Extreme hip pain-help!

[Aurignacian]

I’ve had occasional hip pain for a few years, usually when i’ve been out walking for a long time or sometimes when sleeping on my side. Yesterday i woke up with extreme pain in both hips and across my lower back. It’s not got any better and it’s hard to do anything at all. Moving, sitting even rolling over in bed are very difficult and painful. I’ve referred myself to physio this morning and am taking painkillers but what can I do to help and what has caused this? It’s really awful!

I have just been had an MRI regarding hip pain which I have had for nearly 2 years,.The results have just come through .I have disc degeneration with bulges noted between L4-5,L3-4 and L5-S1 also a nerve root in the lateral recess. The pain is vibrating into the hip joints which of course leads to difficulty walking , I have been prescribed codeine 4 times a day when it flares up. I am 60 years old and been told its to do with my age . I am careful how I sleep in bed and try not to twist and turn in in the night , and try and keep straight when getting up or out the car. Now I know what is causing my pain I am much more aware of how I can help myself in managing the pain .

I’d suggest pushing for a diagnosis via MRI. I had hip pain, which I thought was caused by referred disc pain, or joint damage. Turns out it was a tight psoas muscle and just needed a few exercises to become
manageable. My brothers hip pain was caused by an abscess in the bone and he had a replacement . In other words there are a number of causes and proper diagnosis is the first step to fixing it. Good luck!

Had this went to chiropractor in September he fixed my back but the hip got worse suddenly. Saw GP who sent me for an x-ray. Osteoarthritis in both hips and SI JOINT. I was shocked. Like you the last couple of years I'd had the odd bit of trouble. I'm now seeing an osteopath who has given me deep massages which help and three exercises. Steps, squats and double bridge. Seeing him once a week at present. I'm aghast at how weak my right leg has become doing The step up and down

I can get referred pain in my hips and knees because of flat feet. Need to wear orthotics in all shoes. If I don't, hip/knee pain follows, worse at night and wakes me up.

That happened to me, thought I'd pulled a muscle or something, turns out within a year my right hip had completely collapsed, I had a hip replacement 18 months ago, because of the length of time it took waiting to get my op the op wasn't as successful as it should have been and I've now got one leg 2" shorter than the other. Quite a shock as I thought hip replacements happened to much older people, not 50 year olds.

I was seen by an orthopedic surgeon in December 2019, (referred by my GP after the x-ray), who confirmed my diagnosis. He said I would wait 3-4 months for surgery, but in fact I had the operation in February 2020 - before we all knew Covid 19 was going to hit us and cause so much disruption to routine procedures such as mine. So lucky!
Post-op pain was quite bad, and I needed 2 walking sticks initially. But it gradually got better and better. If ever my other hip needed replacing, I would go for it, no problem.

Could be bursitis of hip. Pain can radiate to back and other hip. Sounds rather typical.
You need to contact your GP for a scan/ MRI ,referral to physio for proper diagnosis and to get some decent analgesia (painkillers) like Codeine or short term Tramadol.
Insufficient pain control can lead to less mobility and that can be a risk in itself.
Good luck.

Aurignacian it could be bursitis and if it is you need to be careful what stretches you do as it can make it worse.if it is bursitis you need to exercises that support your hips. I find the microwavable discs help ease the pain.

I have osteoarthritis in my hips (had X rays last spring) and take cocodamol to manage the pain first thing in the morning. Regularly take two doses per day to get everything done I need to each day.

I agree with others you need to see a GP but you will need decent painkillers. I find ibuprofen and paracetamol don't do very much.

I had hip pain for 12+ years had physio didn't work finally got an X-ray and have been diagnosed with hip dysplasia.

Torn cartilage can also cause hip pain. You need a GP appointment and investigations, X-ray and bloods I would ask for

I had similar, it was hip bursitis and a glute tear. GP & physio

That is awful @MaydinEssex . If you don’t mind me asking, why did the surgery result in a loss of leg length?

Thanks so much to everyone who has replied. I’m going to try and get a GP appointment as soon as possible. Not easy though, my practice is great but it’s a 3 week wait for routine appointments and telephone roulette for same day. I’m being investigated for sjogrens syndrome atm and have only very recently been diagnosed with high blood pressure. Feels a bit like I’m falling apart!

A couple of exercises my physio gave me for when my hip goes out:

Face towards a kitchen chair with the front of the seat towards you, holding the back put your foot on it with toes to the back of the seat then lean forward. Do it three times on both sides.

Lie on the edge of a bed and let one leg dangle over the edge. Pull your knee up towards your chest and hold for a minute. Repeat on opposite side.

Sometimes just wearing different shoes is enough to give me terrible pain.

The knee of the non-dangling leg!

I have been in this same situation. Long walks resulted in pain and difficulty lifting up my legs when going up a step or getting into a car.
I was referred to a physio in the first instance as my doctor thought it was a knee problem but, after no joy, I was referred for an xray which showed osteoarthritis in my hips. It took 6 months to get to this stage. I manage my pain with ibuprofen.
I have occasional flare ups which are extremely painful and I struggle to sleep and every step I take is uncomfortable which sounds similar to what you are experiencing now. They can last for a few days but it eventually eases up. I'm never completely pain free but it's manageable.
I know my limitations and have looked up suitable exercises online so that I don't agrivate my hips.
Despite all this, I'm still active and even managed a ski holiday over winter (popping pain killers like smarties for a week).

