Anyone here suffer from hip pain?

[aknow]

Originally Posted by architype

About 15 yrs ago my left hip suddenely started hurting to the point where I was popping about 6 tylenol before lunch. The pain was so bad I couldn't concentrate at work and I would break out in a sweat. X-rays showed nothing and after about a month of Dr. visits and misdiagnosis they finally did an MRI, (which I requested on day 1).

The MRI immediatly showed necrosis of the ball joint, but only on the inside and the actual surface was still intact. Lack of blood flow to the joint was causing the bone to die slowly. The Dr. said I was lucky to experience the pain early since it usually only shows up after the surface of the ball cracks and scrapes against the socket.

They had no explanation why someone my age should be experiencing this since it usually only occurs in older people or scuba divers, (nitrogen bubbles blocking the tiny blood vessels that feed the bone), or alcoholics.
Anyway, they did an outpatient surgery where they drilled into the ball and sucked out all of the dead stuff and that allowed blood to flow back into the joint and re-grow the bone.

I was on crutches for about 6 months because with a hollow joint it would be very easy to fracture my hip.

Ask the Doc about necrosis and demand an MRI...X-rays won't show it.

Xrays will show aseptic necrosis of the head of the femur and the acetabulum. Just not in the earliest stages, 1-6 months after onset.

[aknow]

Originally Posted by jpd

ouch!!!!!!!!!!!!

[songz]

Wow, Sandy. You have had a tough time, and I hope this doesn't
cause you much more pain - you've had enough.

Ron

[aknow]

Originally Posted by Pitar

There are times when pain is not preceded by an exacerbating event, or known cause. My wife's frozen shoulder is one such ailment little is known about regarding cause and cure. Currently it's a wait-it-out period of months of pain with therapy thereafter to bring back range of motion - also very painful.

Shoveling snow is cause enough considering the location of the snow (deck), where it must be thrown off the shovel in a twisting of the body to carry through the motion. Pivoting on a hip for countless shovels full of snow is not a normal occurrence and is almost self-explanatory at first glance. A friend of mine recently broke his leg when he suddenly twisted on it trying to avoid a thrown water balloon. He's in his 40s and carrying a beer gut on bird legs. That was catastrophic but certainly stands as testimony that the body, when unprepared or conditioned, can react negatively to lesser or greater extents to movements under loads. I'm thinking nerve damage related to an internal stress yet to be isolated. It might even be a hairline fracture and those can be painful yet hard to detect.

I agree that many musculoskeletal probs. are caused by unknown reasons. Not to minimize your wife's shoulder problems, I've fixed hundreds of diagnosed "frozen shoulder" syndromes. A real small # of them are seemingly caused by emotional upsets! Many are caused by mal positioning of the acromio-clavicular joint, with resulting deltoid/anterior serratus imbalances, then the patient moves the shoulder in an unusual sequence, or traumatizes it in a seemingly innocuous way, like re-positioning yourself in a car seat or a chair, and then it blows. Many respond well to manual techniques without meds or invasive procedures.

[Basalt Beach]

Sandy,

On and off for the past 5 years, though mostly on. Every doctor advises me that hips are not aligned. My right hip rotates forward. Sitting is a pain, no pun intended. It radiates from the groin to the SI joint area in the back. Massage, acupuncture provide some relief. I have found that walking with long strides and swing arms as the only therapy which provides an improved alignment of my hips. Chiropractic adjustments provide some relief, and at times correction and short term relief. Yoga and core strength exercises have improved the pain level of from a 7 to 9 to a 2 to a 4. Every day I wake up and do Yoga and core strengthen exercises. I been doing the routine since December and have felt a significant improvement. I wish you the best in trying to solve the issue.

[flaggerphil]

I have severe hip pain these days and it comes from a number of causes. One, I have arthritis and degenerative joint disease. Second, it's made worse because of the way I've walked for years due to injuries to both of my legs and my back, which was broken in two places in 2005.

Various pills help.

[Kitchen Guitars]

I wore what I thought were great shoes, SAS (still think its a great durable shoe but my feet changed. Especially after a real bad twist.
I went to a shop and got my feet checked for inserts. New shoes and proper inserts stopped my hip and foot pain. The other day I put my SAS's on and my feet hurt in minutes.

[teleamp]

Acetaminophen is safer for the kidneys than the stuff in Advil/Motrin/Ibuprofen and Aleve... this is per my kidney doctor.

