Going in circles and I'm sick of it - Desperately seeking diagnosis and cure for massive ongoing pain in glutes/thigh/hip/back area: Triathlon Forum: Slowtwitch Forums

Going in circles and I'm sick of it - Desperately seeking diagnosis and cure for massive ongoing pain in glutes/thigh/hip/back area

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trirocket

Jan 18, 21 14:56

Post #1 of 48 (3855 views)

4/5/21
UPDATE:
As one of the ST members suggested, I did have indeed a dislocated SI joint. My PT did a specific movement recommended for that and it popped back in. I felt relief the same day. As all my muscles in the back were extremely tight from trying to cope with the outlandish pain and I wasn't able to stand up straight for a while in the morning after getting out of bed, an osteopath gave me a muscle relaxing injection. I have made a lot of improvements since then. Thank you very much for all your help!!

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

Last edited by: trirocket: Apr 5, 21 10:10

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Re: Going in circles and I'm sick of it - Desperately seeking diagnosis and cure for massive ongoing pain in glutes/thigh/hip/back area [trirocket] [ In reply to ]

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EyeRunMD

Jan 18, 21 18:20

Post #2 of 48 (3762 views)

A long shot but has anyone considered the possibility of you having osteitis pubis (athletic pubalgia), iliopsoas syndrome, and/or high hamstring tendinopathy???? One, or a combo, of these could lead to many of the issues you are having.

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Re: Going in circles and I'm sick of it - Desperately seeking diagnosis and cure for massive ongoing pain in glutes/thigh/hip/back area [trirocket] [ In reply to ]

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rhayden

Jan 18, 21 20:25

Post #3 of 48 (3714 views)

I felt your pain. Very similar according to your description.

14 months of it! No racing. Minimal training and no relief from PT. At times I could barely walk and had to resort to using a pole as a cane. A step was often so painful I would hesitate to take it out of fear.

Talking with the PT he said something that clicked....the site of the pain is rarely at the site of weakness. The site of pain is at the place where the tissue compensating for the weakness finally gives out.

I had had back/compression issues for years. Though pain usually stayed localized or on front of legs. So I then thought the pain I was feeling in hip, back and upper leg and mainly deep butt muscles ( and sometimes lower leg) may also be from compression issues since although intense at times ( writhing on the floor) it was very difficult to pin point or stretch out or activate a pressure point.

I finally saw a RMT at a back institute. She agreed with me and gave me some stretching that I did with admittedly poor compliance after a few weeks as I was still not getting a ton of relief.

What finally 'cured it'....water running! Every time I went to the pool I would spend 8 to 15 minutes water running. I started with a pool noodle under my arms and ran with my normal running form. Everything above the noodle wants to stay at the surface, everything below wants to sink thus creating a nice light traction on the back and other joints and still allowing for movement. After a month I could do it with no noodle and was nearly pain free. After two months completely with out pain and was back to a full on training schedule for IM length tri's and now utra trail runs. I feel no limitation. I feel completely confident. I do water running now about once every two weeks and will periodically hang from monkey bars at the park.

I have recommended this to many of my friends who have suffered 'odd' injuries that they can't seem to stretch or rest away. Many have met with success.

I hope it works for you.

Last edited by: rhayden: Jan 19, 21 19:48

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Re: Going in circles and I'm sick of it - Desperately seeking diagnosis and cure for massive ongoing pain in glutes/thigh/hip/back area [trirocket] [ In reply to ]

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Amnesia

Jan 18, 21 21:35

Post #4 of 48 (3689 views)

trirocket wrote:

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

So you have seen a variety of specialists, had a variety of scans, seen doctors with many many years of experience, and then turn to slowtwitch to diagnose your problem?
Sorry, but that is not the way good medicine works.
As an MD you are asking for trouble with this approach. There are very few people here on ST that are expert enough in the potential pathology to give you decent advice that you could then take to your specialists to consider (which would be surprising if your specialists have not already considered it anyway).
You are going to get a range of responses on here which will not leave you in any better position than you are currently, but only serve to further confuse the issue and take you down rabbit holes that you don't need to go down.
I realise you are in a comparatively desperate situation, but both your hip doc and your back doc have offered you good advice. There is no panacea for what you have, these can be a diagnostic challenge and require a structured approach. My advice may sound brutal, but I have seen this far too many times.

