Dylan’s Story: Hip Rehabilitation during COVID-19

 Dylan’s experience of 2 hip surgeries and how he has kept up with his rehab during COVID-19

Many of the clients we work with at Longevity started with us due to an injury or illness as the focus of their treatment. Some are now considered old wounds – mostly healed that may require some maintenance; some are new flair ups needing new treatment and some are chronic conditions that have and will require ongoing attention for a while.

Longevity Member Dylan and many other health professionals understand these phases all too well as many of us have had our own conditions and injuries to deal with.

 

Getting Diagnosed – “a crazy long name”

For the last 5 years Dylan has experienced chronic hip pain in his left hip. 5 year ago, he was diagnosed with Femoral Acetabular Impingement Syndrome (FAI). At the time he thought it was just a crazy long name to describe the bunch of pain in his hip that didn’t go away at rest, really hurt during activity and wasn’t getting much better with rehabilitation.

During this time Dylan was in the middle finishing his Bachelor’s degree and beginning his Master’s in Clinical Exercise Physiology. More importantly Dylan was still incredibly active at this point, participating in regular resistance training sessions, casual basketball, and amateur mixed martial arts (MMA). These quickly came to a halt when persisting aches, pinching pain and sciatica continued to worsen during all activity. As Dylan has been incredibly active during his whole life, this was a big hit to take. Fear of movement began to set in and anxiety was peaking.

Surgery #1

After many discussions with his Health professionals, surgery was decided as the next step. After an exceptionally long 12 months of waiting and prehabilitation, in 2018, Dylan underwent his first hip surgery. At this point Dylan was an Accredited Exercise Physiologist and his view on treatment changed forever. The first week of incredible pain, the bleeding wounds, repeated changing of dressings and finally being able to stand up in the shower on both legs gave him more insight into a patient’s condition and recovery process more than any textbook or lecture ever could.

Fast forward another 16 months of rehabilitation and it was evident that a second surgery was needed. For the entire 16 months Dylan was feeling better but still not quite right. Consistent pain, fear of movement and anxiety were still high and limiting most of his participation in all these activities he loved. Everyday life including work was always a question of “will this be a good day finally; will I wake up tomorrow and the pain be gone?”

“The first week of incredible pain……gave him more insight into a patient’s condition and recovery process more than any textbook or lecture ever could.”

Surgery #2 and Rehab. during COVID-19

In January 2020 Dylan underwent his second Hip surgery and over the last 4 months Dylan has been rehabilitating well, however definitely understands the difficulty with sticking to home Exercise Programs during Covid-19.

During Covid-19, Dylan has been able to see his Exercise Physiologist once a week and keep up to date with his own EP with the help of his Small rescue cat Gwyn. Dodging all his toys as well as his attempts at attacking Dylan while doing his hip bridges and squats on the couch and hoping he doesn’t shred the TheraBands attached to the chair has made for some great rehab. and stories for his clients.

As is evidenced by Dylan’s experience, it is one thing to have theoretical knowledge of rehabilitation. It is another to have experienced it yourself. Our staff have all had their health challenges and their own experiences fuel their practice and their ability to treat patients as human beings who have their own stories and experiences.

Longevity recruits team members that are resilient and stoic. We look for team members with these attributes and we train our team to treat the physical, psychological, social and emotional aspects of their clients health.

Dylan’s experiences feed his practice. He is recovering well. We believe that Dylan’s experience of challenge and recovery make him a better and well rounded professional.His patients know this first hand.

 

Call Longevity and let us help you with your rehab. story 1300 964 002