Gluteus Maximus tear

Posted by taylorbj @taylorbj, Jun 16 7:13pm

I have a very significant tear of the gluteus medius tendon along with a labrum tear.
I was told it was bursitis for 20 years, but it just continued to get worse until someone decided to do an MRI.
It is done with open surgery and the recovery is difficult. You are not weight-bearing for six weeks as anyone else had this type of surgery and what was the outcome

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@taylorbj

I was told I don’t need hip replacement but if I did it would be a much easier surgery!

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I think hip replacement is easier but you have to be a certain age for insurance ti pay and mostly they are good for about 15 years and hard to replace more than once. Age is a big factor. My fear is he won't fo one and wants to continue more PT. I've been in PT for 5 months getting worse as I think its tearing more.
Best of luck. I hopefully find out more this week or next.

Thing is I fell and I really wasn't expecting to end up with a hip replacement because of it. It was NOT on my to-do list esp since I need my knee done on that same side. Not looking forward to this but am looking forward to just my normal pain.

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@taylorbj

Ann,
Thank you so much for your reply. I am not sure which way to go at this point.Pain is excruciating, I have been doing PT for 2 months but not really any better. I am going to speak to Regenerative Medicine Dr and see if stem cells would possibly work. I am a very active 72 year old and not ready to sit in a rocking chair yet.
Warmest regards,
Brenda

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I would definitely stay proactive. One thing about the care is that each doctor may only focus on a specific area, though some crossover. For example, my orthopod (the nonsurgical orthopedic) may see the "bigger picture" as would, say the physical medicine and rehab specialists. None of what you shared was a big surprise. It took awhile for my current "pain in the butt", if you will, to get addressed. This might have been decades in the making so I won't attribute it to medicine - maybe the way that some work in silos and technology was not good enough to identify the problem. The surgeons (depending on the practice) may only focus on specific areas, i.e. hip replacement and preservation vs knee, although surgeons are trained in (all joint areas) for example. I went through multiple PT sessions and orthos from other practices. They all had something to offer. With the last one, I still had a problem and laughed at the possibility of being on crutches. (I am known as the ever-ready bunny at work). Here I am, post-surgery, except for the surgical site, it's looking good! I had calcifications in the hamstring/tendon. So, learn from your providers and let them learn from you and the outcome will certainly head in the right direction. And YES, you are still young! Motion is Lotion! (I did Plasma Rich Protein, not stem cells for my knees, and it seemed to be good-again I was proactive with it.)
Best!

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@bebold

I think hip replacement is easier but you have to be a certain age for insurance ti pay and mostly they are good for about 15 years and hard to replace more than once. Age is a big factor. My fear is he won't fo one and wants to continue more PT. I've been in PT for 5 months getting worse as I think its tearing more.
Best of luck. I hopefully find out more this week or next.

Thing is I fell and I really wasn't expecting to end up with a hip replacement because of it. It was NOT on my to-do list esp since I need my knee done on that same side. Not looking forward to this but am looking forward to just my normal pain.

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I must be in the "right" place. With all of the accumulating injuries, something was needing to be done. I am glad I did. I had one of those "stay off that leg" for six weeks. It is not as bad as I thought it would be but I will be glad when the area heals to a safe point to move more my way.

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@rmkolassa2023

I had surgery twice to repair the tears. Both of them failed. Decided not to do anything anymore and just put up with it.

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Did you have your surgery at Mayo and what tendons were torn?
What is your mobility and pain level now you have decided on no more surgery?

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@annshrader

I would definitely stay proactive. One thing about the care is that each doctor may only focus on a specific area, though some crossover. For example, my orthopod (the nonsurgical orthopedic) may see the "bigger picture" as would, say the physical medicine and rehab specialists. None of what you shared was a big surprise. It took awhile for my current "pain in the butt", if you will, to get addressed. This might have been decades in the making so I won't attribute it to medicine - maybe the way that some work in silos and technology was not good enough to identify the problem. The surgeons (depending on the practice) may only focus on specific areas, i.e. hip replacement and preservation vs knee, although surgeons are trained in (all joint areas) for example. I went through multiple PT sessions and orthos from other practices. They all had something to offer. With the last one, I still had a problem and laughed at the possibility of being on crutches. (I am known as the ever-ready bunny at work). Here I am, post-surgery, except for the surgical site, it's looking good! I had calcifications in the hamstring/tendon. So, learn from your providers and let them learn from you and the outcome will certainly head in the right direction. And YES, you are still young! Motion is Lotion! (I did Plasma Rich Protein, not stem cells for my knees, and it seemed to be good-again I was proactive with it.)
Best!

