Chronic hip pain

[catsandlavender]

I’m 26 and have suffered with chronic intermittent pain which I think starts in my hip and radiates to my knee and sometimes ankle for many years.

I have been fobbed off by GPs who claimed it was growing pains when I was a teen, and then when RA was ruled out by blood tests just said “it’s joint pain” and referred me for some useless physio.

Anyone who has anything similar - what do you do that helps? Any topical creams, tablets, miracle drug that will stop me wanting to rip my bones out and smash them on the floor????

I think you need an X-ray to find out exactly what is going on. I’ve had two hip replacements and the pain with my osteoarthritis was similar to what you are explaining.

My gp referred me to the physio first, I insisted on an X-ray. The physio told me I just had to learn to cope with the pain better. When I finally saw the consultant and had a ct scan the arthritis was a lot worse than showed up on my initial X-ray. I’m in my 40s.

It’s probably not arthritis, but I do think you need an X-ray. Sounds like you will have to push for it.

@Flythedragons I totally forgot I have also had an x ray about 4-5 years ago I think, but that was on my knee which is where the pain used to be predominantly. Since then I have identified that I think the pain starts in my hip, so I should probably get an x ray there. The last one I had showed nothing abnormal.

That sounds like my experience with physio - “you just have to learn to live with it but we don’t know what it is”. Very annoying. Thank you for your response! I think I will go back to the doctor and insist on a further x ray of my hip. Sorry to hear yours was arthritis.

I also had arthritis in my hip. When I saw the consultant I remember saying the pain was also in my knee and ankle, which seemed weird, but it is 'referred pain'. I think it is the bodies way of coping.

I had a hip replacement in my 40's, but unfortunately still had pain afterwards in the areas you described. Because I had coped for so/too long with the arthritis my body had accommodated it by heavily limping etc, and everything was left out of kilter after my op.

The pain I ended up with was bursitis, and the only thing that worked was some intensive physio sessions and some core strengthening exercises similar to pilates.

@notaflyingmonkey that’s exactly how mine feels - I can tell it’s the hip but then it can hurt all the joints in my left leg. The physio said “it could be greater Trochanteric pain syndrome” but I don’t feel it fits the description of that, and she didn’t seem very sure.

I just feel like it would be strange for me to have had it all my life if it was arthritis - or does that happen? It’s not stiff or swollen, just painful. That sounds hard for you to have had to deal with. I hope the physio has continued to help you!

You need an x-ray. It sound similar to the pain I experienced. I have hip dysplasia

Also it might be helpful for you to know that I didn’t feel pain in my hip, it was in my back and legs down to my ankles, but never my hips. That was until one hip dislocated due to the arthritis, that was painful in the hip area. Push for that X-ray. It might be because of your young age that they don’t think it’s joint problems.

Xray, Or even an MRI. In my experience GPs are very reluctant to do proper investigations of joint problems . There is a tendency to fob people off .

I had to push and push to see a consultant and only then did I feel it was properly looked at.

I keep being told “it’s muscular” but it really doesn’t feel muscular, it feels like it’s in the bone. That is helpful @Flythedragons thank you!
@YogiMatte completely agree, it’s almost like they have ruled out Ehler danlos, RA, and presumably it’s not a tumour as it’s remained the same for like 15 years... so they aren’t bothered

Have you looked at hip bursitis?

@notaflyingmonkey yes, but it doesn’t hurt when I press it and the pain isn’t worsened by lying on one side. I do notice that when I get up out of a chair after sitting for a while I sometimes stagger because it’s like my knee locks up Always a good look in front of a class of 30 9 year olds...

My hip would lock. To the extent that I couldn't move it or bear weight on it, usually after sitting. Weirdly, sitting again and then standing again would reset it and it would be fine. It would also stab a sharp pain when moved in a particular way.

I was MASSIVELY fobbed off by the system.

GP after my hip loking made me fall up a flight of stairs in public - blood test for arthritis. Come back again.

GP again a few months later. Sent for xray.

Called up for results. Sorry, lost results. Then they phoned to say they found results and all was well. Then phoned again a week later asking me to go in and discuss the xray. They said hip was (once again) fine, but I had some arthritis on my spine. Nothing to worry about. It will clear up.

BACK to gp again. They referred to physio. Query bursitis - 11 week wait for an appt.

Ten weeks physio. Getting no better. More sore with some exercises. They also query bursitis. Referred me to the triage clinic at the hospital. 3 month wait for this.
They again query bursitis. Refer me BACK to the physio dept. Which tries to put me on their waiting list again (now for 18 weeks). Me pointing out that they had referred me to the hospital and I'd been referred back to them just in one week and questioning whether they wanted me still to wait meant they found my details and got me back on their books quickly.

Saw a (very dishy) chartered physio. He was confused. 10 weeks of more physio made no difference so he referred me to orthopaedics.

26 weeks later I was finally seen.

The orthopaedic surgeon asked rather incredulously why he was looking at a three year old x ray - my original one - that clearly showed the problem.

It then took steroid injections to clarify if surgery was required. It was. I had a hip arthroscopy op to scoop out overgrown bone in my hip socket and had the ball of the top of the leg joint smoothed too.

No more locking hip.