Going Home After the Surgery - What to expect

I originally thought it would be no big deal coming home and doing things for myself after surgery.  I even told my husband not to get the tall toilet seat with handles, I wasn't going to need it.  Ha!  You have no hip flexibility.  You can't bend at the hips and even if you could they don't want you to for a while.  Try reaching down for something without bending at the hip, you are lucky if you can reach your knee.  If something falls on the floor then it's just going to have to stay there.  Actually there is a reacher/pincher tool that is extremely helpful.  That and the hook/shoehorn to help get socks, shoes and shorts on and off.  You will have to have someone there to help you, I don't know how else you could manage and I'm pretty self sufficient.  I was told I could not drive for a month either.  I am so darn independent it was hard to rely on someone else for everything, but you do what you have to do.

My doctor scheduled a physical therapist to come the week after I got home, I was ready to get going.  They do give you exercises to do in the hospital and to do when you get home, very basic but trust me, nothing is easy at this point.  They also schedule nurses to come change bandages.  When the nurses came they said something about giving me a shot or meds for some reason.  I said they need to make sure they had the right patient because I wasn't supposed to be taking anything.  They had the wrong records.  So make sure they are looking at the right paperwork.  Never be afraid to ask or insist, specially about medications.  Even in the hospital I had orders for pain meds but didn't take them because I really had no pain.  The nurses were very insistent, if it's written they want you to take it.  And yes, if you have pain, you need to take it.  I always ask what are they giving me and why.  I think the nurses only had to come out twice, after that it was easy for my husband to help clean the incisions. 

The incisions looked horrible (at least to me) in the beginning, big and purple.  My hips also swelled up to about four times their normal size, wow!  It was actually funny to try and put on sweatpants or shorts, nothing fit right.  My doctor also had me wear the compression tights for over a month.  Very tough to look fashionable in them.  Was extremely glad to see them go.  The incisions will get better, mine are probably 4-5" long and no one ever notices them and I'm in a bathing suit a lot.

Finally my physical therapist comes for our first appointment.  Yea!  To me that means I'm on the road back to recovery.  She went over all the basic exercises and did some extra ones with me too.  Most were way too easy and then a couple were way advanced for my recovery stage.  So I called my doctor and got a prescription for therapy with a physical therapist I'd worked with before who is one of the best.  I had to get someone to drive me there but it was worth it.

Your doctor you pick is extremely important.  Just as important is your physical therapist.  I can't stress that enough.  That's the other have of the equation to getting good results.  I went 3 days a week for 1-2 hours.  I love my physical therapist, although at the time it was love/hate.  It was not easy.  Some of the things were extremely boring and tedious while other things were extremely challenging.  You also need to listen to your therapist about what you can and cannot do.  They have their reasons.  You may feel like you could do more or harder but depending on your healing stage it might not be appropriate yet.  Tell your physical therapist what you want to do and they'll tell you if you should or not or even a variation that might be better for you.  I'll say it again, LISTEN TO YOUR THERAPIST!!!

I did physical therapy for almost 3 months.  You are up and walking and really mobile after 1 month but I had goals.  I wanted everything back and then some.  I wanted as much hip flexion as my doctor said I could have safely.  At first my progress was steady but after the first 2 or 3 weeks my hip flexion hadn't improved so my therapist had to come up with other ways to get it to move.  After my warm up and most of the workout I would lay on a table and he would strap one leg down.  Then he would do an active stretch with the other leg.  He would get behind my leg and I would push against him and he pushed my leg.  It was hard and so not fun but I was determined.  Every week we made progress and eventually got where my doctor said I could be.

Now my doctor tells me I have no limitations, I can do the splits if I want, just don't cross the legs.  I have noticed my hip flexion improving all the time.  I am very active and that has to help.

Be smart, get good doctors and physical therapists and then listen to what they say.  They know more than you do.

Life after surgery gets better and better

Today I was supposed to compete in a sprint triathlon.  I'm actually training for a half ironman in October and this would have been a training race.  Monday I ate something bad and got salmonella poisoning.  Talk about bad timing!  So I've been curled up in a ball praying to not throw up or praying to throw up, you are very conflicted when your stomach hurts that bad.  So not only no training this week but I had to miss my first race of the year, in my back yard no less, with all my friends.  :(  Oh well, such is life, not the end of the world.  Actually as I type this they should be finishing up, can't wait to hear how everyone did.  Monday I'll be back to training, although I probably won't be quite as strong as the week before but at least I'll get back to it.

