I joined Ortho as a PT in our CB clinic in 2022. In my spare time, I’m very active. I have been a runner off and on since I was a kid, but I really took off in 2018 and ran my first ultra-marathons in 2020. I ran multiple ultra-distance events every year for the next couple of years and decided to try my first 100K in 2024. I completed Zion Ultra 100K on April 14, 2024. After taking a full week off, I did a couple of easy runs/walks. The first 2 were fine, but on my third run, I felt a twinge in my left hip. I was able to finish my 5K run/walk, but by the next morning, the pain was significantly worse, and it hurt to walk.
I saw Dr. Heiden and Dr. Hall for conservative management, initially suspecting a proximal hamstring injury. When that didn’t improve after a month, I got an MRI. I was surprised to learn that my hamstring was fine, but I had a labral tear with cam and pincer impingement. I couldn’t run a mile without significant pain and dysfunction, so I elected to have surgery with Dr. Burt and Brooke W. for a labral repair on August 8, 2024.
I mostly treated myself, but I saw Levi Loper for occasional PT check-ins and testing to monitor my recovery. I was cleared to start running again at the end of October 2024. I took it very slowly and methodically. Tanner Weibelhaus assisted with occasional dry needling sessions, as soft tissue irritability was occasionally problematic with increasing mileage and returning to uneven terrain on the trails. I completed a marathon distance during a road training run with friends in October 2025 and decided it was time to put an official ultra on my running calendar.
In early April, nearly 20 months after my surgery and almost 2 years after my last ultra, I completed Rockin K 50K in Ellsworth, Kansas. I ran 32+ miles with >4600 feet of elevation in 8 hours and 43 minutes. I had only a couple of twinges in my hip, but nothing that lingered. I know I have more training to do to get back to the level I was at pre-injury, but I am already excited for my next run… after another week or two off for recovery!
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