There's a reason I can't belly dance
Once upon a time, a friend, Maleah, taught a belly dancing class for our local SCA group. I didn't want to go, but she kept pestering me about it until I agreed to come on the one condition that she wouldn't laugh at me in class. Well, the class came and sure enough, Maleah was showing us some of the hip moves, and, like I suspected, I just couldn't do them correctly. To say my movements were awkward is an understatement. Anyway, Maleah ended up giggling hysterically at my pathetic attempts to swing my hips in any sort of sultry, feminine manner, and that was that. It was all very amusing, and everyone in the class got a good laugh out of it. But I never tried to belly dance again. The world is a much better place for this.
But now, vindication! Evidently, there's a reason I can't belly dance, and it has to do with the construction of my hips rather than a complete and total lack of coordination. (This may also explain why I failed at Tai Chi, as well, now that I think about it...)
It was a very interesting visit to the arthroscopic hip surgeon today. It turns out that I'm a lucky lottery winner for hip design problems, and I've probably never had a full range of motion in my right hip. It just can't physically move correctly in the socket, and this was likely true even before I developed the arthritis and tore the labrum. (And it's not even taking into consideration the probable problems with my sacroilac joints, which were briefly mentioned and promptly dismissed since nothing can be done about them.)
The full diagnosis is: femeroacetabular impingement (FAI) of both cam and pincher types, coxa profunda, premature osteoarthritis, and a labral tear. He said I have a very severe case of FAI (which is a new-ish, not universally acknowledged diagnosis in the world of orthopedic medicine), but even I could see how it was affecting my hip based on the x-rays in which the impingement was quite clear to see.
He basically told me I have two options: wait and get a total hip replacement (probably sooner rather than later), or try hip arthroscopy which could relieve symptoms and delay or possibly even prevent the hip replacement. Since he would have to remove a great deal of bone and reshape parts of my femur, the recovery time for the arthroscopic surgery would be pretty long: six weeks on crutches, twelve weeks of physical therapy. The PT is supposedly very painful and intense. Recovery is not a fun thing. He stressed that, so I suppose he wanted me clearly understand that this surgery and the recovery after wasn't going to be a cakewalk.
On the other hand, it's not particularly a cakewalk now, and I think it would be a good thing to avoid total hip replacement surgery for as long as possible. So I went ahead and scheduled the surgery for the end of April. This doctor is the only one in the state who does hip surgeries and nothing but hip surgeries, so I feel good about that; he's about as specialized as I'm going to find anywhere, and he has done this type of hip surgery hundreds and hundreds of times.
In many ways I'm relieved I have an option other than waiting for a hip replacement. But...he was so quick to diagnose severe problems that it made me a bit suspicious. I mean, my orthopedic doc in Stillwater told me I had problems, but he didn't frame it in quite such dire language. Then again, he, too, told me I was heading for total hip replacement sooner rather than later, but he doesn't do hip arthroscopy, so he didn't have any alternatives to offer. So, I don't know. I'll probably try to get a second opinion between now and April, and do more research on the surgery, since it's a fairly new thing, at least here in the U.S.
Is there anyone on my flist who has had hip arthroscopy before? If so, I have some questions I'd like to ask...
But now, vindication! Evidently, there's a reason I can't belly dance, and it has to do with the construction of my hips rather than a complete and total lack of coordination. (This may also explain why I failed at Tai Chi, as well, now that I think about it...)
It was a very interesting visit to the arthroscopic hip surgeon today. It turns out that I'm a lucky lottery winner for hip design problems, and I've probably never had a full range of motion in my right hip. It just can't physically move correctly in the socket, and this was likely true even before I developed the arthritis and tore the labrum. (And it's not even taking into consideration the probable problems with my sacroilac joints, which were briefly mentioned and promptly dismissed since nothing can be done about them.)
The full diagnosis is: femeroacetabular impingement (FAI) of both cam and pincher types, coxa profunda, premature osteoarthritis, and a labral tear. He said I have a very severe case of FAI (which is a new-ish, not universally acknowledged diagnosis in the world of orthopedic medicine), but even I could see how it was affecting my hip based on the x-rays in which the impingement was quite clear to see.
He basically told me I have two options: wait and get a total hip replacement (probably sooner rather than later), or try hip arthroscopy which could relieve symptoms and delay or possibly even prevent the hip replacement. Since he would have to remove a great deal of bone and reshape parts of my femur, the recovery time for the arthroscopic surgery would be pretty long: six weeks on crutches, twelve weeks of physical therapy. The PT is supposedly very painful and intense. Recovery is not a fun thing. He stressed that, so I suppose he wanted me clearly understand that this surgery and the recovery after wasn't going to be a cakewalk.
On the other hand, it's not particularly a cakewalk now, and I think it would be a good thing to avoid total hip replacement surgery for as long as possible. So I went ahead and scheduled the surgery for the end of April. This doctor is the only one in the state who does hip surgeries and nothing but hip surgeries, so I feel good about that; he's about as specialized as I'm going to find anywhere, and he has done this type of hip surgery hundreds and hundreds of times.
In many ways I'm relieved I have an option other than waiting for a hip replacement. But...he was so quick to diagnose severe problems that it made me a bit suspicious. I mean, my orthopedic doc in Stillwater told me I had problems, but he didn't frame it in quite such dire language. Then again, he, too, told me I was heading for total hip replacement sooner rather than later, but he doesn't do hip arthroscopy, so he didn't have any alternatives to offer. So, I don't know. I'll probably try to get a second opinion between now and April, and do more research on the surgery, since it's a fairly new thing, at least here in the U.S.
Is there anyone on my flist who has had hip arthroscopy before? If so, I have some questions I'd like to ask...