It sounds similar to what I had a few years back. In bed, my hips would sort of burn, and walking for a long time, or walking fast I'd get this odd feeling in the bottom of my back as though my legs were disconnected with my back.

Eventually I went to the doctor and he referred me to physio, and for x-rays etc. He thought the hips might be bursitis.

Anyway I was very sceptical of the physio. Didn't think they'd do much. He did some massage, gave me some exercises and told me one leg was longer than the other.
So I got risers in my shoes, and did the exercises and to my surprise it did pretty much clear up. I have occasional mornings when I have a slight ache, and if I wear a pair of shoes without the risers for too long (especially walking on uneven ground) I ache quite quickly, but it did work.

Thanks @JaneJeffer very helpful

@DeadBod that doesn’t sound that great. I’m a skier too and was worried about whether I’d ever be able to go again. Brilliant that you managed it!

@MargaretThursday i sometimes get that weird feeling too. Really glad you got some resolution. Was there much difference in your leg length?

I got a telephone triage physio appointment today (Bupa, through my Dh’s job). She said she thought it was probably my lower back causing problems and might be related to the possible sjogren’s syndrome. She’s authorised 5 sessions of physio. The earliest appointment i could was in a week though so I’m not sure how I’m going to manage until then. It’s still very very painful and awful at night. I’m finding it very hard to concentrate at work.

Hi, this has been happening to me too. I am also menopausal and I've been struggling with terrible disabling hip and back pain for about 18 months. I saw a physio and a specialist in A&E because of this (pain so bad he rated it as a 10). I've been referred to orthopedics and the pain clinic (very long waiting lists) but my horrid GP only offered me antidepressants for the pain. So that's my story here's my advice -

Go see your GP. ASAP because, as I said, NHS waiting lists are appallingly long and the sooner you get your name down on the list the better.

If you can afford it, get a diagnostic appointment with a physiotherapist, this will help you to get your GP to take you seriously. If you go see one at a local leisure center rather than those who work from an office or home you might find them cheaper by around £20 a session (I saw one in their office only to find the local pool had one who had good recs but cost £45 compared to the £65 I paid)

Whilst you have mentioned the hip pain first you might well find that it's actually coming from your spine and running into your hip, though you will need a doctor or physio to judge this.

The specialist I saw in A&E told me that I have a herniated spine, disc/s ruptured possibly quite high up because of my pain level and that I might just have to learn to live with that but that with proper pain management I might be able to start walking again (as in my usual daily exercise I have done for decades, not that I have lost the use of my legs completely )

The physio I saw also said this was a spine issue with possible bulging discs and he gave me stretching exercises to do - I now do yoga (I know, lots of people hate the very idea of yoga, including me) and these are the things I now do and they do help a bit but mostly just with mobility rather than pain:

Stretch yourself on your hands and knees like a cat, with your bum in the air and your back arched then lower your shoulders down and hold for a minute to really work those back muscles.

Half plank - keep your pelvis glued to the floor and lift yourself up making an arch with your back, do ten reps a day morning and night and slowly add more reps as you are comfortable with.

I now have nicely toned arms and my abs are in better shape too. I genuinely feel it if I don't do these reps for a while and if I am woken up in the middle of the night (this happens quite frequently) I do the cat until the pain eases a little and I can go back to sleep.

I hope some of that helps you.

@Aurignacian About 1/2 cm only. Never noticed it, but the physio picked it up as soon as I walked into the room. As soon as he said it, it made sense-I've always tended to stand leaning on one leg.
It's a case of a simple riser in the shoe-I think it costs about £2 on ebay and it makes quite a difference.

@Theblondehobbit thank you for your incredibly useful post. Yes hopefully the physio will give me some answers and physio I spoke to on the phone today also suggested it might be my back. I do have osteoarthritis in my lower back (and at the top) so it makes sense. She gave me some exercises that I’m going to try this evening but I’m not sure I’m going to be able to get up onto the floor and up again!

@MargaretThursday you know I think I lean on one leg too? That foot sort of leans in a bit as well. I was always being told to ‘walk properly’ when I was a kid

I forgot to add the really important hip exercises - I pul my knee up place my heal on my knee while sitting down or on my back and I also lay flat and pull each individual knee up so my foot is in line with my other knee, then I swing my knee over the opposite thigh a few times on each leg. I hope that makes sense, if not then Google 'hip opening exercises'. They really help me stiffness wise.

Another vote for an MRI here. If you can afford it, go privately for this. The NHS likes you to tick off all the possible other possibilities first and this can really impact on how fast you can get a diagnosis and therefore, the appropriate treatment. You don't want to be waiting weeks or months for each of a doctor's appointment/ physio appointment/ physio treatment/ x ray/ pre assessment to see whether you really need to see a consultant/ in the queue for a consultant/ in the queue for treatment. Particularly with waiting lists as they are now.

I'm not suggesting you give up on the exercises, stretches etc because they can really help, but I'd be pushing for a proper diagnosis at the same time rather than waiting to see whether the current treatment seems to fix things.

I worked my way through physios/chiropractors/ anything else I could think of for over two years before I finally got an MRI. It was blatantly obvious from this that I needed a new hip, which was the last thing I expected. The good news is that although this is quite a big operation it's a very routine one and it fixes things instantly - when you wake up the pain is gone for good. I would say I was back to normal after 6 weeks but actually I was better than the 'normal' I had become used to. I now have more strength and mobility in my operated leg than in the other one.

Good luck.