UKC

Hi all,

I've been climbing for just over a year now, but have been in a lot of pain due to a recently diagnosed labral tear in my hip pretty much that entire time. I've been able to manage fairly well on easier climbs, but as I improve I'm finding that my injury is holding me back due to trying harder climbs that require either technique that I struggle to do due to my injury or strength which I've lost due to my injury.

I'm having keyhole surgery in July but my consultant hasn't told me much about recovery times. I've had a look on the web and estimates vary from about 2-4 weeks on crutches, 2-4 weeks until you can drive again and 12 weeks until you can get back to high impact sport (I also played a lot of netball).

Has anyone had keyhole surgery for a hip labral tear and if so, what was the recovery time like and when could you climb again?

I'm doing my physio exercises to try to improve my strength and stability before my op in the hopes that this will help in my recovery so I can get back to climbing as soon as is sensible.

Thanks,

Nic

In reply to nic_nac_doodle:

My better half had this surgery x2 just over 3 years ago (@34 y.o.); one a simple tear the other more involved - I'm afraid that there is a very open ended time frame for recovery.

If just the labarum then the time you outline are consistent with her experience.

The second hip was messier, including cartilage damage. Recovery took a long time. Due to the cartilage damage she had to adapt to no high impact/running. This was quite a shock to the system and mentally upsetting, finding a lower impact substitute helped.

All the best.
LD

In reply to nic_nac_doodle:

I had this surgery twice in the same hip as the tear was caused by a boney spur which wasn't removed enough in the first op.

The first time (2010) I was non-weightbearing for 12 weeks then a gradual return to activities. I was able to climb pretty soon after being allowed to bear weight but was limited to the range of motion allowed and had to avoid impact so lead falls and bouldering weren't allowed until 6 months post op.

The second time round I was partial weight bearing immediately after, fully weightbearing after about 4 weeks I think. Then returned to climbing around 8 weeks post op but still avoiding extreme ranges of movement and impacts initially but gradually returned to it. The second time round, I had to be off work as I have an active job so went to the wall and did fingerboarding a few times a week so didn't really lose any strength.

Good luck. Any other questions just ask!

In reply to ck85:

Thanks both of you, that's really helpful to know about your/your partners experiences. And very good to know that climbing is at least possible again after the surgery! I expect that I won't be able to play netball again due to the twists and turns (wear and tear due to a lot of netball and training for a half marathon is what caused the tear), so I'm trying to get my head around that sooner rather than later.

Thanks again for your responses

Nic

In reply to nic_nac_doodle:

Surgical approach has a big impact, open/dislocation much more trauma than arthroscopic...as always what the surgeon actually finds when he gets in/has to do is key.

With luck it will be a labral tear in isolation sadly they are often part of an overall arthritic picture, (cam/pincer impingment)...age of course is a key factor there. The actual dislocation to gain access to the labrum has its risks.

Good luck
Shaun

In reply to shaun walby:

Thanks Shaun. No sign of any arthritis as far as they could tell, a good thing at 27 y.o.!
Praying it'll be fairly straightforward, my scans seem to suggest that but like you said you don't know until they get in there!

Nic

In reply to nic_nac_doodle:

At 27 you stand a very good chance of returning to sports/climbing with nil impact at all, i wish you the best of luck with it.

Shaun