Since my hip surgery last year I've gotten stronger and stronger.  My hips now support me and that's huge.  You may not realize how much your hips do for you in almost every movement.  I'm back running, while not super fast, faster than I was even 2 years before my surgery.  My biking is getting better too.  I look at my bike times from races before surgery and after and can see improvements, very satisfying.

At the moment my plan is to do an Olympic tri in Sept (part of my training) and then the half ironman in October.  Then for fun another Olympic tri in Key West the first week of December.  Ironically the Key West tri was my big goal for the year.  I wanted to complete an Olympic tri this year and how can you beat one in Key West?  I have a lot of people signed up to do it with me so how could it not be fun?  Then one of my friends kind of talked me into the half ironman in October.  What the heck, I have time this year to train (it is a commitment of time) and I have some really great people to train with this year as well.  So, I signed up and immediately had anxiety attacks.

What was thinking!?!  I know I can do the swim, 1.2 miles.  I swim with the local master's 3-4 days a week and swim in the ocean at least 1-2 times a week.  To me that's the easiest part, but it's also the shortest part of the race.  The bike is 56 miles and I was worried my neck couldn't handle it.  I have arthritis in my left shoulder and my neck will stiffen up on the bike ride and spasm.  But with some minor changes to my bike I'm confident that I can do 56 miles without a problem.  Much thanks to Matt and Julie from On Your Mark Performance Center in North Palm Beach, Florida.  The run is a whole other matter.

I have NEVER liked running, in fact disliked intensely is probably appropriate to how I feel about running.  I really only started running because I wanted to complete a triathlon years ago.  I've come to enjoy certain aspects of running.  I do love running at sunrise along the beach where I live.  It's beautiful to watch the sunrise and you never know what your are going to see, from baby turtles hatching, amazing shells and sharks in the surf.  When we travel I've found the most amazing trails to run all around the world.  It's much easier to run when traveling than find a place to swim.

But to run for running's sake I have to do mental gymnastics to get me through it and I have to run 13.2 miles after I swim and bike.  Yea, gonna love it!  I can do it, I know I can!  But then I may hang up my running shoes except for shorter races.  I would love it if I could compete in Aquadu's, just the swim and bike.  There are a few out there but not many.

Life is what you make of it, no matter what adversity's you may encounter.  I see people all the time on the news that have far worse problems than mine and have not only a great attitude but help others.  Why would you want to be more of a burden to people you love by having a bad attitude or being unpleasant to be around.  Some things you can't change, deal with it, figure out how to move on around it.  Whatever that may be.  Life can be good, it is good, enjoy it.

Double Hip Replacement Surgery - What to expect.

My surgery was scheduled for Monday on my right hip because it was slightly worse than my left.  Why that was a deciding factor on which hip they did first I have no idea.  Off I go to the hospital at the crack of dawn.  The surgery didn't take long and when I woke up I was not in pain.  Of course you know something major has been done to you but I didn't hurt like I thought I would.  I was afraid to move though, you just aren't sure what's ok to move and what isn't.  The next day they did get me up and moving a few steps.  Very weird, your leg feels like it's not part of you and I was very dizzy.

Wednesday they did surgery on my left hip, again when I woke up still no pain.  That's a huge plus of course, pain can be debilitating and hamper your recovery.  I never had to take any pain meds.  They wanted to give them to me though.  If I had been in any pain I would have taken them but there really wasn't any pain.  I couldn't really move but no pain. 

Since I had both hips done I had to rely on my arms to move me around, legs are now pretty much useless.  This is why they do not do double hips replacements on older people.  I consider myself fairly strong and it was a struggle to move even to the end of the bed.  You take it slowly, inch by inch.  They want you up and moving as soon as possible.

I had a problem, whenever I sat up, let alone stood up, I had a blinding headache and got so dizzy I would pass out.  My head killed me.  I could not even walk two steps because of this.  The headache and dizziness went away when I lay back down but returned the minute I sat up.  Very frustrating.  So I was not able to get up and walk Wednesday or Thursday.  If everything had gone well I could have gone home Friday.

By Thursday I still could not get up and walk and I started physically feeling really bad.  Finally one of the doctors figured out I had a punctured spinal column from the first surgery on Monday.   They did a spinal anesthesia for the surgery like they do when you give birth and it had punctured my spinal column so spinal fluid was leaking.  No fun!

