How my hip problem started...

Two years ago (Oct 2005) I slipped on a wooden floor and landed with my full weight onto my left outer hip joint (pain was so intense I couldn't breathe) and it happened so fast I wasn't able to break my fall with my hands.Few days later I will still in intense pain & a large bruise the size of an orange had appeared on my hip joint.

I then had four months of physio - ultrasound/tens machine/manipulation & acupuncture. Even after four months I still was unable to lie on my left side as the joint area was sooo sore & continued to have pain in the groin area.Was told by my physio it would go away over time so I went on my way. That was in Feb 2006 and in the months that followed I still had the pain on the hip joint & when bringing my knee up to my chest also when sitting/lying - could not get away from it.

I then started to get more pain in my bum muscles and was also getting low back pain.In August 2006 I went back to my doctor & he referred me to a chiropractor who manipulated me for just over two months which made all my symptoms wore not better so back to the doctor & I had a locum as my doctor was away. Straight away after checking me over she said I most likely had Bursitis of the bursa (fluid filled sack which is between the hip bone and the muscles) when the bursa becomes inflamed (from falling directly onto it) so sent me to a local Orthopedic Specialist who on my first visit gave me a steroid injection directly into the bursa (I cried it was so painful & I felt it pop as the needle pierced the bursa).

I got no relief from the steroid injection & it made the whole area flare up for the week following the injection & was unable to put much weight on the leg at all. My Specialist then said the steroid injection could take a few weeks to start making a difference so he booked my in for 10 weeks later to see my progress.My hip pain continued to get worse so at my next appointment my spec booked my into have an MRI as he suspected something more than the bursitis. Results came back showing a lot of inflammation in the joint & a tear in the labrum as well as other irregularities however he did not feel confident or know enough about what he found so I was referred to another specialist in Christchurch.

My first visit to the new specialist was in June this year and it has take from then till Sept for him to finally decide what was causing so much trouble and pain - FAI Femoral Acetabular Impingement with a tear in the labrum and the bursa has never settled down because structurally the hip joint was not as it should be.