Hip Arthroscopic Surgery

A hip arthroscopy, or arthroscopic surgery, can be a minimally invasive surgical procedure that is used to diagnose and/or treat hip conditions. If a doctor is unable to make a diagnosis following a physical exam, x-ray, and/or MRI, an arthroscopy may be performed to get a better look inside the hip joint so a diagnosis can be made.

Depending on the severity and type of injury and the age and activity level of the patient, hip arthroscopic surgery may be required for repair if nonsurgical treatments have not shown improvement in pain, range of motion and other symptoms.

A hip arthroscopy is usually performed with the patient under general anaesthetic. During surgery, tiny incisions (1/4" - 1/3") are made to insert the surgical instruments and a small arthroscopic camera that provides an internal view of the location of the surgery.

Arthroscopic surgery is also used to treat the knee, rotator cuff and other joint, however, the hip is a deeper joint and it can be difficult to insert the instruments and camera at the proper location. As a result, thehip joint may be distracted (opened up) by traction so space is created and the instruments can be used without damaging the labrum, cartilage and other soft tissue.

Hip arthroscopic surgery may be used to:

• Make a diagnosis for pain in the hip, groin or thigh.
• Remove torn pieces or cartilage or loose bone fragments in the joint.
• Remove or repair a tear in the acetabular labrum.
• Shave a bone spur that is causing impingement.
• Suture and repair a torn teres ligament or iliopsoas tendon.
• Remove or repair something that may be catching causing snapping hip syndrome.
• Perform a psoas tendon release to treat internal snapping hip syndrome.
• Repair an artery or other tissue damaged during a fracture.

Arthroscopic Surgery Recovery

If arthroscopic surgery is necessary, proper post-surgery rehabilitation is very important, perhaps even more important than the surgery itself. The post-operative recovery and rehabilitation program will depend on the type of surgery that was performed and the health of the patient. Most patients can leave the hospital the same day using crutches or a cane. Crutches may be required for a several days but weight can usually be placed on the leg immediately. You will be required to follow up with your surgeon and a physical therapist and they will advise you on your recovery. Activities should focus on reducing pain, promoting healing, improving flexibility, and strengthening the hip and leg muscles.

Recovery time from hip arthroscopic surgery depends on the amount of work that was completed, but usually it takes anywhere from 6-12 weeks. As with many injuries, it is preferable to avoid surgery at all costs. However, if surgery is necessary, you can take steps prior to and following the procedure to minimize tissue damage, pain and scar tissue and drastically reduce your recovery time.

Pre-Surgical and Post-Surgical Treatments

Using cold compression, ultrasound therapy and Blood Flow Stimulation Therapy^™ (BFST^®) before surgery will help to reduce the symptoms of pain and inflammation. This will make it easier for you to continue with your everyday activities with less pain while you await surgery.

In addition, these 3 therapies will reduce damage to the tissue and help to keep your hip joint as healthy as possible. This is beneficial for 2 reasons. First, with less inflammation and healthier tissue in the joint, the surgery will be less invasive and will require less time to heal. More importantly, it will minimize your risk of suffering future hip conditions such as arthritis, osteoarthritis, bursitis (a common condition immediately following surgery due to irritation during the procedure) and other chronic hip conditions. Following surgery, continued use of these therapies will result in a faster recovery and more complete healing.

Not only will ultrasound reduce hip pain and inflammation in your joint, but it will help increase the range of motion, reduce post-operative scar tissue and increase flexibility in the surrounding muscles, tendons and ligaments. Ask your physical therapist about ultrasound and if it's right for your recovery! As with all medical devices, make sure your physician is aware of any treatment plan you decide to take.

Freezie Wrap^® Cold Compression Therapy

Within the first 72 hours of an injury and following surgery, cold compression therapy is recommended to reduce pain, swelling and tissue damage. In addition, on-going cold compression treatments can reduce, or even eliminate, the need for NSAIDs that can be harmful to your body.

The Back/Hip Freezie Wrap^® is the cold compression tool you need for your post-surgical recovery, to treat your hip in an effective and convenient way. It is so versatile you can also use it to treat any pain you may be experiencing in your back or legs.

The Back/Hip Freezie Wrap^® uses a supercharged cooling gel pack, that chills in the fridge, not in the freezer like ice or other freezer packs, giving you deep cold therapy without the risk of 'cold burns' or cryoburn. The medical-grade wrap delivers cold right where you need it.

Cold compression therapy works by interrupting and slowing nerve and cell function in the injured area and reducing swelling that can block blood vessels. This is important because once blood vessels are blocked or damaged, they can no longer carry oxygen and nutrients to your hip and tissue cells begin to break-down. Without cold compression therapy, cellular break-down and tissue damage continues because the cells do not get the oxygen they need to survive.

By limiting the amount of damage done to your tissue, you limit the amount of healing that needs to occur. This is a very important step to heal your hip faster and with less pain!

Ultrasound Therapy

Ultrasound therapy helps increase the range of motion in your joint, reduces post operative scar tissue and increases flexibility in the surrounding muscles, tendons and ligaments.

Once your incision has healed, ultrasound therapy is a great therapeutic option to increase tissue elasticity of the tendons and ligaments while slightly increasing blood flow to your hip joint. This cleans the injured area by flushing away damaged tissue and reducing the inflammation while opening up the blood vessels to improve healing.

Not only does ultrasound aid in the duration of healing, but it helps to prevent long term complications. Osteoarthritis, chronic pain, reduced range of motion, and bursitis are some of the more common long term complications that can occur following hip surgery. By treating your acetabular joint with ultrasound, scar tissue becomes softer and the other joint tissue becomes stronger reducing the risk of chronic problems in the future.