The fix, in very layman terms, is to plug it.  So back I went down to the anasthesiologist and they fixed it.  What a difference, no headache!  Unfortunately my blood level was extremely low so I still got dizzy and gray around the edges when I stood up.  So I got a liter of blood. 

Very important, if your doctor does not suggest it, ask about donating your own blood ahead of time.  I guess it's not uncommon to need blood after this type of surgery.  Some procedures are bloodier than others, words from a doctor.

So finally, I was up and walking (with a walker) and even got out my hospital room door to the corridor.  That was such a huge achievement for me.  I'd been in that hospital room since Monday and it was so nice to see outside the room!  Other than the blood loss and spinal problem, the actual surgery went really well.  No pain!  And I could get up and walk, finally.  I was discharged Sunday, and I was so ready to get out of there, although it's scary to think about going home and managing yourself. 

I had anxiety about moving the wrong way and having the hip come out of the socket.  Everyone loves to tell you horror stories, even the nurses in the hospital while you are laying there trying not to worry about it.  Even getting in the car to go home is scary, what if?  Of course your doctor will give you a list of what you can and can't do.  Plus your hip range of motion is zero, you have no flexibility, you can't even reach your knees.  Amazing how limited you are when you can't bend over.

Next time I'll talk about recovery.  surgery was easy compared to rehab.

1 Year Anniversary of my Double Hip Replacement

Yes, today is the 1 year anniversary of my right hip replacement, then on Thursday (2 days after) they did my left hip.  They didn't want to do them both on the same day.  My doctor said he got better results if they had a couple of days before making me lie on the side they just did surgery on.

Obviously I decided to go ahead with the surgery.  I talked to at least 6 orthopedic doctors, I talked to the rep for the implant parts and I talked to at least 5 people that had done the surgery, 3 with the doctor I decided on and 1 of them with a double hip replacement.  It's very tedious to find peoples contact info and to actually talk with them and time consuming.  Plus, what questions should you ask?

What to ask the doctor:  How many of these do you do?  What technique do you use and how long have you used this technique.  What should you expect for your recovery?  Are there other options he might suggest?  What limitations will you have, if any?

What to ask other people that have had the surgery?  How old were they when they had surgery?  What doctor performed the operation?  What was their recovery like?  Are they happy with the results?  What are their limitations, if any?

No matter what take a couple days or even weeks and let all the information percolate.  Don't rush into any decision, think it thru so you can decide what is the best course of action for you.  It may be to postpone surgery or maybe by the time you need it they have more options available.

One of my doctors talked about a partial hip for my right side but the results for females in particular didn't look very good.  Maybe I would have been one of the lucky ones but I wasn't willing to take the chance.  They are also making progress with different injections for the hip such as hyarulonic acid which was not approved for the hip when I needed it.  There is also some other process that does something with other substances injected that a physical therapist told me about.  All may be things you can try.  Since my hips were so bad I didn't think what was available to me helped.  I did get cortisone shots in each hip.  Which was not any different then the MRI with contrast, it was shots without the MRI.  the shots are uncomfortable but I thought my doctor did an excellent job and it really wasn't that bad.

While I was in the office for my first shot, Dara Torres (the Olympic swimmer) happened to be there in physical therapy.  My doctor operated on her shoulder just after the Olympics.  I really wanted to meet her but after I got my first shot of cortisone in my hip I passed out cold.  Don't know why, sometimes when I get a major shot - out I go.  I'm not afraid of needles, most of the time I'm fine.  Needless to say I didn't get to meet Dara at that point.  I was lucky enough to get to meet her at a later date though.  The next time I got a cortisone shot in my hip I was fine.

The cortisone shots did nothing for my hips.  I thought they might because I've had a cortisone shot in my shoulder, years ago, and I got back full use of my shoulder and it's still good.  Some things you have to try, specially if there is no down side to the procedure.

I've exhausted all options and I've interviewed everyone I could possibly find to ask questions to.  I decided the time had come for surgery.  I also did the research on doing both hips at once.  Since both of mine were really bad, what did I have to lose.  The recovery isn't any longer, you just have to spend a couple of extra days in the hospital.  I find rehab and recovery such a tedious and boring process.  I understand how necessary it is but boy does it take mental discipline to get through it.  It's another reason I decided on doing both hips at the same time.  I didn't want to spend 6 months recovering then go through it all again.

