Sometimes You Have to be Your Own Advocate
Over the last two weeks, my hamstring has been getting worse, not better. The pain and feeling of hamstring tearing off of bone has really started interfering with my everyday normal activities. Even staying off of my feet hurts now. Sometimes, I can't even get comfortable laying in bed.
On the Nirschl Phase Rating Scale above, I was at a 6. I would eventually fall asleep after I got into a position that minimized the pain.
One night when I was laying there in pain, I decided to do some research of my own on surgical repair of partial hamstring tears. This was desperation for me.
All of the literature I read previously discussed surgery for complete ruptures (tears) of the proximal hamstring tendon. This basically means that surgery is typically only done when the hamstring pulls completely off of the bone. Luckily, this is not the case for me yet. Having said that though, what the hell is going on? Why am I not healing? I just spent close to a grand on a PRP procedure that hasn't done anything. Something's gotta give.
I was fortunate enough to find several articles and a few websites explaining instances where partial tears were successfully repaired with surgery. Here are a few of them:
British Journal of Sports Medicine
American Journal of Sports Medicine
They all sounded promising, so I made an appointment with my doctor for today, and brought in all of my research. The fact that I'm in the medical profession and know what kind of literature is reputable definitely helps. I told Dr. Sherman that I'm a huge nerd, did my own research, and brought prmary literature to show him. He was glad I did! He read through what I showed him, and realized that the more typical and conservative treatment options have failed and we need to start pursuing a more aggressive treatment option.
I had a negative MRI in June, but things have gotten significantly worse since then, so he ordered another one. He is also going to consult with a surgeon he has worked with before about me. Here is the surgeon:
Here is the practice he works in:
The MRI will hopefully be done this week, and we'll go from there. I will keep you guys posted as I find out more.
Thanks for being there for me through all of this you guys. Your support has meant the world to me!
Has anyone had any experience with this office? Please leave a comment below if you have.
Happy Trails!
Stacey
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