osteoarthritis

Pete, no matter what is wrong with you it seems they almost always diagnose hip OA if they find degenerative changes in your hip joints. So the symptoms you describe with clear x-rays and they'd keep looking. But if they find degenerative changes they stop looking for a cause, put you on painkillers and tell you to wait it out until it's time for a hip replacement. The reason this is so wrong is because degenerative changes in hips is very common at your age - in healthy, symptom free people. It means nothing.

I had a similar diagnosis age 42. I'm now 50 and virtually symptom free. It never was OA. A correctable muscle imbalance. It's a cop-out diagnosis that I suspect is wrong for lots and lots of people.

Have you been referred for physio therapy? Who made the diagnosis? Doctors rarely know much about soft tissue problems that cause these kind of symptoms. Nor do surgeons. Have you asked where they think the pain is coming from - so hip joint itself; muscles? I'd hazzard a guess it's soft tissue - in which case you need to address that problem rather than simply masking it with pain killers. Regardless of whether the degenerative changes in the joint are responsible for causing soft tissue problems you need to keep the soft tissue functioning as well as is humanly possible.

A driving job could well cause the symptoms you describe in someone with healthy hip joints. Try massage. Look up trigger point therapy - you can do that yourself. If massage helps then chances are the source of you pain is soft tissue in which case your doctor needs to be referring you for physio rather than fobbing you off with strong (potentially damaging) pain killers. (Although good luck with that!).

Sometimes just a change can be enough to put things right. You're driving (sitting) for long periods each day. This (for starters) will shorten hip flexors and weaken glutes. This can cause leg and hip pain. Try and spend less time sitting and get out and walk, swim, climb hills - whatever you can manage as often as you can. This *could* be enough to reset the muscle balance. But you need to keep it up long term. A physio would give you some exercises to help strengthen the weak muscles and stretch out the tight hip flexors (a good one would at least!).

Good luck with it!

Hi Pete

There be lots if alternative opinions and probably more than one official diagnosis along the way - I had terrible problems driving long distances when I was in my early 20s - my lower back and hips would seize up - and my sternum would become sore and "sticky" and crunch and click in my ribs.  I would limp with hip inflammation.

My diagnosis was a form of arthritis called Ankylosing Spondylitis - X-ray also diagnosed osteo arthritis early on even at about 20 years old!  I am now 48.  My Dad had to have 2 hip replacements 

I will have read so many articles and medical studies on arthritis that it is a joke in my family -

- Osteoarthritis is not just wear and tear - it can be low grade inflammation.  In fact I subscribe that osteo at an early age is wear and tear that is not repairing as it should in a young healthy body.  It is also likely that osteoarthritis may in some cases be autoimmune in nature (according to Harvard University studies)

- Inflammation can be caused by environmental factors - such as diet and balance of gut bacteria

- Both inflammation and inability to repair can also be caused by lack of essential minerals and vitamins

- Nutritional status and gut bacteria (the balance if different species) living in our digestive tract are known to contribute to many diseases

My own health was removing foods that were effecting my inflammation - and we're also making my gut barrier "leaky" causing bacteria to trigger an immun response that were also attacking my bones and cartilidge.

Evidence that this can happen has been assured now by celiac as a model of autoimmunity as it is not just the gut that is attacked by the immune system when a person eats wheat - it can be any tissue in the body (gluten ataxia - brain, dermatitis - skin) - so that's just one protein we know that can leak in and cause havoc.

Other proteins such as bacteria can also do the same.

Do you have any patterns when do days are better than others and you can drive without pain ?