I picked the doctor I wanted to do my surgery and made the appointment.  I thought I was ready and as informed as I could be.  Next I'll walk you through the surgery and hospital stay.  Such fun!


At my 1 year anniversary I swam this morning with the master's and then when I got home at 7 am my husband was waiting for me because the surf was up!  So we went surfing for 3 hours, great waves, lots of fun.  Was going to go for a run with the local running club but too tired from both swimming and surfing.  Tomorrow I'll do stairs with my friends.  We run up and down the stairs at one of the bridges that crosses the intracoastal.  We do it for about 20-30 minutes and it's an intense workout.


Having the surgery when I did was perfect timing for me.  I am so very glad I had it done and could not be doing any better.  I still need to work on my hip flexion range of motion but my doctor said it's up to me, whatever I want to achieve as long as I don't cross my legs I'm good to go.  I am still seeing improvements in my hip flexibility and if I actually dedicated time to it I know I could get my flexibility where I want it.  That will be my next fitness goal.

After athroscopic surgery to fix my hip labral tear

The surgery to fix my labral tear in my hip helped for a little while.  I really thought I'd get back to running and feeling like it did before.  The small amount of arthritis pain was manageable.  But it never really got back to what it was.  I think it just kept deteriorating and quickly.  The pain got worse, on cold days I would sit on the couch with a heating pad wrapped around my hips.  Anyone who has arthritis knows of the deep ache you can get.  I don't know what I would have done without the anti-inflammatory medicine my rhuematologist gave me.  Unfortunately you have to be very careful and have your liver tested every 3 months.  I was only on this medicine for 6-8 months.  The pain is one thing, I could have dealt with the arthritis if it was just the pain.  Osteoarthritis eats away at the joint and my hip would not support me doing every day things.  I could walk but I had a limp.  I was a fitness director and personal trainer, try demonstrating a lunge or squat when your hip will not support you.  It's physics, you can't make it do something if the structure is no longer there.  I did try though.  I think it was extremely quick how fast my hips deteriorated.  My doctors kept saying maybe a hip replacement within the next 10 years. 

My range of motion declined dramatically.  I could not widen my stance more than maybe 15 inches.  Stepping up or over anything was a challenge.  Ok, don't laugh, but getting up from the toilet was impossible without pushing myself up with my hands.  I broke 2 flush levers before I figured out I was putting my full body weight on it to help me stand up.  My hips/legs would not support any weight bearing activities.  Very frustrating.

So I have choices, there are always choices.  Go after every new injection to see if it will postpone hip replacement or have the surgery?  I must have talked with at least 5 orthopedic surgeons.  One said partial only on my right hip.  Well the studies show very low percentage of it working and at worst I would fracture my femur and have to have a total hip replacement within the first 3 months.  If it worked it sounded awesome, very little down time,  a lot less bone taken away and use of the hip joint again.  You have to go home sleep on it and weigh everything out.  It always sounds like that's what you should do when your are in the doctors office and they seem the best person to do it.  Go home and let it all percolate for a few days before you decide.  Talk to other people about the procedure such as physical therapists.  They know with the outcome of most orthopedic surgeries are.

I decided I wanted 10-20 years of pain free, full range of motion activity as opposed to toughing it out for another 5 or 10 years.  Who knows what procedures they will have for hip replacement in 15-20 years.  What if I get hit by a bus in 3 years, I could have had an awesome 3 years with no pain and the ability to do the activities I love.  Then I talked to the doctors about my left hip as well.  It hurt but it didn't give me as many problems as my right hip.  It didn't catch and it was slightly stronger than my right side.  My doctors all said that the arthritis was just as bad in the left hip as the right and I would probably have to have it replaced within the next 6 months anyway.

So that leads to a whole other questions, do both hips at once or 6 months apart?  My doctor said the recovery would not be any longer if I did both hips at the same time.  I, of course, did research and talked to whoever I could find that had it done.  I decided to just do it and get it done with.  I made the appointment for surgery and off I go down the journey of a double hip replacement.  I talked with so many people but I don't think anyone can prepare you for something that big.  Although I did my very best to down play it to everyone.

So many decisions in the osteoarthritis journey, it's tough to know if you've made the best decision for you.  All I can say is do your homework!!!  Ask questions and then ask more and ask everyone.

Decisions, decisions. Labral tear and arthritis, what is the next step?

