Help! If physio makes it worse how do you get help?

[YellowSunshineSky]

I have some niggling pain (not agony, but annoying enough) in my right buttock area and down my right thigh on the outside. I'm 49 and reasonably fit and flexible.

When I sit cross-legged, yoga style on the floor, my right thigh aches, and I get some pain in my groin too, and afterwards it hurts there and over my hip at the back on the top of my buttock area. Occasionally my hip will hurt a little at the side too.

Although the pain is mild, it's bad enough that I avoid sitting cross-legged or doing yoga. And the pain niggles at me through the day generally too, even when not doing those activities.

All of the piriformis exercises online all make it worse, if I bring my leg up to my chest and stretch that area, that triggers the pain.

So far GP just gave me physio exercises that made it worse, so I don't know what to do next as don't feel I want to be referred to physio for more exercises to make it worse!

Try a different physio? Must be a wrong diagnosis, surely? I have lots of experience of pain that doesn't respond to physio, is this something you have had before in other parts of the body? Or is it a one off?

I had this and Pilates really helped, especially bridge-type exercises. Some core stability exercises and working my glutes has got rid of it.

I also had a huge knot in my right glute which id not realised. Once I discovered it and massaged it out that also helped.

TB445 Sorry to hear that you have pain that doesn't respond to physio. I'm currently experiencing arm pain too, mainly on right, but more recently on left as well. I'm going to see various specialists about that, it might be nerve impingement or thoracic outlet syndrome. Maybe my whole spine has issues, I don't know.

Ladyface thanks for sharing your experience. How long did it take to go, how long did you do those exercises and how many a day?

Have you tried swimming as an alternative to yoga?

Are you sure the diagnosis is right? Have you had any scans

A good sports massage with someone who can then show you the exercise to release the tension in the region they have worked on. Usually the massage is not at all enjoyable but two days later- wow.

In my experience physio always makes you feel a lot worse before you start getting better!

My DS has just had his first physio appointment after a 6 month wait and she put him through such gruelling exercises that he was exhausted and needed to sleep when we got home. Now he's doing them every day at home and things are starting to get easier.

If i were you i'd opt for a physio appointment as they'll probably be able to get to the bottom of what's wrong better than a GP can. It might be posture related?

Did you doctor check your leg lengths? A friend of mine had pain in one hip until it was discovered that one leg was slightly longer than the other. It was making her walk in an awkward way and has been sorted by an insert in her shoe.