The above picture is my femoral neck and hip bone, with some dye that exposes the labral ligaments (I guess?). Having no medical background whatsoever, I have no idea how to diagnose this. The question is whether the stress fracture is healing, and whether the labrum is torn. I’m pretty confident that the stress fracture is healing simply by comparing mine to other images I’ve found on the internet. It’s not exactly Dr. House, but it’ll do. The labral tear is way above my head. I won’t really know until the experts give it a look.
All that said, I am encouraged. This experience was like Disneyland compared to the last one. This time they taped my feet together, which put them in the same position as the last MRI that gave me so much pain. They were a little more careful with it, and made sure to give me breaks in between the tests. Overall, I felt alright during the process. No MRI can be called comfortable, but this was about as close as I could get, all things considered. Most importantly, there was very little pain.
Even though the injury feels better, it still pops on occasion. Now when I bend my knee and move it upward, I’ll feel a slight click. Sometimes I’ll reposition my leg and it’ll pop audibly. It’s baffling, but there is still some sort of issue.
The big question is whether I’ll need surgery. If not, I could be back on my feet in a couple weeks. If so, it’ll be at least a couple months. Hopefully I’ll find out soon.
EDIT: Radiologist’s diagnosis is a lateral labrum tear.
SteepClimbs.com 
February 19th, 2013 at 8:00 pm
Have you thought of a chiropractor? My bone cracker has to set my hips quite a few times over a season… I’m planning to go in over the next week or two to get lined up for the season… I get the clicks from time to time as well, one trip to him and I’m good for at least a couple of months. With a fracture this is probably not advisable, but once it’s healed that might be the ticket. Just a thought.
Good luck brother.
February 19th, 2013 at 9:21 pm
Hey Jim, a chiropractor is not a bad idea for some things. In fact, I have some good friends who are chiropractors. Unfortunately, I got the diagnosis from the radiologist that this is a labrum tear. It’ll probably require surgery.
February 19th, 2013 at 10:50 pm
Ah, that’s too bad man. Get well soon. Let’s see… Few weeks to get you in. Two months to heal…. You should be good to go just about time I head down there for vacation… And you’ll be a few weeks into your comeback – so I’ll be able to keep up.
February 20th, 2013 at 5:56 am
That’s probably about right. Give me a heads up when you know the date of your vacation. I’ll try to keep the weekend free.
February 20th, 2013 at 6:12 am
You got it.
February 20th, 2013 at 3:14 am
Oh, a tear sounds bad. Well, next year’s Haute Route will be all that much sweeter, I guess.
February 20th, 2013 at 6:03 am
Sure will. I’ll enjoy this year’s through you guys. Train hard!