At the time writing, I’m a 48-year-old male. Firmly middle aged. And a middle aged man who's had intermittent right hip pain on and off for about the last 12 years.

It’s difficult to pin down exactly when it started. However, in recent years it’s slowly dawned on me that I’ve joined my patients. I now get hip pain.

Maybe once every couple of months, I get a ‘tooth-achy’ groin pain that lasts a day... or three, sometimes a week.

I won’t notice it while I’m out and about doing things. But when I’m lying down or sitting still, it aches and plays on my mind. I’ve had a niggling discomfort over the last few days. However, as I write this this morning, I’m free of pain.

I’ve self-diagnosed my hip pain. Self-diagnosis is never a good idea.

My pain is coming from inflammation in my right hip joint. It's caused by a tear of my labrum- that's the thick rim of tissue that deepens the hip socket and helps lubrication of the joint.

The ‘clicky’ tear is caused by a subtle deformity in the shape of my hip joint. More on those details later.

However, for me, my exact diagnosis- the size and position of my labral tear or the bony deformity that caused it- DOES NOT MATTER.

I’ve not seen a specialist surgical colleague for diagnosis or treatment. Why?

Because what really matters is the level of inflammation inside my hip joint. And what I can do to reduce it. AND what I can do to keep it settled.

How am I going to do that? Well, I’ve come to the realisation that I need to...


Listen to my hip joint.


I need to listen to what the cartilage in my hip joint needs. What that cartilage needs to stay healthy. What it needs to keep inflammation settled
 
If I can do that, then, at least for now, I think I can avoid any kind of treatment or joint replacement.

I can keep living an active life, doing the things that I love. At least for the next thirty years or so. Let's see...


In my day job I perform first time and revision hip replacement. Revision is fixing of changing hip replacements that have either worn out or gone wrong.

And from all that I’ve seen, I intend to stay well away from the hospital or clinic. Well away from any tests or scans. And well away from any orthopaedic surgeons like me.

I should point out that any changes in my own hip are likely to be moderate. And I should point out that if things change or get worse, I'll  rapidly change my plan.

My argument here is not against healthcare per se. It is for healthcare at the right time. Timely healthcare to get the best outcome for me.

In these newsletters I’ll present the evidence. The evidence that, just as people come first in any treatment decision about them, it is people themselves who make the biggest difference to their care.

So, when it comes to my own joint pain, I’ll put off treatment for as long as possible. And I’ll do that by doing the things that make the biggest difference.

And that comes down to listening to my hip joint.

That's what I'm going to do.

One ask: help me to help as many people as possible...

If you know anyone (or anyone who knows anyone) who gets hip or knee pain, please forward this email and recommend they hit the Subscribe button below.

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Thanks :)