How Long Does It Take to “Fix” Hip Impingement (without Surgery)?

By Shane Dowd , CES, CMP

Have you ever wondered how long it takes to 'fix' hip impingement—without going under the knife?

You might think it’s a long journey.

Or you might think it can’t be done!

(At least not without letting the surgeon slice and dice your femur…)

But what if I told you that your bones can stay the same, BUT your pain doesn't have to?

And, your hip pain can even be gone FASTER than you ever thought possible…

Ready to get your mind blown and your hips moving? Let's roll!

So, first, what exactly do we mean by 'fixing' hip impingement? “Fixed” means:

You are pain-free
You are flexible
You are strong
AND you can do all your favorite things—whether that's stretching, playing sports, lifting weights.

Just to be clear: fixing doesn’t mean that your body’s going to be a perfect machine with absolutely symmetrical range of motion down to the last millimeter.

Our bodies aren't built like robots, and that’s totally okay."

For example, even though I have "bad bone shapes," I can do the splits in every direction. BUT, that doesn't mean I feel perfectly symmetrical in my splits.

In fact, I can tell that my right hip (where I have my cam morphology, labral tear and bone cyst) isn't as symmetrical as my left hip.

And here’s another dose of reality—'fixing' your hip doesn’t mean you’ll NEVER feel any pain or experience minor tweaks again. I think this is an important point because

I've helped thousands of people come out of hip impingement and hip pain over the past 14 years, and the ones who are most successful ALL understand that there will be "ups and downs" on their journey.

And, they know that ALL bodies require ongoing maintenance, no matter what's going on in your hips.

Let me give you an example from my own life...

A while back, I tweaked my back during a workout.

Nothing major, but it was nagging. Did I panic? Nope. This is part of having a human body! It's nothing special just because I have an “official” femoroacetabular impingement diagnosis.

So, what did I do?

I just tweaked my routine, added some specific massage, stretching, and strengthening exercises, and kept at it. In no time, I was back to normal, lifting weights again without a second thought."

The bottom-line is: if the idea of being pain-free, being able to stretch, lift, and play your favorite sports sounds good to you, then you're probably wondering how long it will take, right?"

For most people, being out of hip pain in about 90 days or less is realistic. Yes, that's three months to transform your day-to-day experience.

But what does that actually involve?"

IF you have a comprehensive plan designed specifically for your hip condition, 3-6 months is all it takes.

BUT, of course, not all hip pain plans are created equal…

So, what ISN’T a comprehensive solution?

Well, here's what it's NOT:

It's not about popping painkillers every time the discomfort hits—that's just a Band-Aid.
And it's not about a random set of exercises you found on the internet that aren’t tailored to your specific needs."
And, here's the shocker, it's NOT even about generic Yoga, physical therapy, chiropractic, acupuncture, or surgery.

The fact that these traditional approaches don’t work might come as a surprise, but here’s why they don’t work very well…

The problem with ALL these approaches is don't follow the modern scientific guidelines for recovering from femoral acetabular impingement syndrome (FAIS).

For example, according to this 2021 paper,

the "key pillars of exercise program design, should include postural control, core stabilization, hip strength and motor control, and mobility"

(which I would break down into “targeted tissue work” and “strategic stretching.”)

For those counting, that means there are at least 7 key pillars you need to heal your hips.

The problem? 100% of the physical therapy, chiropractic, massage, pills, injections or surgeries that are available to you are NOT including all 7 or 8 of these pillars.

In fact, they usually only treat 1 or 2 of the things that you NEED to be addressing to FULLY come out of hip pain.

Another scientific paper by Cholewicki and other researchers showed something similar. Even though they were studying back pain, they showed that there are at least 8 major areas that contribute to your pain. But your typical physical therapist or massage treatment is only addressing 1 or 2 of these.

For example, if you've ever been to your local "run of the mill" PT, you've probably received this exercise prescription:

Unfortunately, I wasted not just a $150 but more like $26,000 dollars on these generic/single factor treatments back in 2015.

But that all changed when I met a few mentors who showed me a better way...

One of these mentors ended up having 5 hip surgeries himself (because the first 4 failed).

Even though that was challenging for him, this “experiential wisdom” that he gained from suffering from hip pain allowed him to help me wayyyy more than the other PT’s had.

In fact, I’d estimate his advice and mentorship was 10x more valuable than the typical/generic advice I was given in physical therapy.

