"If it's not broken, why is it still hurting you?", were the texts I received from both my sister and husband minutes after sending them my elated, "My hip isn't broken anymore!!!" text sitting in the exam room of my ortho's office. I hadn't actually seen the doctor yet, but had asked the intake nurse to print out the most recent MRI report for me as quick as she said hello. Happiness & relief filled my heart when the "impressions" section read, "No sign of fracture or necrosis". This was a good thing b/c both were present on my MRI from a few months ago. In my relief and happiness I skipped over the section that said, "fluid visible..."
After receiving those back-to-back texts from husband and sister, and after exchanging quick pleasantries with my otho, I demanded, "if it's not broken, why does it still hurt?" Just FYI, the hurt has definitely improved. What was once a sharp, catch-your-breath, grit your teeth kind of pain has dulled to a steady ache that worsens if I step wrong or wear high heels. My ortho smiled, pointed me to the section of the MRI report that I had skipped over, and said cheerfully, "See how much swelling there still is? Your hip won't start to feel better for another 3-6 months". We then went on to negotiate a rehab program that would allow me to ease back into running ending with a stern raised-eyebrow warning, "You don't want this to happen again, do you?"
Well, orthos know best and he was right. I ran a bit on the treadmill the next day (very slowly as instructed) and while my hip didn't hurt while running, it ached for days afterwards. My rehab program will likely be even slower than anticipated. Despite that, I'm okay with it simply because I have an explanation.
As a Christian, I am okay accepting things on faith. In fact, I daresay my faith has more of an impact on me than explanations. However, as far as my once-broken-now-healed-but-still-hurting-hip goes, having an explanation was a very good thing!