[Chicago Sandy]

Yeah, those NSAIDs can do a nasty on your digestive tract. That’s why I’m taking a single 200mg. Celecoxib, which is a COX-2 inhibitor type of NSAID less likely to cause a gastric bleed. As for acetaminophen, as long as I stay below 3000mg. (6 extra strength tabs) per day I’m okay. I take a couple rapid-release (500 ea.) at bedtime and then two time-release “arthritis formula” when I get up. Depending on how much walking I expect to do, I put on either a Flector (diclofenac) or lidocaine patch over the bursa, or slather on some Voltaren (diclofenac) gel. For shoes, I either wear UGG boots or NB walking shoes (both with orthotics) or Finn Comfort “Finnamic” (modified rocker-sole) oxfords. Indoors, Alegria mules or clogs. Both the Alegria and Finn Comfort have their own orthotic insoles that my podiatrist says rival the prescription ones she had made. She also recommends Superfeet brand. I just read about the current trend back towards “maximalist” running shoes--lots of cushioning, support & stability. I don’t run, but I’m looking into the Hoka One One brand, which are very cushy and use a variety of modified rocker profiles that emphasize different foot-strike patterns. They’re pretty garish and not very professional-looking, but I expect to encounter cobblestone streets in Spain so I will throw fashion caution to the winds. If I’d had a similar lack of vanity (didn’t want to look like the tourist I was so I wore conservative-looking Finn Comfort walking shoes with thinner soles than the Finnamics I eventually had to buy) when I took that central European river cruise in 2012, I might never have developed metatarsalgia that took six months to cure. Those cobblestone streets, especially the medieval-era ones, can be murder on the feet.

Meanwhile, I notice the longer I stand, the longer a stride I can take without much pain--almost natural. The first few minutes I can barely hobble. Climbing stairs hurts no matter what.

[Pitar]

Originally Posted by aknow

I agree that many musculoskeletal probs. are caused by unknown reasons. Not to minimize your wife's shoulder problems, I've fixed hundreds of diagnosed "frozen shoulder" syndromes. A real small # of them are seemingly caused by emotional upsets! Many are caused by mal positioning of the acromio-clavicular joint, with resulting deltoid/anterior serratus imbalances, then the patient moves the shoulder in an unusual sequence, or traumatizes it in a seemingly innocuous way, like re-positioning yourself in a car seat or a chair, and then it blows. Many respond well to manual techniques without meds or invasive procedures.

Emotional upsets? Excuse me for my humorous reaction but it's like the brain getting upset about something and deciding to take out its anxieties on some innocent body part. Or, "you only hurt the ones you love..."

The "...re-positioning yourself in a car..." was exactly what my brother said he did, heard/felt a slight popping sound in his left shoulder and experienced intense (position-sensitive) pain followed by doctor visits and therapy for nearly 8 weeks. Then it just magically disappeared one day.

My wife had it in both shoulders and would not even hear about motion therapy. She could not sleep well for 6 months. Then when the pain subsided she was left with limited movement that required a lot of motion therapy (my words) to regain some of her range of motion. That was three years ago and she still does not have full range. I attribute that to her unwillingness to work the shoulders at all. The memory of the affliction is still fresh. Regardless of what her doctors prescribed to help her work her way out of it she refused if it increased her discomfort. Some people bite that bullet, some refuse.

I got something like it in both elbows a couple years before that and could not lift a glass of water. I bought two 3-pound dumbbells and worked them both until they went numb from pain. That was the only way I could manage to fall asleep. In the morning they woke me early and I did the dumbbells again before work. Those early sessions brought tears to my eyes but it was that or do nothing but meds. I don't do meds. After a couple weeks of that the pain began to lessen and I could lift heavier things. Being a mechanic, that was a good sign. By the 6th week I was using 10 pound bells and the pain had subsided. If I bumped either elbow on something it would take me out of my shoes. But, I got the use of my arms back. Just recently my left elbow began getting sensitive again so I took up the bells and by the end of the 2nd week the pain was gone. This bit of home-brewed therapy was something I did because I had nothing left to lose. Whatever afflicted my elbows is unknown. I never got a clear diagnosis. I only got advice to lay off of them and take anti-inflammatories. I did the opposite.

[jibberibber]

I have found taking Alexander Technique lessons to be very helpful for my process of getting over chronic muscle and joint pain in other areas. Basically you learn how to use your body in everyday activities such as standing, walking, bending, sitting, lifting, guitar, etc in ways that are more efficient. This puts less pressure and friction on your joints and requires less tension and effort in your musculature.

It is not a quick fix and requires a level of self-responsibility that is not for everyone. It's a process of observing and changing the habits of movement and posture that you have picked up over a lifetime. But it is the only thing that worked for me long-term after trying the usual suspects of massage, physio, chiro, stretching, strengthening, and more for years.

[aknow]

Originally Posted by Pitar

Emotional upsets? Excuse me for my humorous reaction but it's like the brain getting upset about something and deciding to take out its anxieties on some innocent body part. Or, "you only hurt the ones you love..."

The "...re-positioning yourself in a car..." was exactly what my brother said he did, heard/felt a slight popping sound in his left shoulder and experienced intense (position-sensitive) pain followed by doctor visits and therapy for nearly 8 weeks. Then it just magically disappeared one day.

My wife had it in both shoulders and would not even hear about motion therapy. She could not sleep well for 6 months. Then when the pain subsided she was left with limited movement that required a lot of motion therapy (my words) to regain some of her range of motion. That was three years ago and she still does not have full range. I attribute that to her unwillingness to work the shoulders at all. The memory of the affliction is still fresh. Regardless of what her doctors prescribed to help her work her way out of it she refused if it increased her discomfort. Some people bite that bullet, some refuse.

