Went in for my first physical therapy (PT) appointment today. She did a number of position and strength tests on my legs. She noted my right leg feels “looser” and weaker compared to my left leg, and she noted swelling in the upper thigh. Her conclusion was that I have a Grade II strain on my Adductor Longus muscle near the groin. I asked her about a possible torn hip labrum. She stated that the symptoms are very similar, and she can’t rule it out completely without an MRI, but she says there is typically a clicking sensation in the hip with certain movements that she didn’t feel when manipulating my leg. Plus, when she did some deep tissue pressure points, she definitely was able to trigger the pain when palpating the muscle’s origin at the groin. This makes me very happy as a muscle strain heals a lot quicker than a torn hip labrum, meaning I’ll probably be able to be hiking again next season.
I am a little skeptical, however, because it’s been three months since the initial injury and, while I do have much improvement since July, I feel a muscle strain would be further along in healing after three months than what I currently feel. The therapist theory on this is that, after my initial injury, the pain was completely gone after 2 weeks but then I went out and reinjured it again on the PCT. Then the pain was much better at the end of July but, when I started working again in August, it came back. Basically, I haven’t given my hip enough rest to fully recover. She stated the hip is used constantly so it is more difficult to rest appropriately in comparison to an ankle or knee so it can take longer to heal. My other skepticism is that muscle strains tend to have a sudden onset of pain, my pain comes on slowly and grows, which is a typical symptom of a torn hip labrum.
But I am crossing my fingers that my therapist is right and I am wrong! In the meantime, I am to continue icing the area and take ibuprofen, she recommended compression shorts to support the muscle, and to be conscientious of activities that would inflame the area such as stairs. She thought road cycling would be OK as long as I didn’t do aggressive turns (mountain biking) and stopped before the area started hurting. I will be going to PT approximately twice a week, not sure for how long yet. My next appointment will be focused on learning strengthening and stretching exercises to do at home.
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