Hip Injuries

anyone had anything significant?
i just had a hip arthroscopy on friday the 2nd. I had a torn labrum, a bunch of calcium deposits removed and discovered that my cartilage is basically gone. also had the head of my femur shaved down a bit. I have been dealing with an impingment for years now, and in april it finally gave on me. I had no idea my hip popping all these years would lead to this. I am not sure how much I am going to be able to do once I heal up.
has anyone had anything like this done? I am curious as to what I am going to be able to do once I am fully healed.
my ortho told me if I was 5-10 years older (I am 35) he would have given me a new hip.

it sucks missing the entire season, but at this point, I am more concerned about my ability to ride, run, play baseball, or do anything physical pain free again.
anyone with experience, please chime in!

Train, I too am 35 and just had my hip done on Feb 2nd this year. I guess pounding golf balls since age 8 isn't so good for your hip either. I was told that I was genetically pre-disposed to the condition. I am off to PT right now but I will post later about what my doc and the PT's I work with told me when i asked the same questions.

thanks AMO. I appreciate it.
based on the shape of the heads of my femurs, the wearing of the cartilage is inevitable. the physical activities don't help either.

Train, I was fortunate to do my surgery in Vail at the steadman hawkins clinic with Marc Philippon. He was great. I had a 12-3 tear anterior in the labrum, plication of the capsule, a rim trim, osteoplasty , and unfortunately a micro-fracture procedure for two small spots of missing cartilage in my acitabulum. When in was all over I was told that the recovery is a "predictable" one. Which is to say they have seen it all. That made me feel more comfortable. Unfortunately, my PT's at Vail were not so encouraging about any further pounding the hip joint might incur if it does not have to. One of my PT's used to ride juniors with Watson, so he was a very good rider. He basically said your wakebaording days are over if you want to continue playing golf, and they're pretty much over if you don't want a future hip replacement. I asked him if I could at least surf, and he said that wouldn't be a problem. Things I can do are, road bike (but the wife won't let me), spin, swim, walk, and anything else that doesn't require running or jumping for extended periods of time. As far as baseball is concerned, I was in therapy with Carlos Delgado in Vail at the same time. He was on the table for 5 hours! Needless to say his hip was really jacked, and at 37 years old his return to pro ball is very unlikely. Everybody needs to assess what they are willing to risk versus how much pleasure you get out of it, I guess. My boat is for sale and I am disappointed in that, but if i can return to playing pro golf next year I will gladly give up wakeboarding, wakeskating and wakesurfing. Any more questions, feel free to ask. I am now 5 months post op and feeling great. Rehab is the key. I went twice a day for 61 straight days in Vail and I really feel that has sped up my recovery. It's a very tough recovery as I'm sure you're finding. It's a long road and sometimes it feels like it will never end, but keep your head up and stay positive.

Train,

I had a very similar maybe even the same surgery at SCOI in Van Nuys, CA performed by Dr. Guanche.
I had surgery on December 14th 2007 and was 23 at the time.

It took me eight months before I was back on the board. I rehabbed very religiously and I would encourage you to do the same.

I have been back on the water for 2 full seasons and my experience has been pretty good. I ride 2-3 times a week and if my hip is feeling sore I take days off and take Aleve to reduce the swelling. Hip Pain is probably going to be an every day reality until we are old enough to get it partially replaced.

I try to limit doing big moves into the flats and land wake 2 wake as much as possible. I stretch constantly and use therabands to exercise my hip every other day. I also do a lot of balance drills using the wobble board, Indo Boards and the like.

thanks for the replies guys.
AMO - yours sounds like it was a bit more severe than mine. having the microfracture surgery had to be a bitch to deal with. I was lucky enough to not deal with that. and it sounds like you are in good hands at the Steadman hawkins clinic. that is where most pro athletes head to for this procedure. I was lucky enough to get referred by a friend to Dr. Gerhardt at the Santa Monica Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Group. I was bummed that my surgery got delayed, but was relieved when the reason was Dr. Gerhardt was traveling with the US National team in South Africa. I felt like I was in good hands knowing he was good enough for our boys over there.
I dont get to even start my PT until July 16th, and I am already able to walk around fairly normal, with little to no pain. although they have told me to utilize the crutches and stay within the parameters of the "partial weight bearing" program. tough to do with a 3 year old and a 1 month old. thankfully my wife is being a peach about it all.
I guess I wont know what my limitations are going to be for quite a while then. if I can at least just ride cable and hit some rails or something, that would be great. I need water time to keep my sanity.
and sorry to hear about you selling your boat. but your career needs to come before your "fun" time.
keep me in the loop with your recovery.
John - thanks for the info, and the encouragement. it's not easy finding other people with this injury. ACL's are a dime a dozen nowadays, and I can pretty much tell where I would be with that type of injury, just based on how many people I know who have had them.
I dont mind limiting my riding, as I dont go that big anyways. I guess next summer will be when I know for sure if I am able to ride again.
thanks again guys.

Train, if you didn't have a microfracture procedure you're good to go man! I'm stoked for you. I wouldn't worry about limiting your riding when you have completed your rehab if all you had done was a labrum repair. The reason I can't ride anymore is because of the micro-fracture procedure. If all I had done was a labrum repair my boat wouldn't be up for sale. I've never ridden cable but it looks a lot kinder to the body than riding behind the boat. Good luck, and keep me informed of your recovery as well. We can compare notes afterwards.