On 11/24/09, I had arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn labrum. Think of it like this: your shoulder and hip are the same type of joint. It's like a ball in a socket, allowing for a large range of motion. In order to keep the "ball" of your bone in the "socket", there is a thick ring of connective tissue. This ring is called the labrum (in your shoulder its commonly called the rotator cuff).
In order to perform the surgery with scopes they had to dislocate my hip and keep it separated for about an hour and a half. Add this to the surgery itself, and the expected recovery time is anywhere from three to six months, including physical therapy. I've had this torn labrum for almost 5 years however, so I was lucky in that it could be fixed relatively simply, and a few months of PT is a small price to pay. Here's me, pre-surgery:
Before the surgery I was running 4-5 miles three times a week. I also worked out in a weight room. Since the surgery however I've been more or less immobile. This was fine when I still had Percocet to keep me entertained, but when the prescription ran out I was stuck on a couch. I slowly built my way up to walking for short periods, then the whole day, and recently I started using a cycle at the gym.
Dunking a basketball will require maximum efficiency from my lower body. The types of exercises and stretching I'll need to do should shoehorn in nicely with my surgery recovery. I can't run or jump yet - that might be as much as a month away - but I can start building the foundation of a successful slam dunk by strengthening my lower body through my mandated physical therapy.
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