Hip Pain - How do you manage? Any advice gratefully received.

[ipanemagirl]

I have been through the system and am not yet a candidate for hip replacement according to my consultant. He said I’m in the 20% who is likely to find an operation does not improve my life.

My problem is I do my exercises and walking and sometimes I am fine. But today I am in such sharp pain it is hard to walk. I feel like I’m secretly disabled. I’m very ashamed as I think it’s my fault for not exercising carefully enough over the years. Also I think menopause, injury, bad exercise, hyper mobility, three pregnancies and a bit of weight have contributed.

I don’t know how other people decide how to live with this kind of confounding, inconsistent pain.

any advice gratefully received. Psychologically this feels impossible at the moment.

I've been diagnosed with mild hip dysplasia in my right hip (left is normal), and consultant suspects I also have trochanteric bursitis in the same joint which is probably responsible for all the pain on the outside of the hip.

I'm awaiting an MRI to see whether there are also issues in the joint ie arthritis etc because there is also clicking and shooting pain in the groin, it tries to give way if I turn on that foot to go right, that sort of thing but tbh the outside pain is what's keeping me awake at night and causing the most grief!

Doc said on the basis of the xray, he wouldn't want to operate on the dysplasia but the MRI will inform all next steps. Bring it on!

Would you mind sharing which collagen you have used please? I heard a mix of bovine and marine is the best. I've been on nutrition geeks for a month I'm not sure if I've noticed any difference yet. Thank you

I notice another poster said they were put on the list for the op when they said the pain was waking them through the night. This was the same for me. When I said I could no longer take part in life because of pain and it was preventing me sleeping and waking me up when I was asleep they put me on the list. I probably waited about 8 months to a year to get to the top of the list.

I work in surgery & the lists are not that long.. My friends dad got his hip done within 4 months of being put on the NHS waiting list.. the things that tend to slow ppl down are needing to lose weight / stop smoking if the surgeon specifies it. Also needing treatment for co morbidities first especially bp & heart problems that may crop up in pre assessment for example. Patients get angry at the delays but it benefits them as the surgery is safer & has a better outcome.
My friends dad is 75. He has osteoarthritis, diabetes & high bp. He had a routine spinal anaesthetic with mild sedation and was home on crutches the day after his op with exercises to do follow up physio at outpatients. He did have a lot more post op pain than he expected so had to use oxycodone for a couple of weeks, and being 75 with health issues did feel quite lethargic for a week at home post op.
But now he’s out and walking around without crutches.
I am overweight and was getting regular hip pain st night and on walking which my gp said could be bursitis and he offered me injections but actually, I needed naproxen for plantar fasciitis which also has helped my hip pain! I take it once a day and take omeprazole anyway, which protects the stomach lining as naproxen is an anti inflammatory.
Im also trying to diet. But I have arthritis in my hands so I’m aware that it’s probably an issue elsewhere!

HRT if you're not on it already - loads of preventative health benefits & it's a licensed treatment for osteoporosis.

The book Built From Broken. I-IV Collagen and Tumeric supplements (both evidence-based).

I also started Collagen after a major joint injury - after researching I take Alpha Zero One multi Collagen @ 2400mg (with Vit C, Hyaluronic acid & Black Pepper extract).

I've had both hips replaced and your symptoms sound like mine were. Waking up with a cry if I moved in my sleep and stiffness and massive groin pain. Worst was the lack of outward rotation and inability to reach my shoe laces.

I had my first replacement in 2019 and last summer I went back to the same surgeon to get the other one done. I had the SuperPath approach, which means you're up and about within 24 hours. I even walked across the car park with just one crutch the very next day.

The consultant said I wasn’t bad enough yet for replacement because sometimes I’m ok OP, when I read this, it reminded me that when I asked my surgeon if I was 'bad enough' his response was 'well, it isn't going to get any better so lets crack on and replace it.'

I take Naproxen twice a day, I've had one hip replaced 11 years ago and it changed my life. My right hip is giving me a lot of pain and keeping me up at night too. I have been referred for an MRI earlier today.
I had my first op done privately.

I'm 55 and get terrible pain in my right hip which the GP has diagnosed as arthritis. I've got a lump on the bone (bone spur) and it was really getting me down at one point. All the GP wanted to do was prescribe pain killers but I chose instead to see an osteopath. I also take a high strength Vit D supplement without fail. Walking has been my salvation - I've got 2 spaniels and do at least 10k steps a day. It's not magically gone, of course, but it's manageable and I only take the odd pain killer (usually at night). I know that at some point, I'll need something more but for now, it's something I can co exist with. I do also know that I need to lose a couple more stone.

I’d recommend finding a different physio that can help you build strength and understand pain. Also investigate hydrotherapy, you’ll almost certainly need to do that privately.

Finding the balance between doing enough and not too much is hard, but too much and then resting is often better than doing too little.

I have had both my hips replaced and I remember the pain and not knowing what was wrong with me. And sometimes feeling abosloutely fine and was I just making it up. Yet I worked with a physio and could walk limp free. So from the outside I could look fine. There is a line in my diary when I was admitting to myself how much harder everything was to do and the effort now I was disabled.

So I really understand it can be a confusing pain. What I didn’t use until after my first hip replacement was assistive aids. Because they were not on my radar because I could walk. I probably didn’t want to standout or look ‘weak’ but that is stinking thinking and not helpful. So actually if I was to ‘go back in time’ I should have used a cane or crutches to help me in my every day life well before I did. For just that - asssistance.