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Ann,
Maybe I missed something in your comment but did you have 3 torn tendons in the hip as I have?

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@taylorbj

Did you have your surgery at Mayo and what tendons were torn?
What is your mobility and pain level now you have decided on no more surgery?

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It was the two tendons by my hip. No I did not have the surgery done at Mayo. My pain level isn’t too bad.

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@taylorbj

Ann,
Maybe I missed something in your comment but did you have 3 torn tendons in the hip as I have?

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I has a grade I tear in the hamstring (singular) that did not heal correctly. As a result I had calcifications build up in the hamstring and tendon. I had surgery to repair and debride (remove calcifications) and have the tendon (proximal side) reattached with an anchor.

Your situation sounds a bit more extensive.

My situation likely involves other areas (like you yourself are experiencing). The hamstring became important to treat after I had a bursa injection. The injection corrected a "leg length discrepancy" but made the underlying issue more acute.

The human body has ways to adapt as best as possible - we don't completely understand why but it does.

Some days I feel like I am in the movie "The Money Pit" (Tom Hanks)! It is work in progress. Glad to say it is progress!
Best!

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@rmkolassa2023

It was the two tendons by my hip. No I did not have the surgery done at Mayo. My pain level isn’t too bad.

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How long ago did you have your surgery and what was your experience like after as far as pain and mobility goes????

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@dlydailyhope

I have not had surgery but recently found out my hip/buttock pain was tied to bilateral gluteal tendinopathy (medius right/minimus left) plus bilateral hamstring high grade partial tears. I have no idea how this happened. I also have cervical and lumbar stenosis and DDD and I had to take myself to a hip specialist to find out what was causing my hip/buttock pain. I was told I need to do PT to heal and get the muscles stronger.

Do you have full tears in your gluteal tendons which is why they are recommending surgery? Are you going to seek a 2nd opinion before going the surgery route? I am surprised no one suggested a hip/pelvis MRI sooner.

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Could you (or anyone else) tell me what the name of the surgery is to repair hamstring or tendon tears? I have significant stenosis and a herniated disc and lots of pain in pelvis, butt, hamstrings, calves and feet, and physicians just keep throwing pain meds at me. Also have done PT to no avail where the pain is concerned. I suspect I have tears, but no one will do an MRI on me because of a complication with my pacemaker leads. The only surgeon I consulted wanted to do a spinal fusion because of the disc problem, and I know instinctively that will not solve my problems. I would like to consult another surgeon re: the kinds of surgeries you are talking about.

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@bayhorse

Could you (or anyone else) tell me what the name of the surgery is to repair hamstring or tendon tears? I have significant stenosis and a herniated disc and lots of pain in pelvis, butt, hamstrings, calves and feet, and physicians just keep throwing pain meds at me. Also have done PT to no avail where the pain is concerned. I suspect I have tears, but no one will do an MRI on me because of a complication with my pacemaker leads. The only surgeon I consulted wanted to do a spinal fusion because of the disc problem, and I know instinctively that will not solve my problems. I would like to consult another surgeon re: the kinds of surgeries you are talking about.

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@bayhorse
I also have lumbar spinal stenosis L3-S1 (severe at L4-L5) and degenerative disc disease. My disc bulges and stenosis is pressing on spinal cord and nerve roots causing sciatica pain. This pain is in my lower back, hips, buttocks, legs and into feet. It is on both sides. In addition to pain, I also have numbness and weakness that runs from my lower back to my feet. This is in addition to my cervical stenosis and myelopathy which caused residual problems in arms/hands/legs/feet and bladder despite ACDF surgery c5-c6. Spinal cord and nerve injuries can become permanent so need to address sooner rather than later.

I was told my gluteal and hamstring partial tears will heal on their own with PT over time (they take a while to heal). My thoughts are that the pain/weakness/numbness in back/buttocks/hips/legs may have contributed to me tearing my tendons in the first place. I have an appointment with my spine surgeon this week to talk about lumbar spine surgery on L3-L5 and he may recommend laminectomy and fusion plus foraminotomy to widen openings for L5 nerve roots which are being compressed.

You may not need hamstring surgery but may want to consider spine surgery if you have exhausted all treatments with no improvement of symptoms. I have done spinal injections, low dose gabapentin, NSAIDs/tylenol, pain patches and my symptoms are making daily tasks difficult (hard to sit, stand, walk for long and pain can range from 4-9 on a scale of 10. The spine may be the main culprit behind your symptoms.

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