Cause of hip/groin pain
Posted , 3 users are following.
I've been experiencing pain in my groin/hip for about 4/5 months now. It started in my outer hip and radiated down my thigh. The pain starts after standing/walking for a while and also if I sit for too long and my hip clicks when I walk. It also hurts at night if I lie on my other side. I went to the doctor about about 3 months ago and she said it sounded like my hip was irritated. She told me to keep taking painkillers and anti-inflammatories. She also gave me an anti-inflammatory gel to use twice a day.
Since then my hip has gotten worse. It now hurts everyday instead of intermittently. I've also got pain in my groin when walking, when getting in and out of the car, when driving (changing gear) and if I stand on that leg. If I lie down and bring my knees to my chest, as I lower my legs my hips makes a clunk which is very painful.
Any idea what this could be? I have hypermobility so whenever I go to the doctor with a joint complaint they just put it down to that and tell me to take more painkillers. If it's my hypermobility then fair enough but I don't want it to be dismissed as that if it might be something else. I've been trying to make an appointment to see my GP but I've been unlucky so far and don't see me getting an appointment before the end of January.
All advice welcome. This is really interfering with my life. I've been resting as much as possible but it doesn't seem to be helping.
1 like, 8 replies
AnnieK stooshiecat
Posted
Have you had an x-ray yet? That usually tells the tale about bone issues and whether you have osteoarthritis or not, and how bad it is. It's a simple thing and should be ordered right away, in my opinion! If bones/cartilage are fine, then it would be a soft tissue problem, and that can be diagnosed by musculoskeletal diagnostic ultrasound or MRI. Be a squeaky wheel, don't let them get away without proper investigation into what's wrong!
stooshiecat AnnieK
Posted
Thanks! I haven't had any tests at all yet. I lucked out and managed to get a cancellation with my preferred GP for this afternoon so I'm hoping she'll be more helpful. To be honest though, they seem really reluctant to do much other than prescribe me painkillers/anti-inflammatories which I hate taking because they kill my stomach.
AnnieK stooshiecat
Posted
You should get some testing. An x-ray can answer many questions. And ultrasound can answer many others. You are in pain and, to me, that clunking sound is worrisome. You deserve an investigation into this! I would also suggest that you post about this in the hip replacement forum, https://patient.info/forums/discuss/browse/hip-replacement-1109. You might get some informative replies there.
stooshiecat AnnieK
Posted
My doctor said I have hip bursitis and have sent an urgent referral to physio for me so hopefully I'll start getting treatment soon. Thanks for your advice.
AnnieK stooshiecat
Posted
Good! There's an excellent article here on Patient about that.
https://patient.info/health/greater-trochanteric-pain-syndrome
stooshiecat AnnieK
Posted
Thanks for the info. I'll give it a read
paul45653 stooshiecat
Posted
My current and most immobilizing problem is nearly identical to yours. However I have had osteo arthritis for half a century and degenerative disk disease which is the usual cause of the same sciatica symptoms due to narrowing of the nerve space for the main branch of the spinal cord. I have been treated with PT many times and have started again yesterday. This time the therapist feels my hip is involved as well. I am usually on the Polymyalgia forum but the symptoms have led here and I am interested in following your progress. Pain control is very important but I cannot use NSAIDS as I have kidney disease and I'm trying to stay away from the next level of meds. Let me know how it goes and I'll post my progress.
Paul
stooshiecat paul45653
Posted
Will do. For pain I'm already taking Naproxen and Co-Codamol for MDI in my shoulder. The painkillers, etc help but I'm still in a lot of pain. I don't really want to start taking anything else because the ones I'm on already kill my stomach. My GP gave me a new cream for my hip which is made with chilies called zacin cream. She said it should be more effective than the anti-infalmmatory gel I was given before (which she said wouldn't make much difference to me as I'm already taking anti-inflammatories.)
She said physio is the best treatment. Not only for strengthening exercises but things like ultrasound helps with bursitis. I'm already seeing a physio for my shoulder so I'm going to talk to her about it on 16/01. I'm not sure if she'll be treating me or if I'll be seeing a different physio because it's a different body part.