Joe A Shaw PA-C - 3/7/2012

Question
Hi There,

i have had left hip pain for 2 years now. I'm not sure how it happened but i noticed it during a training run for a marathon. (I was very active (up to 1 year ago when the pain was too much), completing 5 marathons,regular competitve golf (3 handicap), cycling and general gym work. I'm 29 male.

The pain i am feeling is a deep pain towards the hip joint, i can't sit or drive comfortably for more than 10 minutes as there is a horrible deep pinching/scratching like pain in the hip. After sleep the hip is also usually throbbing when just laying down. The pain does tend to radiate all around the hip, tfl muscle.

I had an MR Arthrogram on it in Dec 11 which showed a small Labral Tear and small paralabral cyst. In Feb 12, 5 weeks ago, i had an arthroscopy which the consultant shaved away the tear but left the cyst?? He suggested this should just go away but after some research it seems people have surgery just to remove the cyst.

My question is really just about the cyst. Post Op i have exactly the same symptoms as before so am wondering if this cyst should have been removed and is the source of my pain?

Many Thanks

Stuart

Answer
It may be a little too soon to tell..I would give it several more weeks,with limited weight bearing. Most likely The cyst was a result of the tear..which causes subchondral changes/damage..If not getting better then you may want 2nd opinion to see if cyst should be removed and they may fill in pocket w bone graft if needed..In general Labral tears w/o subchondral damage do better than labral tears with damage as this shows the injury to be more chronic long term.