Wendy Fail, 39, from Morpeth, is now walking pain free for the first time in three years’.
The visitor & education centre coordinator for Groundwork North East & Cumbria, says she’s “looking forward to sailing and getting active again”, after hip surgery finally brought an end to her constant pain.
Wendy hurt her right hip during a training session for the Great North Run three years ago. Originally dismissing it as a strain that would recover on its own, the pain gradually grew worse and forced her to give up running and her love of sailing.
“My quality of life really dipped,” said Wendy, who sailed across the Atlantic Ocean in 2012 and has successfully completed seven Great North Runs.
“I injured my hip whilst out running; that day my life changed. I have a very active job and I love sports. I went from being active to virtually sedentary overnight. The pain was often unbearable and I was unable to do any form of exercise, it impacted on my work and social life. I was miserable and in constant pain.”
Wendy tried various treatments including cortisone injections which provided temporary relief before the pain returned and left her seeking a definitive diagnosis.
“I’m a very outgoing person and was starting to feel really frustrated that I was missing out on life, I had to do something about it,” adds Wendy.
She did her research and eventually sought advice from Nuffield Health Hospital in Newcastle where she was referred to experienced orthopaedic surgeon Paul Partington, who specialises in hip and knee joint replacement and revision.
An arthrogram scan showed a labral tear in the hip joint. Following a successful surgery to replace her full right hip, Wendy was put on an enhanced recovery programme. After one night in hospital and a thorough physio assessment, she was back on her feet, moving comfortably and allowed to go home.
Wendy says that since the procedure her hip pain has gone.
“I’m still in the early stages of recovery and have a degree of stiffness, but things are steadily improving.
“I’m getting my life back, resuming normal activities and hope to be back at the gym and sailing again soon. I do recognise that my running days are over, purely for the preservation of my new hip, but I can’t wait to get back to normal and it feels wonderful to be pain free and enjoying life again.
“The care and support I’ve received throughout has been outstanding and it was great to be able to go home and start my recuperation almost immediately. I would recommend Mr Partington and the enhanced recovery programme at Nuffield Health Newcastle to anyone who is experiencing hip pain.”
Nuffield Health offers diagnostic tests and operations with no waiting lists. The most recent report from the Care Quality Commission (England’s independent regulator of health and social care services) saw 94% of Nuffield Health hospitals rated good or outstanding compared with an average of 70% for the independent healthcare sector.
Nuffield Health also offers Private GP services, Health Assessments and Recovery Plus – a service which brings together a spectrum of healthcare services across Nuffield Health’s Hospitals and Fitness & Wellbeing Clubs.
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