Hip Bursitis and/or central sensitization

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Hi all, I’m 25 and have suffered a direct injury to my hip back in September 2017 during  the hurricanes. The bruising and pain eventually died down after about 6-8 weeks. Still wasn’t 100% (long walks or jogging would irritate it) but was pretty much back to normal until January. 

At the beginning of January the pain started to increase slowly, I sat on a plane for 3 hours mid January  and that seem to start a snowball effect in which the pain exponentially rose. Particularly sitting or other direct impact is the most excruciating.

 I first was prescribed meloxicam for inflammation. That didn’t effect it much. In February I got X-rays and ultrasound after the pain became intolerable. Those tests found nothing. On Valentine’s Day I received my first steroid shot. I was due for another 3 hour flight. The shot resulted in a flare up and I dealt with some uncommon side effects of the shot as well. After 10 days the shots painful flare up started to die down and I was back to my original pain level. 

The doctor ordered an mri and sent me to an orthopedic and also gave me tramadol for the mean time. 

Mri showed trochanteric bursitis, but not much else. The ortho sent me to do 2 months of PT.

While doing the PT the therapist didn’t seem convinced the pain was just from bursitis. She thinks it’s a nervous system overreaction called central sensitization. Which kinda comes off as sounding like it’s all in my head, but in a way the nerves are

Overreacting to any pain the bursitis is causing. And that’s her explanation of why the shot didn’t work and a simple touching of the area is so painful.

I saw another ortho in April and received another shot, a different cocktail this time.  I feel as if the flare up was maybe a level less of the intensity of the first one. But again I received no relief from it.

I had researched the bursitis and found out about the surgery to remove the inflamed bursa. I found a surgeon that has done this procedure a few times before and is willing to do it for me.

He however is not 100% hopeful this will work because he said that in the other cases that his patients received some sort of relief from the treatments. He said it was just that

It kept coming back or in the case of another younger patient in which pain would return after a week

Of being pain free after a steroid shot. The pain is present constantly, and certain movements or pressures set it off more. But I’m never pain free. I’m also very miserable since this has restricted my life so much.

Does anyone have an experience similar to this? An experience that is not a traditional case of bursitis and in which no treatments provided relief? 

Also if anyone has knowledge of central sensitization that might be

Constructive in this context I would appreciate it! My fear is that it the PT is right and Most of the pain is from the nervous system overreacting to anything in this area, that a surgery will p**s it off just as well.

I also have only 3 months to go from not being able sit without pain for even a minute, to having to sit in vet school lectures for 8 hours a day. 

Thanks for any and all advice. 

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1 Reply

  • Posted

    Victoria, I am sorry you are having such a difficult time with pain in your hip.

    There is an excellent article about your diagnosis on Patient, and I've copied the link for you: https://patient.info/health/hip-problems/greater-trochanteric-pain-syndrome-trochanteric-bursitis

    I had a total hip replacement and then had more hip problems afterwards, one of which was GTPS (formerly known as trochanteric bursitis). I had lots of pain in the area of the greater trochanter and more pain down the side of my thigh. When I had a second hip surgery to repair gluteal tendons, the surgeon also did a bursectomy. I will say that the trochanteric pain is less now (1 ½ years later), but it still hurts. 

    It may be that your body's nervous system is overreacting. Maybe the surgery will help. 

    I have heard of others who had cortisone shots into the bursa and it then felt lots better, sometimes for a long time. Wishing you all the best in getting this taken care of.  

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