Hip problems being mistaken for back issues?

Well you know it can be difficult to figure out which is causing what but getting a dr to stay on the same page can be difficult sometimes. It is not uncommon to have hip pain with back problems so if you have back issues they automatically say the hip issues are a result of that. I think you need to tell the dr since this does not seem to be related to your back that he needs to check your hips to see if something is going on there. Drs only like to deal with one thing at a time and that can be frustrating for the patient. Have you told your dr about the numb foot and how your knee hurts? I would be more concerned with a numb foot than the knee situation. Numb feet many times can be from a nerve in the lower back being pinched or compressed.

I do hope you ca get to the bottom of this. Please let us know what you find out.Take care....Susie

I suggest going to your doctor and telling him that you are concerned about problems in your hips and would like a complete workup of that area to make sure there are not any problems that may be happening but are being 'masked' so to speak by the issues in your back. If this doctor won't oblige then go to another one.

Hi tiredredhead. I can certainly understand the need to find out what's going on, and this is definitely the biggest reason why doctors should do more testing than just an MRI; so that hopefully, they can find the real source, or at least one of the sources, of pain. Other tests to consider would be EMGs, mylagrams, diagnostic epidural steroid injections, and of course, possibly more imaging of your hips, especially if you have good health insurance, who won't fight over more MRIs and other tests.

The idea that a disc bulge will only effect one side is not entirely accurate. In my experience, I had sciatica on both sides, my left was far more effected than my right, but both sides were effected. I think the primary reason that both sides were effected was that my spinal cord was being severely pinched by the disc, it did also hit a nerve root ending, but the bulge initially was on my spinal cord only, and got as bad as it did after a second trauma to the area.

Regarding the size of a disc bulge; mild, moderate, severe, it's really all up to tge interpretation of the reading doctor as to what label to give it, but as we all know, pain is a very individual experience (unless it's childbirth and the mother is as violent as my ex wife was), and just because a disc in my back might be labeled severe, and one in yours is labeled mild, doesn't mean you're in any less pain. Infact, one of my PMs told me that some of her hardest to treat patients, the ones that she had a hard time getting out of the 8-9 range, had smaller disc bulges (this is other than her cancer patients, according to her anyways).

Anyways, I'm not saying that I know what is the source of your pain, neither do I want to give you the impression that your back is definitely the source, I'm just saying that putting a label on the problems in your back doesn't rule your back out as tge possible source.

Well, I hope your doctors are able to get to the root of the problem, and able to adequately treat it. Kepe us posted on what they find and how you're doing. Take care, and I hope things work out for you.

Hi Redhead...

It might be worth asking your physio about a condition called 'Piriformis Syndrome'. The Piriformis is a muscle in the buttock/hip area. In a certain percentage of the population it seems that the sciatic nerve either runs through or is otherwise closely associated with the muscle. If the muscle is to tight or goes into spasm, it can compress the nerve and cause intense pain - just like disc issues in the lumbar spine.

Tightness and spasm if there is any abnormality in your gait, stresses on your hip, etc., In my case, I rely largely on a wheelchair, and sitting all the time has caused my piriformis muscles to tighten. I'm 'tough'...I've broken bones without tears... but the sciatic pain I have in my left leg from this has been so severe at times that I've blacked out.

You can help piriformis syndrome with certain stretches - your physio would be able to help with those. Stretching takes the pressures off the nerve - so pain relief from stretching can help to identify this as a cause. Hot and cold packs on your buttock can help help too. I've actually just had botox injections into mine - I still have a LOT of pain from other causes, but the muscle relaxation has helped.

Best of luck with finding a cause for your pain - and more importantly - a way to manage it.

Laura

Hi there

I really feel for you. Living with constant back pain is so hard.

My feeling, for what it's worth, is that Laura (CRPSpatient) is possibly correct in what she says. I gave suffered from, and still do, disc herniations and bulges and whilst I know that everyone feels and interprets pain differently, I honestly don't think that's your problem. To have the pain you are describing, I think more would have shown up on your MRI. Having said that, as Matt said, there are lots more tests that can diagnose or rule out any spinal issues.

I am not a doctor and can only offer an opinion based on my own personal situation. I think Laura has suggested something worth consideration. However something that can go hand in hand with piriformis syndrome is problems with your sacroiliac joints. I have suffered from disc related issues and have had spinal fusion. I fave also had SI joint issues and have had both sides fused. The pain you describe in the buttock sounds like the pain I had. Other symptoms I had was pain on sitting ( it was almost impossible to sit), pain on standing, pain down both legs occasionally. The main pain was in my buttocks, which tended to radiate out to my hips. Does that sound similar to you?the problem with SI joint issues is that they don't show up on x-ray or MRI. You have to rely on a knowledgeable surgeon who knows how to carry out the appropriate tests and stretches.

Treatment begins with physiotherapy, and if there are no results from that then injections can help and also RFA (radio frequency ablation). Surgery is the last resort. Unfortunately I had to resort to surgery. I have just had my right side fused, I had the left done in June. The signs are good. I have no pain at at all in my left side and the signs are good in my right. The surgery was only three weeks ago but already I am in less pain.

I hope this has given you another possibility to consider. As I said, I only offer these suggestions based on the fact that your pain and symptoms sound so like what I have put up with for more than two years. I didnt have numbness in my foot, however if there is a nerve impinged, i guess that would be possible You need to find a good surgeon you are comfortable with and can talk too. I really hope you can get some answers and some relief from your pain.

Good luck and take care

Jane

PS. I also have knee problems. Your pain sound like patella femoral type pain. I too can't bear to touch my kneecap. However I also have pain on walking. Maybe anti inflamatories would help there. As long as there is no pain on walking, that's a good thing!

Hi tiredredhead, the pain your describing is very much like the pain I have, and it is from a herniated disk at L4/5 and I also have severe narrowing of the framin (the openings in the vertabra that the nerve roots from the spinal cord pass through) any way that is putting pressure and impinging on the nerve root, but typically the pain felt from that is further down the nerve path way, such as in the buttocks and down the leg. You can have it on one or both sides depending on what is being impinged, if the nerve root is being impinged on the right side then that is the side you will have the discomfort. For me they are going to do a laminectomy and framinotomy and diskectomy at L3/4,  and L4/5 on the right side and the same procedure at just L4/5 on the left side, I am scheduled for the surgery the ninth of January. I have had three fusions in my neck  and the first herniated disk I had was at C6-C7 the pain I felt was from my elbows down into my fingers, but not in my neck but the pain was on both sides because the disk was pressing directly into the spinal cord causing impingment on both nerve roots on both sides. The second time it was herniated at C5/6 but the pain was mostly in my left arm because the nerve root on that side was impinged the worst. I had a Anterior Cervical Diskectomy and Fusion done on both of them.

 Anyway your complaints of pain in your butt and thigh  sound very similar to mine, and it sure sounds like problems with your lumbar spine. I do wish you well and hope you can get some answers soon!

White Beard