It all started about 10 months ago when doing intense intervals on the trainer. It felt like I pulled a muscle in my upper thigh. A few months later, I pulled my back out during a stress test on the treadmill. That's when everything went downhill quickly.....
The most pain is in my buttocks, the area below the butt (upper hamstring) and the side of the hip making sitting almost impossible - the back not so much. My hip area feels as if it's just in a shell, not being stable - as if something is missing. As my right leg is so much weaker than the left, I did a single leg extension test on my own - the right leg can only press about 1/3 of the left. Sometimes the leg also feels heavy.
I did 4 months of PT without any improvement and also saw a chiropractor a few times. After that I sought the advice of two surgeons and had MRIs done of both the back and hip. Consequently, I had a cortisone shot on the side of the hip for hip bursitis and in the glutes - no relief. Shortly after, I had an injection (no cortisone) into my hip to see if that would temporarily decrease the pain for 6-8 hours as the MRI revealed a frayed labrum - no relief. The hip doc says that my left hip might look the same due to all the tri-related activities and that the pain is probably coming from the back. Several weeks later I had a cortisone shot in the SI joint - no relief either. Interestingly enough, all the shots I received increased the pain in my buttocks, the area below the butt and the side of the hip.
I'm at the end of my rope!
Back doc wants me to get an EMG and a nerve conduction study done. Hip doc wants me to see a pain management doc - even without a diagnosis. Does anyone have any suggestion where the actual source of the pain is so I can get it treated accordingly and finally make improvements? I feel like everyone is just shooting darts at me in hopes one of them will stick. :(

Here is more info if needed....
Results of the arthrogram MRI of the hip:
- no stress reaction, fracture or AVN involving right hip, mild degenerative changes within right hip
- blunting and tearing of anterior labrum
- mild cartilage thinning within superolateral margin of joint space
- small area of benign-appearing fibrocystic change within right femoral head neck junction
- prominence of femoral head neck junction can predispose to cam type impingement
- mild degenerative spurring with reactive edema signal at public symphysis
- mild degenerative changes with reactive endplate edema within lumbar spine
- no acute musculotendinous injury, proximal hamstring tendinosis
- no significant tendinopathy or tear in greater trochanteric attachments of gluteus medius and minimus tendons
- no significant iliopsoas or greater trochanteric bursitis
- small amount of free fluid within low pelvis

Results of the back MRI:
- L2-3 and L3-4 - severe disc height loss assymmetrically greater to the right at L2-3 where there is degenerative endplate edema, bulging discs at both levels with mild right L3-4 facet arthropathy and foraminal narrowing, no high-grade stenosis or neural compression
- L5-S1 - bulging disc with mild left foraminal narrowing
- L1-2 through T11-12 - disc dehydration and height loss, posterior disc bulge eccentric to the left at L1-2

No worries. I was probably not very good in wording it either. ;) Let's assume there is a tear only surgery could fix, but instead I stretch, strengthen, bike/run.... and potentially make things even worse. I would rather want to know that I need to stop everything altogether and have the surgery instead of experimenting for another extended period of time.

You mention this but then never talk about what you did to deal with those issues. Sounds like you had 10 months on increased tense on you pelvis and back and never focused on improving that but rather quick miracles with fingers and needles. get stronger in the muscles that are locking your pelvis and back. Lengthen under load!!! good luck, sorry but over a forum thats the best help you can get.

It’s mostly a clinical diagnosis. Sometimes emg will be abnormal.

PT could try e stim or dry needling. But ultrasound guided injection would be the best option.