From Hip Dysplasia to Half Marathon: Wren's Inspiring Comeback

As someone in their early 20s training for a half marathon, I wasn’t expecting to find out I may not be able to run again. Whilst running along the Darebin Creek Trail in 2021 I began feeling extreme pain in the front of my hip. I thought “oh I’ve just strained a muscle”. But after having a limp, ongoing pain for over 3 months and still attempting to run (physios are the worst patients), I finally went to get my hip looked at.

After seeing my physiotherapist and a sports physician, I was diagnosed with labral tear and hip dysplasia. Hip dysplasia is when the hip socket is too shallow to support the head of the femur. Because of this, the hip doesn’t move as smoothly as normal, causing pain and can also tear the cartilage surrounding the hip socket. If left untreated, the joint can deteriorate further and lead to an early onset of osteoarthritis. I was referred to an orthopaedic surgeon who explained that if we repair my tear, the likelihood of retear was high based on the position of my hip. Furthermore, I was at risk of a total hip replacement before I was 30 if I didn’t get corrective surgery. Thus, a long journey of recovery began.

I completed extensive prehab to strengthen my hip, focusing on glute, quad and deep hip muscle strength. In February 2023 I underwent 2 surgeries to repair my labral tear and to fix the socket alignment. I was on crutches for 12 weeks which drove me insane. I spent most of my time in the pool making friends with the water aerobics ladies, on the exercise bike and watching the entirety of Netflix. Once off the crutches, I started building as much strength as possible alongside my physiotherapist.

I found Pilates and hydrotherapy were great methods to gain strength as I could exercise without overloading my hip. Although I was on track with my recovery, my surgeon and physio said I would need to continue building strength and stability in my hip to be able to run, and it was unlikely I would be able to run long distances again.

However, through consistency and hard work, by December 2023, I was back running. My physio provided me with a return to running program, which involved short interval training on grass with a focus on my running biomechanics and technique. This has slowly built-up overtime and I have now begun training for another half marathon this year.

If I look back at 2021, I had lost hope that I would be able to keep an active lifestyle, nevertheless, I am able to continue doing the things I love because I was consistent with my program and motivated to get stronger. Moral of the story; do your physio exercises.