtn out of a mole hill.

 

I just posted my story on a new thread https://www.tmswiki.org/forum/threads/chronic-hip-it-band-pain-for-2-years-scared-hurt-alone.28845/ (Chronic hip/IT Band pain for 2 years - Scared. Hurt. Alone.)
but was referred to this thread and thought id come here and update you guys as well. My chronic hip pain started a couple years ago and has gotten worse and worse and yes stressful things have happened but ive also done quite a lot of excessive hip movements for the 5 years prior to that (namely a LOT of sex post divorce. Probably 3-5x a night, 3x a week, for 5 years). At 40+ years old and with a body that wasnt strong to begin with, this was probably a lot of wear and tear. I noticed my hip, IT band, and back tightness got worse and worse and after I broke up with my last GF 2 years ago the pain ramped up, including shooting flaring throbbing pain in my right TFL. It also pinches with any kind of crouch or knee raise.

So last year I did an MRI with frightening results. Torn labrum, bursitis, and arthritis in both hips. I ended up doing PRP treatment about a month ago and have started doing PT. Not taking any drugs or anything for pain.

Here is my confusion. I am very susceptible to chronic TMS body pains. It used to be my low back (and sometimes it still flares up), frozen shoulder, chest and arm pain, and on and on for 20 years. So a part of me think this is TMS. But to be honest, I dont think its that simple. Because there are certain motions, stretches, that are simple consistently PAINFUL but doesnt feel like a muscle or tendon type pain. It very much feels like bone on bone joint pain. Its hard to describe but there can even be popping sort of feeling and sound. For example sitting cross legged in a yoga pose is almost impossible for me, my flexibilty and pain is so bad my knees are straight up in the air instead of flat. That pain is what I would call "mobility or motion triggered pain". In my mind this is an actual structural problem (Im open to being told I may be wrong, but just being honest).

And then there is the chronic shooting, throbbing, inconsistent pain in the TFL and IT band. This is more of a inflammation type of pain, some days its horrible and shoots down to my leg, some days its barely present. But it still hurts the TFL if i crouch or lift my leg (or for example attempt a happy baby yoga pose). I am convinced this pain is TMS.

And this is where I am at a crossroads. I believe this isnt as simple as a singular problem. I believe I did do a lot of wear and tear with sex (and not stretching or lifting weights to strengthen and lengthen) which caused tightness and other issues. But then I also believe the stress of my life, breakup, and more caused TMS to find a home in that problem area and make everything worse.

I tried playing pickleball and shoot hoops a month ago and at first it felt ok but halfway through basketball it all started hurting a lot and after the game i was in severe pain for 3 days.

So now I dont know what I'm supposed to do. Top priority is getting rid of the chronic shooting flaring throbbing pain so I can at least live and work. And secondary would be to try to strengthen and lengthen and loosen everything. But I can shake the thoughts of hip replacement surgery that the hip doc said is "probably inevitable". Its terrifying.

I should add that the anxiety about aging (im 46), being single and lonely and losing the girl that I probably should have married (my last GF), having my hair thinning, not being in great shape, and having hips that hurt which makes me worry Ill never be able to have good sex and satisfy a woman again is all causing me a ton of anxiety.

I will re-read healing back pain, please let me know what mind exercises you all might recommend and what you think about all this. I am scared and barely sleeping and would give literally ANYTHING for a pain free life. Thank you

 

I'm 53 and by the sound of it, way more active than you and my hip pain is GONE. All that you wrote above points to TMS - it's all there and clear as black/white for someone that has done the work and knows what it is. You need to get to that point.

 

My two cents having overcome completely a hip impingement ("severe CAM deformity"), torn labrum, cyst, arthritis, you-need-surgery diagnosis (as I detailed in this thread): there's a lot of fear emanating from your post. Fear skyrocketed my pain after the diagnosis. Lower your fear, lower and eventually eliminate your pain. Here are a couple things that helped me that may help you:

1. Intellectually understand (I mean truly internally understand) that your MRI results are totally normal. You can easily Google studies where torn labrums are found in ~95% of all cadavers, i.e., it is normal wear-and-tear over the course of our lives. Somewhere out there is a wonderful reddit post I found that showed this and other studies (in my case there are studies showing how common impingement is). Arthritis and bursitis, everyone has...totally normal wear-and-tear. Understand that doctors are training simply to read an image and only based on that give you a scary diagnosis. They have no other tools in their toolbox and have no clue about chronic pain.

2. Focus on lowering your fear and concentration on your body. Your post screams of hyper-fixation your body and the pain. Live your life and act as if you're fine, en route to convincing yourself you are.

3. Have a plan for flares. This really helped me. Whenever my hip pain flared, I had a plan, which was to go to the gym or do something else I really enjoy.

4. Start a daily pain evidence journal. This is talked about a lot in The Way Out, which spoke to me more than Sarno's work. Again, for me, it was important to convince myself deeply that the pain did not align with structural pain. Once I started my journal, I was amazed at what I found (pain moving around a crazy amount, even jumping to the other hip, pain coming and going randomly). This led me to view my pain with curiosity and interest, rather than fear, which helped me a lot.

5. Try out a daily meditation practice. I was amazed how this would reduce pain.

6. I enjoyed some of the YouTube videos by PainFreeYou. It helped reinforce the principles.

7. Gradually resume feared activities and don't be bummed when you get pain right after or the day after. From your post, I can tell you're really getting bummed at this. Understand it as a brain-wired response. Let that pain subside and then get back at the activity. I mention this earlier in this thread but resumption of physical activity for me has been huge in my recovery not just from hip pain, but two other chronic pains I've had in my life.

Few thoughts that are coming to me. If I got over my awful hip and groin pain, you can too. Trust the process.

 

Yes it does.

 

I realize I came across a little flippant in my earlier post, let me try and remedy that and add on to enrico's excellent advice.

I'll repeat what is elsewhere in this thread as to what usually works for me:

- Evidence sheets. List a column for pros and a column for cons on why it might (or might not) be TMS. Be honest. Even being honest I'll be there are more TMS pros.
- Read the Success Stories in this forum. They don't have to be hip-related but you'll find many that are.
- Seek out some podcasts about TMS. I recommend "Mind and Body fitness" by Eddy Lindenstein, especially since you're a guy and active. But Nicole Sachs' podcast and youtube are good too.
- Read and re-read the books! I get something out of Sarno's books every time I pick them up. Not to be sacrilegious but it's almost like the bible in that I can pick it up, go to any page, and there is something waiting for me that's useful.
- Have courage and get back to activities. Don't let the pain scare you into a shell.

 

thank you so much for the advice everyone. I will do all the things you recommended. But I do have to ask this because its the one big thing that keeps me continually worried and keeps my thoughts going back to "structural issues". My range of motion on my hips, IT bands is AWFUL. For example I can only spread my legs to maybe a 45 degree angle at MAX, or if I lay on my back and put my knees together and just let them fall to one side or the other, the pain that i feel in the hip joints is bizarre and does not feel at ALL like its muscular, tendon, but rather like its bone on bone contact saying "NO DONT DO THAT". Its frightening, and unnerving and a daily reminder of my pain (even trying to get onto a bike or in a car causes this feeling of pain. If I kneel on my knees on the ground and push my hips even slightly forward, same thing, pain on both hip flexors immedietely and again, it doesnt feel like how my back felt when it had TMS. With my back it felt clearly like a seized muscle, not joint or bone pain. This feels different. And so Im trying to figure out how to deal with that and convince myself its TMS. Has anyone experienced this also?