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Re: Going in circles and I'm sick of it - Desperately seeking diagnosis and cure for massive ongoing pain in glutes/thigh/hip/back area [trirocket] [ In reply to ]

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MattyK

Jan 18, 21 22:19

Post #5 of 48 (3662 views)

trirocket wrote:

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. :(

That's some good advice from the hip doc, rare to see a specialist/surgeon who doesn't immediately jump to a mechanical "fix".
The pain is in your brain, it's a mental phenomenon. (I'm not saying you don't have some physical situation that is contributing, but nociception is not pain)

Hopefully you can get referred to or find a GOOD pain specialist who is up with current research and literature. Someone like this: http://www.kalfried.com.au/ (no vested interest, probably not local to you sorry)

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Re: Going in circles and I'm sick of it - Desperately seeking diagnosis and cure for massive ongoing pain in glutes/thigh/hip/back area [trirocket] [ In reply to ]

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bikerun247

Jan 19, 21 14:06

Post #6 of 48 (3408 views)

I appreciate your reply to my post on another thread. Thanks for the well wishes there.

Pain can do some weird things to your body - it did mine. After 4 months of sciatica pain, I was getting weird aches all over. I bet if I went down the path of diagnosing each one, I'd a list of problems identified through imaging.

On another note, I had a stint with pain management in my early 20's with some super odd stomach issues that were unrelenting. Basically diagnosed with everything possible but never found help in treatment with specific medicines intended to help the specific diagnosis at that time. Eventually I was sent to pain management at the Cleveland Clinic. Pain management helped get it under control, and eventually it resolved itself one way or another.

I've only once found another medical professional specialist that was as compassionate as that group. I'm not sure I'd have the life I have today without them.

Pain sucks, but maybe they can help.

I'm not a doctor, and don't want to pretend to even be one...so I'll leave my post as best wishes to finding a path towards feeling better.

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Re: Going in circles and I'm sick of it - Desperately seeking diagnosis and cure for massive ongoing pain in glutes/thigh/hip/back area [Amnesia] [ In reply to ]

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rhayden

Jan 19, 21 16:58

Post #7 of 48 (3339 views)

In response to Amnesia who said....So you have seen a variety of specialists, had a variety of scans, seen doctors with many many years of experience, and then turn to slowtwitch to diagnose your problem?
Sorry, but that is not the way good medicine works.
As an MD you are asking for trouble with this approach. There are very few people here on ST that are expert enough in the potential pathology to give you decent advice that you could then take to your specialists to consider (which would be surprising if your specialists have not already considered it anyway).
You are going to get a range of responses on here which will not leave you in any better position than you are currently, but only serve to further confuse the issue and take you down rabbit holes that you don't need to go down.
I realise you are in a comparatively desperate situation, but both your hip doc and your back doc have offered you good advice. There is no panacea for what you have, these can be a diagnostic challenge and require a structured approach. My advice may sound brutal, but I have seen this far too many times.

There are lots of reason to turn to Slowtwitch. There may be many people here who have had similar experiences, varied treatments and medical practitioners. There would also be here a variety of success and failures regarding those treatments. This experience may be very helpful in creating a diagnosis that to this point has been elusive to the original poster. His specialists should be turning to Slowtwitch. That is how medicine should work.
The hip specialist referred to a pain management clinic....that means he/she has no solution. The back specialist found a bunch of stuff on imaging that could be found on people with no symptoms at all.
I have found that many times physicians and PT's are tuned into a very different population than the Slowtwitch crowd. Their interest is reducing symptoms not necessarily getting you back to the level of activity being done prior to the interruption.

There may very well be an panacea for what he has.

Last edited by: rhayden: Jan 19, 21 19:45

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Re: Going in circles and I'm sick of it - Desperately seeking diagnosis and cure for massive ongoing pain in glutes/thigh/hip/back area [rhayden] [ In reply to ]

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windschatten

Jan 19, 21 17:20

Post #8 of 48 (3318 views)

rhayden wrote:

There may very well be an panacea for what he has.

Apropos 'Panacea':

Where Western Medicine fails, there's also Eastern Medicine?

No?

