Costen Irons, 30, looks too young and athletic to have “hip trouble.” He ran track and played basketball in middle and high school. Costen even played JV college basketball at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill – all the while with pain that had been developing deep inside his hip since age 15.
After college, Costen, a physical education teacher and coach, exercised and took care of himself. But eventually the pain in his hip hurt so badly, it became a problem. It even hurt when he was just standing.
Costen’s Hip Pain Migrates to Other Areas
Costen was told that he had an impingement, where the ball inside the hip joint is too big for the socket. He had also worn down most of the cartilage in his hip, which was almost bone on bone.
By the time Costen saw orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Allston Stubbs at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, the pain had radiated to his lower back, thighs, foot and groin. He had groin surgery, which did not help the pain.
A Special Hip Arthroscopy Procedure Corrects Costen’s Hip
Dr. Stubbs performs a unique type of hip arthroscopy to repair misshapen hip joints and sew tissue or cartilage back onto the hip bone. It is the same surgery that corrected hip problems for Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees.
“Dr. Stubbs told me it was a combination of being genetically prone to this condition and being very active when I was still growing,” Costen said. Costen was also told that it was not unusual for the pain to migrate to other areas.
A two-hour surgery made the difference. Dr. Stubbs repaired Costen’s cartilage in several locations and put holes in microfractures to stimulate cartilage growth. “I was on crutches for 8 weeks. It was a long rehab process,” Costen said.
Now his hip is pain-free and the pain in other areas of his body has gone away.