GET INSURANCE!

Even for us health professionals, when things get bad enough, surgical intervention is still the best option! Just make sure you've health insurance... it really is worth the money.

So, I was diagnosed with a CAM deformity and FAI in my left hip….  what did that mean for me?

When bad, it meant that I couldn’t even turn my left foot in without excruciating pain in my groin. It meant that I got lower back spasms, my hip would give way occasionally and I got frequent ‘popping’ sensations in my groin/hip. I couldn’t run, changing direction/turning became difficult and the ‘active lifestyle’ that I lead was torn to shreds.

What could I do? Get health insurance!

Being an osteopath meant that I could get treatment from colleagues whenever I liked, I’d never needed insurance to pay for stuff… but surgery? In Australia? Just get insurance… there’s no guarantee you’ll get the service you deserve otherwise.

So, with insurance in hand, I visited Mr Andrew Chia and booked in to have surgery. The waiting period before this meant I had some time to get as fit and as strong as I could… the ‘prehab’ commenced.

Gluteal strength
Ankle mobility
Core strength
Single leg stability
Hip mobility (within reason)
And ride my bike!

A year of riding my bike, and using a TRX at home + body weight exercises, meant that I was in as good condition as I had been in a long while. I practiced what I preached, and in mid 2013, I went under the knife (pics from my hip)…

Labral repair

CAM deformity being shaved off

Surgical intervention isn’t always as bad as people make it out to be. In my instance, arthroscopic surgery to ‘shave off’ the CAM deformity, reattached my labrum and tidy up the damage that had been done took about 45 mins. I was back on my feet that day and back at work in 10 days!

Was that it?  I thought so! I was pain free, and able to do what I wanted to.  I knew that things wouldn’t last forever, but figured I’d be an old man before any further intervention was required.

Maybe not.