Katie Thode

I cannot say enough amazing things about my experience with HSS. If you are in need of surgery and are looking for quality care, this is absolutely the place for you.

I am Katie! I am a yoga teacher/practitioner and a powerlifter. I am also an elementary school music teacher!

In November 2024, I went to the gym as usual; it was bench day. I completed my lifts, everything moved great, and I went about my day. As the day progressed, I started to feel this awful pain in my right hip flexor area. I figured I must have strained something and took the next week to rest it and focused on some gentle stretching.

Fast forward 1.5 months, I was still in a great deal of pain and was finding myself to be very limited in movement that I used to be able to do with ease. It was at this point I decided I needed to get checked out.

I saw 2 orthopedic surgeons in New Jersey. The first was just the initial intake surgeon who took x-rays and then sent me for an MRI. The second surgeon was a hip specialist, except when I met with him, he said to me, "Yeah, I do not know what is wrong but I can give you a cortisone shot for the pain."

That was not an option for me. At all.

At this point, I knew I needed to get another opinion. A colleague of mine had mentioned HSS and Dr. Struan Coleman, who had performed surgery for her son not long before. I made an appointment with Dr. Coleman. By the time I got to see him, I had been noticing the same pain on my left hip as well. We took x-rays of both sides and then I met with Dr. Coleman. We discussed everything that I had been experiencing; he suspected that I had labral tears and had me scheduled for another round of MRIs for both hips and CT scans.

Upon review of my scans, it was determined that I did indeed have tears on both sides as well as double hip impingement - I needed surgery! I was not excited about this being the reality, but Dr. Coleman assured me that I would be back to my powerlifting and yoga life fully after recovery.

Surgery was on Tuesday, June 17th. I will be totally honest that the first couple weeks were some of the hardest weeks of my life! You have no idea how much you take for granted until you are not able to do them by yourself! I had 24/7 help with me for the first 2 weeks post-op and my dog had to stay with my best friend for the first month!

I started physical therapy with my local doctor 6 days post-op. While these sessions proved to be mentally and physically challenging for a very long time, I knew that staying consistent and pushing through the discomfort was going to make me so much stronger on the other side.

I am so excited to share that I am lifting again, most notably, I am able to squat with some weight on my back! On my 6-month post-op day, I squatted 150 for 4 reps! That was a weight I hadn't been able to touch in well over a year because of my pain and limitations. I still have some limitations, which I have been assured are normal for this part of recovery.

I am excited to share that I plan to participate in the NYC Half Marathon in March 2026 and have also been talking with my PT and my powerlifting coach about possibly competing again. While I thought I was done with powerlifting competitions, I am feeling inspired to do one more now that my hips work! Having long term goals has proved to be very helpful for motivating me to keep going. I am excited to complete these goals!

I truly cannot say enough good things about HSS, Dr. Coleman and the entire HSS team. I felt my injury was taken seriously and not dismissed. Also worthy of mention is Alberto, Dr. Coleman's patient care coordinator. He provides clear and concise communication which is much appreciated.

Thank you, HSS! You truly changed my life!