FAI (Femoro-acetabular Impingement) & Karate

I went in for my 2nd physical therapy appointment this afternoon.  We did various exercises and they checked my range-of-motion, strength, etc.  All was good and, as usual, they were impressed but I was not.  The exercises weren’t much of a challenge, apart from the range-of-motion portion at times.  The only thing that hurt was when the therapist massaged my scar.  I had been minimizing contact with that area but she explained that this massage (“massage” probably isn’t the best word… more like “torture-like poking and squeezing”) was good for the healing process.  The scar is quite obvious.  The little staple holes are clear on both sides of the thick line about 8″ long.

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I am no longer limping.  My appetite has returned and I’m back to my usual overly-hectic schedule.  But I’m still being very careful not to go beyond the limits set forth by the doctor.  The swelling is still evident but much less than just a few days ago.  My range of motion is slowly improving.  I know that I could bend past 90 degrees at my hip but am only limiting that movement as per instructions from the Dr.  The movement of my leg outward, away from my body (abduction) is still very limited.  I am working on that through stretches such as horizontal (laying on my back) “butterflies” (no bouncing) and an exercise prescribed by my physical therapist where I lie on my non-operative (right) side and with my knees bent and pillow between them and lift my left knee upward and hold for 5 seconds per repetition.  I can feel the strength returning in my hip/leg.  Things are definitely improving and it feels good to see definite progress almost every day.

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After having dipped down from my usual 150lbs to just above 141 last week, I am now back up to about 145.  The swelling and tightness in my quads continues to appear at the end of the day.  But I think my limp has become less apparent and am getting some more flexibility (gently pushing knee out to the side).  I set up an appointment with the physical therapist for this Wednesday afternoon.

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For the past few days, I haven’t really been using crutches inside and sometimes not even outside.  I am VERY slow and cautious.  I got a cane and may use that instead for outside for a while.  But it’s really not necessary.  It does help promote good biomechanics, though.  So I am going to continue to use cane or crutch often.  I still have some swelling in my leg and a lot of fatigue and feel tired most of the time.  I took 2 short naps today, even though I slept about 7 hours last night.  For a guy who usually gets less than 5 hrs of sleep each night, I have been sleeping a lot.  My apetite still hasn’t completely come back, primarily due to my relative inactivity.  I lost 6 pounds by early this weekend as compared to before the surgery and am slowly bringing my weight back up.  I am working on strength and flexibility but being very careful and gradual about it.

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I had a relatively good sleep last night.  I went to bed before 11pm (what an exciting New Year’s, right?) and got up around 8am.  Of those 9 hours, I probably slept for more than 6.  That is the best ratio I’ve had since the operation.  I spent quite a bit of time today on 1 crutch and also with no crutches.  I will continue to use them as I go out.  But I am definitely feeling like I am recovering well.

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