If you are experiencing pain in your back, knee, ankle or leg because of your hip injury, you can use therpeutic ultrasound to treat these areas as well. When the hip is weaker due to surgery or injury, you often readjust your posture and gait to take the pressure off your sore side. This puts extra pressure on other parts of your body and can cause strain. Using a home ultrasound you can treat all the areas that need to heal easily and help you maintain a healthier body.

During the healing process, scar tissue builds up to 'repair' the damaged tissue. Unfortunately, scar tissue can bind the acetabular labrum, articular cartilage, ligaments and other tissue together within the joint. The inflexible scar tissue limits the movement of these connective tissues that were once elastic and gave your hip its stability and range of motion. As a result, movement of the entire joint is limited making it difficult to rotate your hip and lift your leg. If scar tissue is left untreated, your hip may stiffen making movement difficult and in some cases, impossible. At the very least, scar tissue leaves your hip joint weaker, making your hip more prone to further injury. Fortunately, you can treat your hip joint with MendMeShop^® Ultrasound to soften scar tissue and improve the motion and flexibility in your hip.

Ultrasound can also be used to administer therapeutic medicines into the body. This is a process known as phonophoresis. Ultrasound with phonophoresis is rapidly becoming more popular than ultrasound therapy alone.

MendMeShop^® Ultrasound Therapy with phonophoresis is safe, convenient, and easy and requires 10 minutes per treatment. It is based on a form of deep tissue therapy, which is generated through high frequency sound waves (that we can not hear). These waves send micro vibrations into your body and carry medicated molecules within the ultrasound gel deep into your soft tissue to enhance your ultrasound therapy. Ultrasound waves and medicated ultrasound gel penetrate deep to relax your muscles, decrease inflammation and accelerate your recovery rate, so you can return to your daily activities as soon as possible.

Using MendMeShop^® Lavender Infusion Ultrasound Gel during your ultrasound therapy gives you 2 therapies in 1. You get the benefit of the regenerating sound waves from the ultrasound device itself AND the added bonus of the therapeutic ingredients inside the gel being delivered into your hip joint where it is most effective. 1 FREE bottle of MendMeShop^® Lavender Infusion Ultrasound Gel comes with every MendMeShop^® Ultrasound Therapy System and it contains the therapeutic essential oils of natural Bulgarian lavender, peppermint, eucalyptus, and menthol.

Inferno Wrap^® Blood Flow Stimulation Therapy^™

To complete your arthroscopic surgery recovery, it is important to heal the tissue in your hip completely and improve strength in the entire hip area and upper leg. Improving blood flow to nourish your hip, lower back, upper leg and surrounding tissue is recommended. Using blood flow stimulation therapy will speed your recovery and heal your acetabular joint more completely preparing it for strengthening exercises. Talk to your doctor or physical therapist to find out which exercises are appropriate for your situation.

When you stop moving your acetabular joint because it is injured or sore from surgery the blood flow to the hip is reduced. Less movement limits your body's natural ability to heal itself.

Increasing the amount of blood to the tendons, muscles, acetabular labrum, and the rest of the hip joint is essential to heal the tissue and speed surgical recovery.

By treating your hip joint with BFST^® you can increase your body's blood supply to the hip and increase your body's natural healing power.

A Back/Hip Inferno Wrap^® is the tool you need for post-operative recovery. With BFST^®, tissues are safely and gently stimulated. Your body responds with a rapid increase in blood flow to the area, increasing the supply of oxygen and nutrients to repair damaged tissue cells. The Back/Hip Inferno Wrap^® from MendMeShop^® provides effective, non-invasive, non-addictive pain relief and healing with no side effects.

In addition, the improved blood flow helps reduce the risk of atrophy (muscle weakness and/or deterioration) in your muscles. When you stop moving your leg and hip due to pain, your muscles and other tissue can become weaker and dead cells and toxins in the area can cause further tissue deterioration - this can lead to atrophy in your quadriceps, hamstrings and other leg muscles. The Back/Hip Inferno Wrap^® can also be used to treat your back, leg and other body parts with BFST^®. It is an amazing healing tool that can be used to treat your entire body.

By clearing the area of toxins and increasing the amount of oxygen and nutrients to your muscle and tendon tissue, the risk of atrophy is greatly reduced. Keeping your upper leg and hip joint tissue as healthy as possible throughout the healing process will allow you to improve hip strength again once your pain has gone and your injury has healed.

With these 3 easy-to-use, pain-free, home therapies from MendMyHip, pain is significantly reduced, tissue heals faster, and there's an incredible improvement in the range of motion of your hip. The more diligent you are with your treatment and rehabilitation, the faster you will see successful results!

We've helped thousands of people treat their painful injuries and conditions to get them back on the road to a pain-free life!

Our customers have tried other common hip treatments, such as cortisone injections, pain killers, physical therapy, NSAIDs, and simply staying off their feet to give their hip the rest it needs, all without lasting results - until they found our incredible therapies! In addition, our customers include physicians, professional athletes, sports trainers and coaches, physical therapists, and nurses. These professionals rely on products from MendMyHip to treat their patients, players, and themselves. Click here to read more about their experience with MendMyHip!

Please be aware that this information is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. CALL YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER IMMEDIATELY IF YOU THINK YOU MAY HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider before using any of our outstanding products to make sure they're right for you and your condition or if you have any questions regarding a medical condition. It is recommended that you see your doctor for a proper diagnosis as there are many injuries and conditions that could be the cause of your pain.

Or email us at service@MendMyHip.com