It really started when I was going into the sixth grade. I had an early passion for running, jumping, climbing trees, playing football, and other sports.
Then I began to specialize in one track and field event: the triple jump – hop-skip-jump. A very high impact sport.
As I continued doing the triple jump workouts, I began to excel in the event. In competitions, I started taking first place on a regular basis. So, naturally, I asked the coach to increase my workouts.
More is better was the coaching culture, as well as my thinking. For a short time, this formula worked. That is until my sophomore year (1970) in high school when I started to feel pain in the left hip joint, which I ignored.
I talked to the coach about the pain, and he reassured me, saying, “No pain, no gain – it’s part of the training process. You’ll be fine.”
Trusting his guidance, I pushed through the discomfort and continued with my training.
However, the hip pain became more consistent, especially when I was triple jumping. Every so often, I would even experience pain while walking or engaging in other activities.
Despite the warning signs, I was determined to succeed in my chosen event. I believed that pushing through the pain was a necessary sacrifice for achieving greatness.
Little did I know that I was unknowingly pushing my body beyond its limits, setting the stage for a series of injuries and setbacks.
Looking back, I realize now that I should have listened to my body and sought out medical attention earlier. Ignoring the pain and relying on the “no pain, no gain” mentality only exacerbated the issue.
I learned to accept and live with the infrequent periodic pain, even though it effected how I would walk, stand and function. I never thought to investigate why I had this condition.
It wasn’t until many years later when the hip pain became more consistent and intense I consulted with a with doctor. He took a few x-rays and it showed an irregular surface and slight damage on the femoral head in the acetabulum of both hips, though much more in the left hip.
I became very curious as to why this happened. It became clear that I had caused significant damage to my left hip hip joint and growth plates. The news was disheartening, but it also served as a wake-up call. I had to come to terms with the fact that my relentless pursuit of success had come at a high cost.
I had long since stopped competing in the triple jump and track and field in 1970, however I was still pushing myself to the limits in training, conditioning and excessive loading of weight into my hips.
Years later in 1997, at the age of 42, I had my first hip replacement as a result of having lost all the cartilage in my left hip. It was bone on bone.
Thankfully, during those years before the surgery,
I began to learn and practice a variety of holistic methods, which not only helped me have improved function and less pain, they educated me about holistic methods for pain relief, improved function in daily life and nourishing the body, mind and spirit.