#190 - Abby Bennett, The Journey Back From Hip Labrum Surgery

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A “clean” MRI can still leave you limping, doubting yourself, and stuck in the worst kind of uncertainty: pain without answers. James sits down with Abby Bennett for a candid, detailed update on her long road to a hip labral repair and what she wishes she knew from day one.

Abby unpacks how her injury started as a weird, persistent fatigue in one leg, then escalated into deep hip pain that spread through her glute, adductors, and hamstring as her body tried to stabilize an unstable joint. We dig into why her first 1.5T MRI missed the problem, how a hip preservation specialist used better imaging and a full workup to identify labral instability plus pincer impingement, and what her surgery included: labral anchors, shaving the impingement to prevent re-tearing, and a psoas tendon lengthening that changes the rehab timeline for athletes who live in hip flexion.

We also go beyond anatomy and talk about the mental weight of chronic pain, identity loss when training disappears, and the small wins that bring you back: conservative PT, pool work, short Zwift spins, strict boundaries to avoid flare-ups, and recovery basics like hitting protein goals and using collagen with vitamin C before rehab. If you’re a runner, trail runner, cyclist, or skimo athlete dealing with stubborn hip pain, this is a practical guide to advocating for the right care.

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