From PT to Patient

I couldn’t believe this could happen to me. After 25 years of a physical therapist career I thought I had seen all injuries. But a year ago I discovered that a simple thing like swollen, bruised toes can lead to a severe hip injury.

I was training for a half marathon when my toes turned purple. Because of those painful, agitated toes I got scared. I took advice from other runners... not ones with physical therapy jobs... to increase one size in my running shoe. I did, and the next day at the end of a five miler, having to to clear those size 10’s from catching on the ground... I felt a painful tear in my leg.

I was diagnosed with injuries from a hamstring pull to sciatica. All I knew was that I had pain and was falling frequently. No one mentioned a hip injury until I diagnosed myself with a labral tear of the hip.

Frustrated... I had to stop running until my hip arthroscopy surgery. What could I do to get stronger and pain-free? I began indoor cycling, 20 miles a day for 6 months to prepare for hip surgery. Hip arthroscopy has inconsistent outcomes and I was afraid I could be worse afterwards ... but the regularity and intensity with that closed-chain bicycling really paid off. The muscles around my hip joint were so strong before surgery that 7 weeks afterward I could hike down mountains. 3 months later... won a 5K race!

Stay tuned; my next blog will share what I learned as I rehabbed my own hip. This is info that I am now applying to my hip arthroscopy patients in my current physical therapy job. Would love to hear from other PT’s that want to share their experiences as a patient, too!

About the Author: Ellen has been has been a physical therapist for 28 years and has worked in variety of settings, including acute care, home health, rehab and sports medicine. Ellen is a competitive masters’ runner and recovering successfully with a structured intensive rehabilitation therapy program from a recent hip arthroscopy procedure.