Oh, how sweet it would be to have a healthy, normal hip joint - hip joints, actually. I have to remind myself from time to time that both of my hips are abnormal. Because even though it's mainly my right hip that is symptomatic, my left hip is a little stiff and does not have the range of motion of a normal hip.
So, yeah, it would be great - stupendous is more like it - to have normal, fully-functioning hip joints. And being that I am a pretty active guy who likes to hit the gym and push myself physically, my hips are always quick to remind me that they are not always happy with my rigorous and active lifestyle.
When I was a young teenager, I was diagnosed with a fairly common adolescent hip disorder called Slipped Capital Femoral Epiphysis, which is basically a disorder affecting the growth plate of the leg bone, or femur.
With Slipped Capital Femoral Epiphysis, the top of the femur, or femoral head, slips along the growth plate, which is the separation point between the femoral head and the lower leg. A common analogy used to describe this condition is that of a scoop of ice cream sliding down an ice cream cone!
Although treatment is fairly straightforward - insertion of metal pins and/or screws into the femur to stabilize the bone - the condition is not really cured but only stabilized. And therein lays the main problem.
When the pins are inserted into the femoral head to prevent further slippage, the hip doesn't get put back into its normal position. The hip heals “in-situ” or in its present location. The hip itself is left with a permanent bony deformity; the angle and the biomechanics of the hip are altered, and this places increased stress and load on the hip.
A person who had Slipped Capital Femoral Epiphysis as a child is generally at an increased risk of developing degenerative joint disease, or osteoarthritis, of the hip.
And my right hip is already in the degenerative phase. The femoral head is flattened on top, whereas a healthy hip joint is round and smooth, and the joint space has narrowed somewhat. It's only a matter of time before I will have to have my faulty hip joint cut out and replaced with an artificial one.
But until that day, I will continue to do what I've been doing for years: pursue as active a lifestyle as I possibly can.
On good days, which are greatly outnumbered by the bad days, I can do just about anything. I can run, I can hike, I can lift weights, and I can play sports. On bad days, especially really bad days, I can do little more than shuffle around as I look for a nice comfy spot on the sofa, all the while envying those able-bodied people with their smooth, well-oiled, and strong hip joints that effortlessly take them wherever they wish to go!
So yeah, it's a tough thing to put up with at such a young age - I'm going to be thirty-four this coming August. There's nothing quite as humbling as having a physical infirmity at an age when most individuals are in their physical primes.
Sure, I'd give almost anything to have a normal set of pain-free hips. In fact, I lie awake at night often fantasizing about how much easier and joyous my life would be if I didn't have to put up with chronic pain, stiffness, and mobility issues due to my faulty hip joints.
For those of you with normal hips, I envy you. For those of you with bad, painful, or diseased hip joints, I feel your pain and can readily identify with your struggle!
Keep fighting the good fight!