So I now know for sure I have a labral tear in my hip along with the arthritis.  A labral tear is a tear in the soft cartilage of the joint.  Used to be much more common in shoulders but now it's becoming very common in the hip.  I think it's because they have better tools to diagnose it.  My doctor says I have options.  Live with it and do nothing or arthroscopic surgery to fix it.

I decide to live with it even though I can't run anymore it's not limiting anything else and it's not that painful at the moment.  I first felt the pain in my hip in November of 2007.  After all the tests to figure out what the problem was it was well into December.  As the days went by my hip did get worse.  I started feeling it catch on the torn cartilage and that is not pleasant.  It was my busy season so I did live with it for a few months.  I asked my doctor for his referral to someone who does this surgery.  Again, at the time there were very few doctors that even did the surgery.  Luckily I found a really good doctor in Miami.  I would have gone wherever I needed to for a well qualified doctor.  I had found a couple that had done one or two but that is not enough for me.  This doctor originally trained under a Canadian doctor that pioneered the technique and had done thousands.  Of course I talked to his nurses and physical therapy staff beforehand too.  It's amazing what they will tell you, they are a great source of information. 

My doctor said that I had some bone spurs and lots of arthritis he could clean up while he was in there.  He would repair the tear, clean off the head of the humerus and poke small holes to stimulate blood flow to grow a different type of cartilage.  You can't regrow the original, but this was supposed to be better than nothing.  It was arthroscopic so minimally invasive and an out patient procedure.  I would have to be on crutches for a while.  I decided to go ahead with it.

The surgery itself was no big deal.  Three tiny scars on my upper thigh and in and out the same day.  Rehab was another matter.  Not much pain but I could not put any weight on it at all.  None.  They were very adamant about it.  For five weeks.  Crutches for 5 weeks.  And you get to use the automatic joint movement machine they use for knee replacements.  You get to set it to a certain range of motion for your leg and you get to lay there while it goes up and down in slow motions for 30 minutes to an hour once or twice a day.  After so many days you get to increase your range of motion.  It was incredibly boring so I got a lot of reading and napping done.

If you've ever been on crutches you know how much fun that is.  Everything you do takes three times as long.  Luckily I could drive myself around after the first week.  So I went to physical therapy three times a week, along with the leg machine at home and all the exercises I did at home my physical therapist gave me.  All very tedious and boring because I could not put any weight on my hip.  All my exercises were done laying down, for five weeks.  Ironically I was the Fitness Director at one of the local country clubs.  And I was still training clients.  How does it look to have your trainer come in on crutches?  Or to see your Fitness Director hobbling around on crutches?  You really have to keep your sense of humor.  As with anything you get through it and it could always be worse.

One of the happiest days of my life was when the doctors said I could get rid of the crutches.  Although my physical therapist said not so fast.  I could get rid of one of them.  I had to use one for a week and then wean myself off the one so many hours a day over the second week.  I did what he said, he knows his stuff.  After you go through any surgery do what your physical therapist tells you.  Make sure he's good though.  I have had some that just followed a cookie cutter outline and it didn't really apply to my circumstances.  You want one that takes your specifics into consideration, what kind of shape are you in, pain, range of motion, so many other things.  You want to get the best results possible from your surgery so do what your physical therapist tells you.  It's hard, you may feel like you can do more or your are bored.  Don't do it unless you talk to them first.  I always asked for more and when can I do certain things. 

I had a friend of mine go through the same thing.  She was younger and didn't have arthritis but had the labral tear.  Had the surgery and then didn't listen to her physical therapist and did too much and the wrong things.  She had a lot of pain and was slow in recovering.  You don't want to undo what you just had the surgery for.  I can't say it enough.  Find a good physical therapist and then do what they say.  It's ok to question them, they usually have good reasons.  It's ok to tell them you want more.  Just make sure you listen to what they say.

The surgery did help, my hip did not catch anymore and it did feel better.  Unfortunately is didn't cure it, I still had arthritis.  My doctor did say it wouldn't fix everything but might put off a hip replacement 5-10 years.  Still couldn't run, I mean I could but it didn't feel good so I didn't.  I took up swimming instead.  Life throws you curve balls it's how you deal with it that matters.  I wasn't happy about giving up running.  Even if running wasn't my favorite thing no one likes it when something is dictated to you and it's not your choice.  That's the tough part.  I did shed a tear or two over it but then moved on.  Turns out I love swimming!  It's amazing what good things come out of bad situations if you keep an open mind and try.

