Staying on the move is great for our overall health
especially when we're doing something we love.
And that's why it's important to speak up,
if pain is slowing you down.
That advice is what our first guest
hopes you'll take to heart.
So let's find out what it took to get her back
on the dance floor, after dealing with some hip pain.
(upbeat music)
- [Jane] Dancing is Abby Ventura's passion.
- [Abby] It was a way for me to escape from the world.
It helps me stay calm, it helps me stay leveled as well.
Even if I had a bad day, I'm able to go into the studio
and work those issues out through dance.
- [Jane] But a few years ago,
she had a detour in her dance career
when she started to experience some hip pain.
- It felt like a sharp pain
as well as sometimes a clicking sound.
In the beginning, I kind of ignored it.
Dancers tend to just ignore their pain.
- [Jane] But that pain got worse
and started to impact her life more and more.
- [Abby] Every time I would hit the ground
with my flamenco shoe or the heels,
a sharp pain would kind of shoot up in that section
or in my hip.
I started to see my dancing suffering.
I realized that I needed to get this fixed.
- [Jane] So Abby went to the doctor and after some testing,
was eventually diagnosed with a labrum tear.
Labrum tears may be common,
but everyone might not know what they are.
So here to explain it all is Dr. Shah
from Advocate Illinois Masonic.
Dr. Shah, first of all, what is a labrum tear?
- A hip labrum is a cartilage structure that sits
kind of on the rim of the socket
of the ball and socket joint, which is the hip joint.
And a labrum tear is a tear
to that cartilage structure in the hip.
- So how common is a labrum tear?
- We're seeing hip labrum tears
more and more often nowadays.
It can be as high as about 22% of athletes with hip pain
that have labrum tears.
We find that patients who are both athletic
and patients who are kind of recreational active folks,
can have labrum tears.
- So we may have some hip pain.
Is that the first signal that something might be wrong?
- No, the symptoms for a hip labrum tear can be hip pain.
Symptoms that can come about down the road,
are things that involve pain along with catching or locking
or the hip giving way, or just the general feeling
like the hip is unstable.
A test that we oftentimes do when we're suspicious
of a hip labrum tear is an MRI arthrogram of the hip joint.
Most patients that have hip labrum tears and are diagnosed
we try to do non-operative care.
Usually a combination of physical therapy
anti-inflammatories,
and then some patients may warrant a hip injection.
Some of those patients
where non-operative treatment hasn't worked,
we move on to surgical treatment.
- What was done for Abigail?
- Abigail required hip arthroscopic surgery.
So stitches that are placed around the labrum,
and then we tack that labrum back down to the rim
where it belongs.
Subsequently we do some boning work
that involves shaving the edge of the bone
so it does not cause a labrum tear to reoccur.
Abigail is currently recovering very well
and I hope to see her dancing relatively soon.
- [Jane] Abby hopes her story will inspire others
to seek help quickly if they experience hip pain
- Right now, I'm feeling pretty good.
I can now do the basic things,
walking up and down my stairs without pain,
sitting down on the ground
and getting back up without pain as well.
It's not the end and you can absolutely move forward,
as soon as you feel something wrong,
just go see someone about it.
- If you have hip pain, then it is a very good idea
for you to be evaluated by a physician.
The second thing which I think is also very important
is prevention is really the best cure in healthcare.
Make sure that you stretch before you're active.
And make sure that your hip muscles remain strong
in terms of avoiding stress in the hip joint,
which could result in a hip labrum tear.