Thight hips

[D2B]

HI

I have been having lots of pain in one hip when walking or putting weight on it, with shooting pains into my leg sometimes, physio, MRI scan, X-ray, nothing has helped. another thread mentioned thight hips and somehow somthing has clicked with me. Does anyone have any idea of some exercies to loosen/stretch up my hips?

Hope this makes sense, but there is such a wealth of great knowldege here, that I thought I might as well ask.

thanks in advance
d2b

 

[dragonfly411]

I would have them look into a possible pinched nerve as well, maybe see a massage therapist? But as to loosening hips, yoga is great for it, with moves like warrior, and different twists. Lots of stretching. Try going to yogatoday.com they have entire hip opening sequences.

 

[turtledazzle]

Date: 8/6/2008 5:34:35 PM
Author:D2B
HI

I have been having lots of pain in one hip when walking or putting weight on it, with shooting pains into my leg sometimes, physio, MRI scan, X-ray, nothing has helped. another thread mentioned thight hips and somehow somthing has clicked with me. Does anyone have any idea of some exercies to loosen/stretch up my hips?

Hope this makes sense, but there is such a wealth of great knowldege here, that I thought I might as well ask.

thanks in advance
d2b

Hi -- I''m sorry you''re in pain. You mention sometimes pain shoots down your leg. That sounds like sciatica.

I have experienced episodes of lower back/sacroiliac joint/hip/hip flexor pain for ~15 years now, so I understand your frustration. Like you, xray and mri show no problems ... and tons of different therapy (different physical therapists, chiropractor, different orthopaedists)) really didn''t make things much better. My current "flare-up" has been going on since early December.

I finally worried that something else might be wrong and went to a rheumatologist. While, thankfully, I do not have any arthritis or other disease, the rheumo was the one who finally referred me to really good physical therapist. For the past two months, I have been driving 80 miles roundtrip to see him (and I live in a major metropolitan area ... I''m driving to a smaller town, go figure) and paying out of pocket. While he has not magically cured me, he does seem to have a decent grasp of what is going on with me. He believes that my pain is referred pain coming from compression of the L5-S1 area of the spine. I''ve been using an inversion table at his office and it does seem to be helping.

So ... sorry to be so long-winded, but, not knowing your history, if you''ve only tried on physical therapist, perhaps try another ... preferably in a different office. I''ve found they vary quite a lot in what exercises they "prescribe".

Now, for something that might actually help

Is the hip pain in the front of your hip (hip flexor)? If so, the best stretch to isolate that area is shown in the attached picture (I find stretches are so hard to describe in words). My therapist has me do this one a lot -- it is amazing how much tighter and painful it is to do this on my right side compared to my left.

 

[turtledazzle]

If the pain is not in the hip flexor area, then is the pain on the side of your hip -- near the "ball and socket"? Does it hurt to sit for long periods? Then, you might benefit from a piriformis stretch.

My therapist is not allowing me to do this one, as he thinks these other pelvic stretches may be keeping my pelvis out of alignment ... not sure I completely agree, but I thought I would throw that out there. Of course, none of these things likely apply to your situation.

 

[turtledazzle]

If you''re looking for long-term increased hip flexibility, then yoga is a good thing to try. Just be careful and try the poses slowly - even though yoga is non-impact, you can absolutely hurt yourself by doing things too fast too soon (I torqued a knee).

Oh, and a massage isn''t a bad idea either. A good physical therapist or a massage therapist will know places to try to work that may affect the hip area. Just today I complained to my therapist about a random newish sharper pain on the side of my hip, and he started working on an area (not where my sharp pain was) and made me yelp -- and I had no idea that area was tender. Referred pain is weird. The relief I get from massages is temporary, however, as the root cause still exists (but your mileage may vary!).

Hope you get some relief soon! Best of luck to you!

 

[D2B]

thank you so much for your replies dragonfly and turtledazzle. I was really starting to get worn down by it all, as my GP basically told me as the MRI and x-ray showed nothing, that maybey I had a low pain thrshold and basically take pain killers and put up with it .....

I was not happy.

I will look at some gentle stretching and check out the joga as well.

I agree a good therapist should be able to help, the trick is finding one that understand. My health care only allows x amount, so trying out lots and lots gets difficult as i need a refereal from my very unsympathetic GP each time I see a new one.

Well, I am sorry you all also have hip pain, but it is nice to know someone understands.

d2b

 

[turtledazzle]

Date: 8/7/2008 3:35:14 AM
Author: D2B
thank you so much for your replies dragonfly and turtledazzle. I was really starting to get worn down by it all, as my GP basically told me as the MRI and x-ray showed nothing, that maybey I had a low pain thrshold and basically take pain killers and put up with it .....

I was not happy.

I will look at some gentle stretching and check out the joga as well.

I agree a good therapist should be able to help, the trick is finding one that understand. My health care only allows x amount, so trying out lots and lots gets difficult as i need a refereal from my very unsympathetic GP each time I see a new one.

Well, I am sorry you all also have hip pain, but it is nice to know someone understands.

d2b

I understand unsympathetic physicians -- I really disliked one of my orthopaedists. You only mention your GP -- have you gone to see an orthopaedist or another specialist? In my experience, my GP didn''t really have a clue so he referred me to specialists. Good luck!

 

[phoenixgirl]

I get tight/achy/sore? in the side of one hip when I run. I find that if I stretch kind of like this after running (haven''t tried crossing my legs, but that looks like it would be a good idea) I have no pain. Before I began running/exercising regularly, the other hip would sometimes feel like it had popped out of place, but this is just one of many bodily things that has improved with being in better shape.

DH has lower back pain which is greatly improved by stretching his hamstrings. I think most of us (Westerners at least) are really clueless when it comes to how our body is knit together. Hopefully a PT can figure out which muscles to stretch which way for you.

 

[Haven]

I highly recommend you check out this website. You will find information that addresses the root causes (e.g. muscle weakness) of problems rather than the symptoms (e.g. tightness).

I hope you find something that works!

 

[miraclesrule]

Is the pain only when you sit or it is while you are standing? Is the pain in the front of your leg/hip or the back. Psoas muscles get very tight and cause pain. Periformis syndrome is another possibility. Scatica another one. You need to rule out which differential dx so you can determine a definitive one and treat it accordingly.

 

[miraclesrule]

MRI''s aren''t end all be alls. They can suggest abnormalities but they still need clinical correlation to confirm a specific diagnosis. That is when I am an advocate of alterntive treatment. My orthopedist is amazing. Between my attention to history, onset and symptoms, he is usually able to make an accurate diagnosis, even though I sometimes suspect that he may be wrong...so fair he has been 98% accurate. The 2% was the actual post-op diagnosis after my shoulder surgery repair. Neither of us expected the reactive bursitis and the MRI didn''t identify it. Get second opinions.

 

[Lorelei]

Ok, from someone who has suffered from this to the point of despair, I have a really silly question! Do you ever lay on the floor and watch tv or read etc? I know this is really random, but it was this which was causing my trouble, I am not saying it is with you, but I thought it might be worth mentioning.

 

[Skippy123]

Yoga, there are lots of good hip openers. I would tell the instructor what you want and maybe certain classes they do hip opens, and those feel oh soo good and you will feel lots better!! I have tight hips too. Also have you tried one of those foam rollers, those help a bit too.

 

[Haven]

Before you start stretching your muscles, read this and this.

 

[D2B]

thanks everyone, again

. I really appreciate everyones time to post and your suggestions.

I will have to read up and see what will work.

d2b