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Re: Going in circles and I'm sick of it - Desperately seeking diagnosis and cure for massive ongoing pain in glutes/thigh/hip/back area [trirocket] [ In reply to ]

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AndrewL

Jan 19, 21 18:20

Post #9 of 48 (3284 views)

Forget the scans. You clearly are not a candidate for surgery based on your descriptions. You’ve been around the block with specialists too, the waters are quite muddy. The rule of thumb is to rule out the spine before the hip before the SI. A hallmark of spine etiology is difficulty or worsening with sitting. Since you reported that as your current history let’s go back to the spine. 95% of cases are non operative and should be managed conservatively. A spine specialist PT will know in 2-3 visits max if you will benefit from PT. Talk about your PT experience more.

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Re: Going in circles and I'm sick of it - Desperately seeking diagnosis and cure for massive ongoing pain in glutes/thigh/hip/back area [trirocket] [ In reply to ]

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Duncan74

Jan 19, 21 22:49

Post #10 of 48 (3209 views)

TriRocket.

Mainly just posting to empathize with you. About 2 years ago I'd just got through a comeback Ironman after a long period of injury and started with the some achiles pain and plantar fascitis. I assumed it was a result of the race/final training, so didn't worry too much. Fast forward and a year of training through pain whilst trying all the scans / specialists and physio and I did another IM race. Literally during the race I decided I was taking a year off to heal and not just manage injuries. As it happens with covid then you'd think this was great timing. Sadly that was March 20, and now about a month ago I've finally got the PF and back issues sorted, but the achilles is just refusing to heal. Not stopping me doing anything, but can't get pain free - rest, stretching, strength, shockwave, the whole gambit of approaches and it's doing my head in big style. Really is.

And there's been times when I've thought about going rogue. There's been times I've suggested / asked my physio team about trying x, y or z. And it seems like there's no end in sight. Or at least there's no path defined that shows a process to being 'free'.

I can't give you anything much positive, and certainly no specific treatment response. But all I am doing is focussing on what I know has helped to sort the other things, (twice weekly pilates and fortnightly physio) to make sure I don't go backwards, and keep working on the stretches, strengthening. My only positive thing is that the PF was simmilarly stubborn for ages and then it kinda went away without me noticing. So some day perhaps same will happen. For my achilles and your pain in the butt.

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Re: Going in circles and I'm sick of it - Desperately seeking diagnosis and cure for massive ongoing pain in glutes/thigh/hip/back area [rhayden] [ In reply to ]

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trirocket

Jan 20, 21 16:20

Post #11 of 48 (3074 views)

Thanks for sharing. I totally agree with your PT's statement that "the site of the pain is rarely at the site of weakness but where the tissue compensating for the weakness finally gives out." That's what makes it so difficult pinpointing the source of pain. I'm so glad to hear that water running did the trick for you and you were back to "normal" fairly quickly. I strongly believe in water running. It has been my fall-back tool for several years now, whenever I had an issue with running. I have been doing it for 3 months, but somehow this time around it doesn't give me relief. It doesn't bother me so much while I'm doing it, but as soon as I sit down the pain in the butt/hip is immense.

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Re: Going in circles and I'm sick of it - Desperately seeking diagnosis and cure for massive ongoing pain in glutes/thigh/hip/back area [EyeRunMD] [ In reply to ]

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trirocket

Jan 20, 21 16:24

Post #12 of 48 (3069 views)

Thank you very much for your input. No, not as of yet. I'll be seeing my PT again tomorrow and will ask. Do you know what the "cure" for either one might be?

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Re: Going in circles and I'm sick of it - Desperately seeking diagnosis and cure for massive ongoing pain in glutes/thigh/hip/back area [Amnesia] [ In reply to ]

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trirocket

Jan 20, 21 16:40

Post #13 of 48 (3060 views)

I totally get it and I appreciate your comment. Believe me, I debated long and hard about posting or not. After I learned that several of my tri friends were misdiagnosed and got the run around for 9+ months, I decided to give it a shot. You never know. There might be some specialists on here that could possibly lead me in the right direction. Many years ago, I was lucky to get sound advice from an MD on ST regarding a broken navicular. Without him, I wouldn't be running anymore.

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Re: Going in circles and I'm sick of it - Desperately seeking diagnosis and cure for massive ongoing pain in glutes/thigh/hip/back area [bikerun247] [ In reply to ]

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trirocket

Jan 20, 21 16:51

Post #14 of 48 (3049 views)

Thank you. Fingers crossed! I'm not giving up. :) All the best to you as well!

