Is it Hip or is it Spine :( :(

Your symptoms are exactly what I had I thought all.my pain.was coming from my back i have slippage in the spine and stenosis had mri scan on back it was the specialist I saw who said it could be my hip I saw orthopedic surgeon who confirmed my hips were bad I had the injection in the hip which did ease the pain for about 24 hrs had hip.replacemeny last August and due to have the left leg u done 26 of this month I do have injections into the spine but can't have any more till after the hip replacement. The.pain.is horrendous at times but keep your chin up I'm sure they will sort you out soon hugsxx

I'm afraid it will sound familiar to most of us - but the same or similar symptoms can arise from both the spine and the hip. I know - like you I have both. 

The issue with the injection is that there is no guarantee it works .- so it wouldn't be conclusive.i had two. The first time it worked like a dream for a year. The second time, absolutely nothing at all. Not one second. 

Of course, the real fact is that it's probably both! But certain aspects of this are definitely the spine - sitting or leaning forward relieves neuropathic pain which comes from the spine. That leaning over the supermarket trolley is exactly what I do to relieve the spinal stenosis, and my doctors told me it's an archetype posture for people with this problem. But the lifting of the leg bit, that sounds to me like the hip. I went through a lot of that, and it would wax and wane - sometimes better, other times not.

The pain you describe today sounds like bursitis, which is commonly something that goes alongside the hip problems. 

I have to say, my pain medications were similar to yours, and the pain felt as bad as yours if not a little worse - and it was actually osteonecrosis, probably as a result of the osteoarthritis. It can come on very quickly, and an xray will spot it. Mine was "ok" in March 2016 but I was thinking that the time had come for thinking about hip replacement - in June I collapsed in sudden and excruciating pain, and when rushed into hospital, they found that the hip had died and was crumbling away! 

That's so tough, all of that pain and disability, Sarah! I have a couple of questions. You said the hip x-ray showed one hip with less space between the ball and socket and a bone spur. Is that the same side where you are having all of the trouble with your thigh/groin pain and cannot lift? And am I correct that you have pain when lying down and trying to walk, but not when sitting?

I am 69, and have had both hip and spine problems. I had a total hip replacement on the right hip. Then, when I wasn't able to walk without a severe limp and pain many months afterwards, they checked out my spine with x-ray, MRI and a sacroiliac cortisone injection. None of them showed any problem. I had no reduction of pain with the injection. Had to go for second opinion when original surgeon had no clue, and it ended up that I had torn gluteus medius and minimus tendons, which needed to be surgically repaired.

Then in between the two surgeries, I had a compression fracture of a thoracic vertebra, which was agonizing and required a surgical procedure to fix. 

I know that sometimes pain from the spine can be referred to the hip, butt and/or legs. But that wasn't my experience. My spine pain was in my spine. My hip pain was in my hip. And my gluteal pain was in my butt. 

With your hip x-ray findings showing loss of space (meaning degeneration of cartilage) between the ball and socket, (plus a bone spur), that sounds like hip trouble to me. I remember the bone-on-bone pain in my hip joint that I suffered before my hip replacement, and it was horrible. I could not put any weight on my leg, and had to use a walker during those times.

Hope your doctors can figure it out for you. I have seen a number of people on this forum and in another where spine was suspected, even though pain was squarely in the hip, and precious time was wasted exploring spine issues, when a hip x-ray clearly showed significant damage.

Hi Sarah

Firstly I truly empathise with the pain.

I had a hip injection which worked for about 3 weeks it was marvellous. Then it wore off!!! Went back to see Consultant who said as the hip injection worked that meant I needed a new hip.

June 2016 I had my new hip and never looked back.

Prior to my new hip I had pain in the groin the hip lower back ...keep persevering and hòpefuly you will get sorted.

Please keep us posted and good luck.

Sarah, I'm so sorry that you are in such pain. I can understand why you need to cry. I do believe that the hip injection is a good idea. I've been getting them for a couple of years and for me they really work wonders. You don't want to undergo THR if that is not what is causing your pain. I know that others will have more helpful information for you and I look forward to hearing whether or not the hip injection helps.

Anne

 

I went through the same thing. Finally hip doctor gave me a cortisone shot in the hip joint 12/1/16. 70% immediate relief. Back Doctor said do hip first then if still other pain come back for a laminotomy for the severe spinal stenosis. I had a THR 3/29/17 and no longer have any pain in that leg like I had before. Grateful I did not have back surgery first. I had arthritis of the hip, a torn ligament and cracked hip bone! No wonder I hurt so bad. Good luck.