So what did he teach?

Here is the exact roadmap he (and my other Mentors) took me through to help me fix my hips 3x faster:

If you do this exact 7-step plan, tailored to your specific situation, you can expect 3x faster results AND can probably expect to be pain-free in 90 days (or less).

And often the pain-relief comes much faster than 90 days.

For example, we have a former professional soccer players (who is currently in our VIP Mentorship program) is seeing results his first week (see video for clip).

These kind of results are whats possible with a specialized solution for hip pain —it's detailed, it's personalized, and it's comprehensive."

This kind of approach to hip pain is NOT about hoping for a quick fix.

It’s about building a sustainable LIFESTYLE that not only addresses the pain but also turns you into a resilient/robust/anti-fragile human being – even if your “bad bone shapes” never go away.

If you do this comprehensive, holistic, and specialized solution, setting a target of 90 days or less to become pain-free is not just hopeful—it's achievable.

But achieving this milestone doesn't mean you're completely out of the woods yet.

Think of it this way: At or before 90 days, you've managed to get your head above water. You're not drowning, you're not floundering—you can breathe, see clearly, and move without the constant fear of sinking back into hip pain.

But what happens next? Can you just revert to your old habits, lifestyle, and training? Obviously, the answer is no. Just like swimming, once you're out of the deep end, you need to keep moving to find solid ground"

This is where Phase 2 comes in. It’s about solidifying what you’ve achieved during those first 90 days. This phase takes another three months or so. Now, you’re not just treading water—you’re standing on solid ground, and the risk of a setback is significantly reduced.

Beyond the six-month mark, you enter the longest and most variable phase: optimization and mastery. This is when you're not just out of the water, but you're also dry and warm on the beach. The risk of ever being pulled back into the depths is slim.

You've become adept at navigating the waters, and even if you do find yourself dipping a toe back in, you're a master swimmer now.

Let me give you RECENT personal example of what this phase of Mastery looks like compared to what the Average Guy or Gal could expect when they have any body pain...

About 2 months ago, I tweaked my neck pain lifting a very heavy weight, after having been hunched over a computer for way to long. Because I was not in my normal home environment, I didn't have access to my Specialized Tools.

This meant I had to do what the average guy or gall does: throw myself at the mercy of all the local massage therapists, chiropractors and physical therapists for three long, painful weeks with maybe 10% improvement.

Eventually, I was fed up because I knew exactly what I needed to do. I just didn't have the right tools lying around. I hopped on Amazon and ordered the tool I knew I needed. When it arrived, within 3 minutes, the pain was 100% gone.

Think about that:

1 month of suffering even when paying hundreds of dollars seeing local "experts."

Compared with:

100% improvement in 3 minutes, at home, with the right tool.

Now, let me be clear…

The moral of the story is NOT that all local practitioners suck.

Nor is it that you need a bunch of gimmicky gadgets and gizmos to get better.

I actually HATE most of the tools out there that supposedly fix pain.

And I think there are MANY really smart PT's and rehab specialists out there...

BUT, what I'm pointing out is that, when you take the time to learn how to become YOUR OWN BEST HEALER, nobody can compare with what you can do for yourself.

Healing this particular neck injury in 3 minutes wasn’t luck; it was the result of over 14 years of obsessively studying and practicing body healing.

And guess what? You can develop this same skill set.

Whether it’s hip pain, neck pain, or any other challenge, understanding and applying the right comprehensive method can transform your life.

If you're looking for this kind of guidance check the 1:1 VIP Mentorship program for hip pain.

In this program we select give you:

TSR System
Pro Assessment
Personalized Plan
Live Monthly Calls
24/7 VIP Support
The Hip Stick Tool
$2,000 bonus programs
Doctor of Physical Therapy
"Pain-Free in 3" Guaranteed

This comprehensive, science-based program takes you through phase 1, 2 and 3 of the hip recovery timeline to heal and optimize your hips, so the pain never comes back.

But, because we've been specializing in hips for over a decade, spots are extremely limited.

If you are serious about healing your hips faster and for good – visit gotrom.com/vip

On this page you can learn more about how the program works and how thousands of other people just like you have already turned their hip pain into hip strength.

Thanks for watching! I hope this video/article helps! And, as always, please remember… you're just 1 step away from building (or rebuilding) your perfect body.