How it all started - A pain in the hip

It's funny, after I started having problems with my hip, and even more so later when I had to have a double hip replacement, I can't tell you how many people asked me if it was because I was so active or from running.  You have to stop and really think about that question.  Because if that were the case than almost everyone I know would need a hip replacement at a young age.  I am an active person but I am in no way what I consider as active as athletes are or anyone who runs marathons or competes in major triathlons.  In fact I never even ran until about 6 years ago, and I only started because I signed up for a sprint triathlon.  About 2 months before the race I figured I should start running.  Needless to say I wasn't a very fast runner by race time but I finished my first triathlon at the age of 46.  Then I swore I would never do another one.

I even told my husband that there was no way I would ever say I liked running.  I did kind of keep it up and much to my amazement actually looked forward to certain aspects of running.  I am lucky to live next to the beach in Florida so I would get up and run at sunrise.  I would run along the water where the sand is harder packed but it's a challenge.  You never knew what you would see, baby turtles hatching, sharks in the surf, crabs on the beach and sometimes some amazing shells, just to name a few things.  The sunrises were always beautiful and it was a great way to start the day.  And being Florida I could do this pretty much year round, I love where I live.

One of the other things I grew to love about running was that when I traveled I would scout out places to run.  One time in Lime Rock, Connecticut, next to the race track there, is an offroad trail my husband found.  Lots of elevation changes and beautiful scenery.  My husband is a sports car endurance race car driver and we often ran the race tracks he competed on, always fun.  My husband races all over the world and I found some amazing places to run in France, along the river in parks.  So when I had to give up running I actually missed it.

I am a Personal Trainer and I used to be the Fitness Director as well at a local country club.  I don't usually teach group classes but for Thanksgiving one year I did a boot camp that morning.  My hips had always ached after running but I took Advil and it wasn't that bad.  After I did the high energy boot camp my right hip really hurt and didn't get better.  In fact got worse with time and I had to stop running.  So off to the orthopedic doctor I go.

Right off the bat he tells me I may have osteoporosis, a fracture, or a labral tear.  I, of course, tell him that none of those options are probable, he's crazy.  He kept asking if I'd been in an accident or had some incident that might cause the fracture or labral tear.  I had not even fallen so it just couldn't be those two issues.  I had a bone scan and my bones where great.  X-rays didn't show anything, some arthritis but nothing major.  I go for an MRI and it doesn't show anything.  All of this takes time, it's not like you schedule all the tests in one day.  You do one of the tests then schedule back with the doctor, schedule the next test, schedule back with the doctor.  All along he kept asking if I felt something catching or could hear any clicking.  At the time I didn't so I was very skeptical about what he was suggesting.  If he hadn't come highly recommended by multiple people I would have gone elsewhere. 

I had made friends with a physical therapist, Rett, that had worked on my husband years ago.  Rett is one of the best I believe in the country.  So I introduced myself so I could ask him questions about clients and also refer clients to him.  I won't refer people to anyone I don't know or who I don't think is one of the best in their field.  Rett had recommended this doctor highly so I stuck it out.  Looking back I laugh because I really though he was so far off the mark but from day one he had it pegged exactly what it was.
Finally he sent me for an MRI with contrast.  So fun, they stick a ginormous needle in your hip joint and inject dye.  It wasn't the worst thing in the world but not fun.  Then they do the MRI.  Well son of a gun!  It showed clear as day a labral tear in my hip joint.  At the time this was relatively rare unless you had been in a car accident or older.  Labral tears in the shoulder were very common, specially with baseball players and other athletes.  My doctor says my options are arthroscopic surgery or live with it.  I decided to live with it, which lasted all of 3 months.  I started limping and it started catching.

A labral tear is in the soft cartilage of your joint, doesn't matter if it's the shoulder or hip it's the same thing.  The cartilage tears and you have a piece of bone sticking up which will then catch as the joint is used.  Obviously not good in the hip as you use your hips to walk, sit and just about everything you do in life.  Long story short, I had osteoarthritis in my hip which produced bone spurs and when I moved a certain way with force it tore my cartilage.  Of course I tried to ignore it, isn't that always the first recourse to problems?  As I said, that didn't last long as it just kept getting worse.

In my next post I'll talk about the next part of the journey.  It's all a process and I've learned you better be proactive about it if you want the best results.  No hiding under a rock!  No matter how much you would like to :)  It's your life, make it the best it can be.