Also I have zero pain now and it’s amazing so I would get a second opinion.

As an aside, I was diagnosed just over a year ago with GTPS after struggling for months with hip pain, I was finally hospitalised in April unable to move even a mm and it was actually disc protrusions at L4/5 and l5/s1, orthopaedic Dr said it was very clear from my original symptoms so couldn't understand why both gp and physio misdiagnosed me. No back pain whatsoever and I've had back problems since I was 15!

I don’t know if you’ll find my experience helpful. I was told I was too young for a hip replacement (I was 50) but i was in agony, my quality of life was gone. I got a second opinion, where I emphasised the loss of quality of life, and the impact on my mental health. The fact you can’t work means your quality of life is significantly impacted. The fact you are ok on your good days is irrelevant, it’s how you are on your bad days and how often they happen that matters. I had to fight to get my replacement. It sounds like you may have to also. I’m afraid the pain you’re describing will only get worse. It’s debilitating, I know.

I have had hip pain (right hip, shooting into my thigh, knee and into my shin and foot) for over 10 years. I’ve had x-ray investigations (mild arthritis, but nothing anyone wanted to follow up on), loads of tests for RA/ autoimmune disease (zero- appear to be super healthy), physios private and NHS, ultrasound scans to check for bursitis (nope), podiatrists NHS and private (bit of a bunion, orthopaedic referral but nothing anyone serious enough to warrant surgery as yet)to check on gaits.

I haven’t had an MRI and to those who have, I would like to ask what the MRI can identify that none of these other investigations can? I have claustrophobia and couldn’t cope with being in standard gantry without sedation, so I want to know that the MRI isn’t likely to be inconclusive before I pursue it!

Also and more optimistically to your point, OP: I have found that upping my strength training by adding weights to my exercise routines and doing squats, split squats, Cossack squats, sumo squats, lots of calf raises and foot and ankle strengthening exercises has really helped with my pain and ability to walk (I used to limp and pain would keep me awake). Ballet barre and floor barre to strengthen glutes, turnout muscles and help balance.

It has taken a lot of exercise- probably 3 times as much as the physios I used to see suggested, and over four times as long! But strengthening the muscles around the joints (as opposed to just stretching the ligaments with yoga, which I did for years) has made the difference.

I still do get pain, still am obviously weaker on one side, and still use ibuprofen very regularly, but it has improved. Maybe worth asking your physio about adding more weights/resistance to your exercises?

I haven’t had an MRI and to those who have, I would like to ask what the MRI can identify that none of these other investigations can? I have claustrophobia and couldn’t cope with being in standard gantry without sedation, so I want to know that the MRI isn’t likely to be inconclusive before I pursue it!

I didn't have MRI for either of my hip replacements. It was never mentioned at all and the x-rays on their own were incredibly clear. You could see the bone on bone.

💕💕💕💕💕💕 so much love and thanks to all of you for your posts! I have felt so lonely with this for weeks since I saw the Consultant.

I feel very motivated now for tomorrow and less timid and defeated!

Thank you xxxxxxxxxx hugely appreciated xxxxxx

So glad I came across this thread, I am starting to get groin and hip pain. Thank you for the suggestions of vit d, and the collagen details, ordered today.

Interesting - and horrifying! I wonder if that will be picked up on the hip-focused MRI 🤔

What was the outcome for you? Spinal surgery? How are you now?

Walking at 3 mile an hour place, no faster, for 3-4 flat miles, no further, 3-4 times a week, no more, no less.

Pilates, used to do once a week now do 5 minutes every morning. A different exercise every day.

Low level weight training once a week.

MSM, curcumin, cats claw and liquorice root (be careful of liquorice of you have high blood pressure or heart arrythmia, don't take cats claw unless your kidneys are OK).

Thank you imdunfer!

Pilates and chiropractor

You're most welcome!

I have a friend with severe rheumatoid arthritis who was part of the trials they did into limiting pain with structured exercise. The study was conclusive, you must move joints even if they hurt.

When I got RA myself, it was good to know. I'm also riddled with osteoarthritis from head to foot, a legacy of a lifetime of sport and hypermobility.

Cartilage essentially has no source of nutrition, no blood supply. If you don't do exercise that squeezes it and releases it to circulate fluid to it, it dies. Muscle strength around a joint is fundamental to the stability of it and stability prevents deterioration and pain. Weight training I use the machine and do low weights with 3x10 repetitions. It's amazing what just once a week of that can do.

For morning hip pain I find my best exercise is to stand on one leg, raise the other knee to a right angle and then rotate my knee out as far as it will go. Most times that will reduce the pain or even remove it.

My rheumatologist is surprised at my range of movement (my hand x rays are a nightmare of osteoarthritis! ) and I told him I'm pig-headed and every time a joint seizes I crack it open and force the biggest range of movement I can get out of it. It does help that I have a strange ability with pain!

I have, by the by, put my rheumatoid arthritis into total remission with the supplement cocktail I listed above. They have all been tested with osteo and rheumatoid arthritis and proved to be helpful. My blood scores are now absolutely normal, on no prescribed medication (and the drugs they give you for RA are fierce and have serious side effects! )

I think people need to be careful suggesting the sufferer of osteoarthritis needs to soldier on and push through the pain.

I did that for a period of time with my hip but eventually when you end up with bone on bone, the pain causes you to change how you walk to compensate and this can lead to damage to other parts of the leg, particularly the knee joint.

Replacing a damaged knee is a much bigger and more painful operation than replacing a hip.