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Hip replacement vs trochanteric bursitis

Posted , 6 users are following.

lori50016
lori50016

I love to sleep on my side. I have never been told not to sleep on my side. I have horrible hip pain. Worse pain on the LTHR, but on the right as well. MRI showed possible trochanteric bursitis and AVN with femoral ball crushed. Any suggestion for getting some good night sleep? I'm so sick of tossing and turning. Surgery was 8 months ago and I wish I never had it sad

0 likes, 10 replies

10 Replies

  • AnnieK
    AnnieK lori50016

    Posted

    Sorry you are having so much trouble, Lori! I'd like to confirm what you said above. You had a left THR 8 months ago and have bad pain on that side, right? And on the right side you have AVN with a crushed femoral ball and possible trochanteric bursitis? Have you seen your surgeon about the problems with the THR, and do you have a diagnosis and treatment plan for whatever is wrong? And what about the right leg, what has the orthopedist said about that? I am not a medical professional, but a crushed femoral ball sounds very serious to me. Wouldn't that need surgery?
    • lori50016
      lori50016 AnnieK

      Posted

      Sorry I must have wrote that wrong. I had AVN in left hip with crushed femoral ball and had that replaced 8 months ago but pain was worse after THR and never subsided even now after 8 months later. MRI stated possible trochanteric bursitis before surgery but no doctor has evaluated the pain since surgery and my leg is 5/8 inch shorter than right leg now after surgery. My right hip is now showing same signs as left hip. I have talked to one orthopedic doctor, 2 physical therapists, 2 general practitioners, 1 Physicians Assistant, and 1 Ciropractor who said he could not believe they surgeon drilled that far into my hip making my leg that much shorter after a measurement on X-ray. Of course he says he can fix that with a heel lift and straiten out my now crooked back. I think that sums it up lol
    • lori50016
      lori50016 AnnieK

      Posted

      I'm just not sure who to go to now..Ugg! Afraid to go back to the orthopedic doctor who made my leg short to begin with
  • AnnieK
    AnnieK lori50016

    Posted

    If I were you, I'd see another orthopedic surgeon, someone in a different practice, who does hip replacement or, preferably, hip revision surgery. I would also be afraid to back to the original surgeon!

    My situation is similar, in that I had a right THR 8 months ago, although mine was due to osteoarthritis. But I have also never recovered. I have had trendelenberg limp and pain in the surgical leg ever since surgery. After giving my original surgeon ample opportunity to diagnose my problem, he was unable to do so. I now have a new OS (two of them, in fact!) and they diagnosed torn gluteal medius/minimus tendons/muscles. That is what I thought was wrong, but my original surgeon insisted that those tendons couldn't tear that badly, and surgery was never needed to repair them. The new OS's will do an exploratory/repair hip surgery for me that will thoroughly check out the inside of my hip (even popping out the metal ball and replacing it with another one that will compensate for my very small leg length difference - not nearly as big as yours. I've had testing and they don't think I have an infection, but they will check for that when they are inside. I might end up with a revision, probably not, but maybe. They will definitely repair the torn gluteals.

    Bottom line, you need an excellent orthopaedist to diagnose and treat your problems. You shouldn't be suffering like this 8 months later.

     

    • lori50016
      lori50016 AnnieK

      Posted

      Your story to revise and lengthen leg sounds promising! I will be looking for that type of surgeon 😊💕💕
  • keith13467
    keith13467 lori50016

    Posted

    So sorry to hear that but it is a fact you have to lay on your back otherwise you may have problems.it is far to risky to do otherwise although some people have got away with it with pillows between the legs,my hubby is now just over 4 weeks post opp and is doing fine laying on his bck but sitting more upright, no pain and off all pain killers,he had a brilliant surgeon who we got recommended to by a friend who had him, he is the top hip man in Norfolk. Hope you get it sorted.
    • lori50016
      lori50016 keith13467

      Posted

      Thank you! Much appreciated. I hope I find a brilliant surgeon who hears me 😊 I wished I had known 8 months ago not to lie on sides. Might have helped my recovery
  • renee01952
    renee01952 lori50016

    Posted

    Hi Lori,  

    That is not good that you are in so much pain - 

    I agree with Annie and would go for another OS - 

    Just to make sure I understand it correctly, you had trochanteric bursitis before your Total Hip Replacement Surgery? Were you told about it at that time?

    I am not sure what I can tell you, Lori ... I just found out that I had trochantric bursitis in my right hip which is 12 months post-op from THR ... Definitely not fun - and there is not really a treatment  for it except maybe the cortisone shot - The surgeon I saw does not want to give me one now because of the risk of getting an infection through needle - 

    I had THR on left hip 6 months after the 1st one - My right leg./hip did not have a change to heal properly due to trying to compensate for pain in left one - That might have caused some of the damage to the Bursa - who knows ?

    Take care and please get another Orthopedic Surgeon to get a second, third opinion .

    Big warm hug

    renee

     

    • lori50016
      lori50016 renee01952

      Posted

      Thanks Renee. I have had 3 corticosteroid shots in left hip and 1 on right all of which worked for just a short time. 3 done by gp and 1 done by ortho and neither doc mentioned risk of infection. How lovel, I guess it would be obvious with any needle breaking the skin. I guess it just takes time. I'm thinking there may be a muscle tear also. No way to know unless I can get a 2nd opinion which I'm scheduling soon 😊 Hugs and good luck on your next surgery
    • AnnieK
      AnnieK renee01952

      Posted

      Renee, I have researched this subject, as it is what I first thought was my problem, so here are my thoughts on it. As it says in the pamphlet here on Patient, https://patient.info/health/greater-trochanteric-pain-syndrome, "Greater trochanteric pain syndrome used to be called trochanteric bursitis. This was because the pain was thought to be coming from an inflamed bursa that lies over the greater trochanter. A bursa is a small sac filled with fluid which helps to allow smooth movement between two uneven surfaces. There are various bursae in the body and they can become inflamed due to various reasons.

      However, research suggests that most cases of greater trochanteric pain syndrome are due to minor tears or damage to the nearby muscles, tendons or fascia and an inflamed bursa is an uncommon cause. So, rather than the term trochanteric bursitis the more general term, greater trochanteric pain syndrome, is now preferred."

      It also says, "Greater trochanteric pain syndrome is usually self-limiting. That is, it usually goes away on its own in time. However, it commonly takes several weeks for the pain to ease. Symptoms can persist for months, and sometimes longer in a small proportion of cases. However, persistence does not mean that there is a serious underlying condition or that the hip joint is being damaged."

      Has your doctor seen an enlarged bursa in an MRI or some other scan? I believe that is the only way he can be sure that bursitis specifically is your problem. You may have some other small muscle tears. Recommendations for treatment include decreasing activity, icing, nsaids, etc, and are listed in the pamphlet. Those injections are not the first line of treatment that is recommended. If you don't heal after giving it a fair amount of time, then perhaps there is something worse going on in there. Maybe, though, your bursa is inflamed, in which case, you might want to ask why, and what really is the best way of treating it.

      If it were me, I wouldn't have the cortisone injection. They don't necessarily cure anything, although they do usually mask the pain wonderfully. Then it is easy to overdo things and perhaps hurt the area even more. From what I have read about cortisone injections in any part of the body, the effects are temporary and need to be repeated for further relief. 

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