Sunday, January 23, 2011

13 Weeks Since Surgery


My hip is actually feeling very good. For 2 weeks, I was doing 1-2 hours of cardio/day in my home gym, made up of elliptical and treadmill walking with short intervals of jogging. Along the way my right knee has started to give me problems. This knee (same leg as hip surgery) was giving me problems prior to surgery and during my second to last race, 2009 Where's Waldo 100k. Prior to hip surgery, I had an MRI to check on the meniscus which came out negative. This was good news but, not any closer to finding out what was wrong. Long story short, I will have to work through this one for a little while and see where it takes me.

After a few days rest, I ventured out onto the track this weekend, thinking that maybe the treadmill was irritating the knee. Yesterday I did 3 miles of 300m jog and 100m walk and today 4 miles of the same. This was very painful but seemed to get better as I went. Ironically, my hip seems ready to go but my knee is not happy. In talking with my PT, we think that the knee issue may have been caused from the abnormal biomechanics of my femoral head in the acetabulum, as a result of the torn labrum. These mechanics most likely were compounded by my week gluteal muscles and overactive illiopsoas and tensor fascia lata. Although, I have been working hard since surgery and improved my weaknesses, I still have issues.

I will continue on and keep working hard, while understanding that there will be bumps along the way to slow me down. Fortunately, I have been through this a few times.

7 comments:

  1. Stay focused and don't hurry the recovery. Patience, a runner's friend. Very best to you.

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  2. Matt - hope to see you back at it sooner rather than later. Glad to hear things are at least moving in the right direction.

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  3. @Walt- Thanks for the encouragement. Its always good to hear from you.
    @Nick- Thanks Nick. Although it seems like a life time since I was last running, it was good to actually being outdoors giving it a shot. I look forward to seeing your compete this year. Good luck at WS and UTMB!

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  4. HI Matt,

    I'm a runner from Ashland, Oregon (but not one of the fast boys or girls; just a regular shmoe). I saw Mark Wagner yesterday for a labral tear, and should have the surgery on April 21st. Very concerned about returning to running... How has your progress been since January? Any info or advice would be great.

    Eric Dinger ecdinger@gmail.com

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  5. Hi Eric,

    Thanks for the comment. Dr. Wagner is great. I think you should be confident in your return to running. It is important to have quality PT after surgery. I will be posting on my blog with an update. Sorry for not seeing you comment til now. I have just struggled with other biomechanical issues of the foot/knee. My hip is doing well. Feel free to email with specific questions/concerns. Again, I will update this week.

    Thanks, Matt

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  6. Hi Matt,

    I'm about two weeks post-surgery now. Looking forward to getting off the damn crutches. I don't have your email, otherwise I might be able to come up with a list of questions. But I'll keep checking back for a new post! Hope you foot/knee gets resolved. Cheers, Eric

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  7. Hey Eric,

    Good to hear you are on your way. I have often thought about posting an update but my progress has been so up and down with my toe, foot, knee, etc..that I have just held off. The hip is solid...just trying to rebuild and sure-up the mechanics of the whole body. I will start posting small updates. mattlonergan1@gmail.com. Thanks

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