How femoral acetabular impingement changed a life
The arrow points to Maryann's left hip where damage was being done to the cartilage. The top line provides reference so you can see how far off her hips were misaligned.
In May of 2006, I had a breast augmentation procedure done. I was 25 at the time, and I had long been self-conscious about my breast size. The surgery went off without a hitch, and I was happy with this “better” version of myself. I have always been active and athletic, so I went right back into my exercise routine as soon as I could.
In July, only two months later, I sprained my foot jumping rope. A few months later, in November, I started to get pain in my knee, and at the base of my spine at the sacroiliac joint. At the time, I didn’t see the pattern to what was happening. I just thought I was getting old. I was getting lots of injuries that weren’t going away, so I just took it easy, hoping rest would make the pain go away. Eventually, in the winter of 2007, I went to try this thing called Posture Alignment Therapy to try to help get rid of the pain. The process was eye-opening. My attention was drawn to the imbalances in my body that hadn’t been there before (a hunched back, uneven shoulders, and a severe twist to the left through my whole body). I learned exercises that helped me stand up straighter and seemed to relieve some of my back and sacroiliac pain, but the relief never lasted very long. The pain started building up, and I had to take long breaks from surfing and running.
Then, in November of 2008 when I was on one of my usual runs, I was about six blocks from my house when my pelvis suddenly felt like it had slipped or dislocated. Thinking it was just a minor muscle pull, I stretched it out and pushed on with my run. After that run, my hip did not get better.
In January of 2009, I tried Egoscue again. Over the next several months, despite the postural exercises I was doing and the total break I was taking from all the running and surfing that I loved, my hip got worse.
By August of 2009, I was 27 years old, and I was in a wheel chair.
The next eight months of my life were filled with visits to every doctor and health practitioner imaginable. I consulted with over 30 healthcare professionals including medical doctors, surgeons around the country, chiropractors, physical therapists, acupuncturists, and spiritual healers. I had multiple X-rays, MRIs, CT scans and bone scans performed on my hip as well as other parts of my body. In a desperate attempt to treat the pain I underwent injections and tried many different combinations of pain killers and drugs. All to no avail.
In January of 2010, I finally got a diagnosis: Femoral Acetabular Impingement with a labral tear. The bones of my hip were rubbing against each other, tearing the cartilage. This was not what I wanted to hear. What I wanted to hear was why my hip joint was grinding itself away, but the doctors weren’t interested in answering that question. They recommended I try surgery, though there were no guarantees that it would work.
Desperate for an end to the pain, I went in for hip arthroscopy in Los Angeles with one of only a few specialists in the country who could perform the procedure.
The surgeon repaired the cartilage and reshaped the hip socket and femur so that they would not rub anymore. Within a month, however, I was back in a wheelchair.
This was the lowest point I had ever been in. The doctors were completely unable to help me, even with this surgery.
At this point I started thinking seriously again about what I’d seen happen to my body since the implants. My body had started to rotate. My upper back had gone into an extreme hunch. My left hip had elevated. In my gut, I knew that these things had all started after the breast augmentation. The doctors I consulted weren’t on board with my theory, but I pressed ahead with what my gut told me was wrong and had my breast implants removed in April of 2010.
I continued to do my postural exercises, and within 2 months, my hip pain was gone and I was back to enjoying my life.
I battled chronic pain, and rapidly deteriorating posture and physical health, and I came out on top. As a result, I have a unique insight and understanding of what it is like to deal with pain, physical limitations, and the devastating mental and emotional impact it can have on a person’s life. I have dedicated my professional career to helping people who want to be proactive about addressing the underlying cause of their pain or physical limitations. After recovering fully, and getting certified through Egoscue University as a Posture Alignment Specialist, today I am able to help people get out of pain using this unique form of exercise therapy.