I got something like it in both elbows a couple years before that and could not lift a glass of water. I bought two 3-pound dumbbells and worked them both until they went numb from pain. That was the only way I could manage to fall asleep. In the morning they woke me early and I did the dumbbells again before work. Those early sessions brought tears to my eyes but it was that or do nothing but meds. I don't do meds. After a couple weeks of that the pain began to lessen and I could lift heavier things. Being a mechanic, that was a good sign. By the 6th week I was using 10 pound bells and the pain had subsided. If I bumped either elbow on something it would take me out of my shoes. But, I got the use of my arms back. Just recently my left elbow began getting sensitive again so I took up the bells and by the end of the 2nd week the pain was gone. This bit of home-brewed therapy was something I did because I had nothing left to lose. Whatever afflicted my elbows is unknown. I never got a clear diagnosis. I only got advice to lay off of them and take anti-inflammatories. I did the opposite.

Congratulations on working through your problem, it's hard work. One great thing about chiropractic is our negative approach to drugs. Advil almost took my life last year, in April, my MD's advice, and things got away from me really fast, gastric bleeding. NSAID's are very serious meds, and Always cause damage, especially for long term users. I was raised western medically, went to med school, worked quite a few years in an ER with great doctors, hated the med school mentality, went to chiro school, been doing it 30 years. The emotional frozen shoulder is something I've seen many times, always on women for some reason, emotions amp up the nerves, muscles, joint proprioceptors, sometimes in a de-conditioned person, one awkward move can create serious pain/problems. Good luck to your wife, encourage at least, aggressive walking with progressive swinging of the arms, as the upper torso warms up. Can improve a lot of neck/upper trap, upper thoracic and shoulder adhesions/instabilities.

[Pitar]

Originally Posted by aknow

Congratulations on working through your problem, it's hard work. One great thing about chiropractic is our negative approach to drugs. Advil almost took my life last year, in April, my MD's advice, and things got away from me really fast, gastric bleeding. NSAID's are very serious meds, and Always cause damage, especially for long term users. I was raised western medically, went to med school, worked quite a few years in an ER with great doctors, hated the med school mentality, went to chiro school, been doing it 30 years. The emotional frozen shoulder is something I've seen many times, always on women for some reason, emotions amp up the nerves, muscles, joint proprioceptors, sometimes in a de-conditioned person, one awkward move can create serious pain/problems. Good luck to your wife, encourage at least, aggressive walking with progressive swinging of the arms, as the upper torso warms up. Can improve a lot of neck/upper trap, upper thoracic and shoulder adhesions/instabilities.

Thanks for the walking/arm swinging suggestion. I'm going to have my wife read this. We do go for walks but it's usually a couple times around a local lake to get a bit of exercise. Nothing truly cardio-related.

[Chicago Sandy]

Just back from the orthopedic clinic. Good news & not-so-hot news. First the good news: I won’t be needing a hip replacement, since there’s only very mild early arthritis in the joint itself, not enough to cause symptoms. Also not a fracture, necrosis, infection or cancer.

Now the not-so-hot news: definitely bursitis (the orthopod did a double-take when he saw the size of the bursa on the ultrasound screen). But also iliotibial band syndrome as well as severely irritated gluteus minimus and maximus muscles, and possibly piriformis syndrome too. (When I get an overuse injury, I go big or go home). The initial cause was probably too-vigorous snow-shoveling; the aggravating factor was the 1/4 mile each way slogging through the Super Bowl day blizzard in a foot-and-a-half of snow, over irregular ice, against the wind, wielding trekking poles and wearing UGG boots a size too large.

I got one big honkin’ cortisone shot. The syringe & needle were probably the same size they use at Arlington Racetrack (and not on the jockeys). Mercifully, the doc injected the lidocaine first and let it “take” before shooting in the payload. The bursa was so big it was hard to visualize the needle on the screen. I have to ice 4x a day, double up on my celecoxib, and do 6 weeks of 2-3x/wk physical therapy. (Will try to squeeze in the first session tomorrow, and then use the resort condo's gym in Vegas for the next seven days--unless my physical therapy company has a branch out there).

Next time, if I can’t find someone to shovel, I’ll eat the $50 fine. (And let my insurance company eat the cost of someone falling in front of my house). And I’m buying a smaller pair of UGGs, and staying indoors during blizzards. Meanwhile, if the pain hasn’t gone away by Thurs., I’ll use a wheelchair in the airport. My husband has offered to wheel me around Vegas, but I told him I’d blend in better with all the 60-ish female Midwestern tourists if I rent a scooter. Of course, I’ll have to get a fanny pack, bermuda shorts, ugly T-shirt and baseball cap to go fully incognito.

[architype]

Sounds like you have found the source of the "pain in your rear". I hope the PT works. Hip pain is very debilitating. Good luck!