Medical Reports: Fixing Mystery Pain

WSVN -- On this court Costen Irons is king. He's a stand-out athlete, but couldn't go the extra mile thanks to years of chronic hip and groin pain.

Costen Irons: "I'd play through the pain, but the rest of my life I was always looking where can I sit down?"

Costen had surgery, but the pain persisted.

Costen Irons: "I went back to the surgeon and he said you're crazy, this is great and you shouldn't have any pain."

Dr. Allston Stubbs: "A lot of our patients have had symptoms for many years. They many times have had other diagnoses for their pain."

The problem for many is a hidden hip injury. It's when the cartilage that seals and stabilizes the hip joint breaks away and gets pinched in the socket.

Dr. Allston Stubbs: "The analogy I often use is the thorn in the lion's paw."

The area is buried beneath muscles, tendons and ligaments so it's often overlooked and misdiagnosed. Many times it leads to unnecessary surgery.

Dr. Allston Stubbs: "In the female population, they may have had hysterectomies."

Now, Dr. Stubbs has come up with a way to fix the problem. He makes two dime-sized incisions and shaves the bone and socket so they fit together without pinching. He re-attaches the cartilage with stitches to promote new bone growth.

This year, the surgery helped Yankee's star Alex Rodriguez and Philadelphia Phillie Chase Utley costen is grateful he finally found a solution to his pain.

Costen Irons: "As soon as I had the surgery, there were movements I could do."

He may never make it to the pros, but this elementary school gym teacher is just happy to be back on the court and doing what he loves

Richard Lemus: "The surgery is usually reserved for people who don't improve with physical therapy and injections.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Ann Hopkins
Public Relations
Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center
ahopkins@wfubmc.edu