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Re: Going in circles and I'm sick of it - Desperately seeking diagnosis and cure for massive ongoing pain in glutes/thigh/hip/back area [MattyK] [ In reply to ]

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trirocket

Jan 20, 21 17:05

Post #15 of 48 (3040 views)

I like the hip doc's approach as well. Who wants to have surgery if not necessary? But, since he can't "cut", he just passes on the batton. I wish he would give me a diagnosis so I can move forward. I don't want to go down the road of just simply controlling the pain/nociception instead of fixing the cause.

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Re: Going in circles and I'm sick of it - Desperately seeking diagnosis and cure for massive ongoing pain in glutes/thigh/hip/back area [AndrewL] [ In reply to ]

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trirocket

Jan 20, 21 17:26

Post #16 of 48 (3026 views)

AndrewL wrote:

I actually thought I was in great hands. The PT clinic has put me back together so many times before. We also trust them with a lot of our professional athletes. I've done stretches and strengthening exercises for 4 months. At the beginning the pain was just in my upper thigh and I was still able to bike and run - just not at the same level. Also, my back/spine doesn't hurt doing either one. I took a 6-week break because I got so frustrated and it seemed that some of the exercises aggravated everything even more. I went to see another PT (same clinic) 2 weeks ago just to get a 2nd opinion and a thorough exam. I had one PT session last week and the next day it was worse again. I stuck it out and did all my exercises as prescribed 7 days in a row. Going back to PT again tomorrow. I hope that helps.

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Re: Going in circles and I'm sick of it - Desperately seeking diagnosis and cure for massive ongoing pain in glutes/thigh/hip/back area [Duncan74] [ In reply to ]

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trirocket

Jan 20, 21 17:33

Post #17 of 48 (3019 views)

Thanks so much. I hope you will be able to solve all your pain issues as well! May I ask how you were able to get rid of your back pain?
Right now I can't even run at all. Even if races start opening up again, I'm light years away from toeing the start line. My hopes were I could sort this all out in 2020. :(

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Re: Going in circles and I'm sick of it - Desperately seeking diagnosis and cure for massive ongoing pain in glutes/thigh/hip/back area [trirocket] [ In reply to ]

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MattyK

Jan 20, 21 17:39

Post #18 of 48 (3015 views)

trirocket wrote:

If you can eliminate the pain, why do you care what the "cause" is?

I use " " because I'm differentiating pain and injury. Injuries heal. Pain manifests in your brain. The cause IS what's happening in your central nervous system. (extreme example, but people with amputations often still experience phantom limb pain). Having your consciousness know what the "cause" is (from a diagnosis) can often make the pain worse. So I don't see what he's doing as passing the baton, rather he's properly addressing the issue.

My apologies that I'm probably not great at explaining this, my ex is the expert, I've only learned it second hand.

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Re: Going in circles and I'm sick of it - Desperately seeking diagnosis and cure for massive ongoing pain in glutes/thigh/hip/back area [trirocket] [ In reply to ]

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Duncan74

Jan 20, 21 20:00

Post #19 of 48 (2968 views)

trirocket wrote:

May I ask how you were able to get rid of your back pain?

Pilates. 'Simple' as that. In a studio, 2-3 times a week. And I maintain that, it's not a fix and forget.

Pilates has a bit of an odd image issue in that all the advertising seems to be around waiflike soccer moms in designer activewear and 4" of makeup. But, reality is pretty different. Joseph Pilates, a bare knuckle boxer, came up with the routine when interned in a prison camp in the war. The pilates hoop was initally the metal hoop from a beer barrel.

And whilst being inspired by anything Lance Armstrong said is clearly a bit dubious now, I read years back something he'd said. His legs were the springs that powered him, but without the girder to brace it then his spine just flexed and wasted that power. So the core strength is where you start for building your cycling power. And that also applies to running I personally believe, with no scientific reason to back that up.

If you can find a 'classic/romana' pilates studio that uses reformers and either has small classes (max 4) or does 1:1 sessions to start then that may be worth considering (this is not a medical recommendation. Your body your risk, the value of your investments may go down as well as up, caveat emptor, etc).

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Re: Going in circles and I'm sick of it - Desperately seeking diagnosis and cure for massive ongoing pain in glutes/thigh/hip/back area [trirocket] [ In reply to ]

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Jimbotri

Jan 20, 21 20:31

Post #20 of 48 (2955 views)

I would follow through with the EMG and nerve conduction studies. If I were a betting man I would bet that the source of your issues are related to the right L2-L4 which is likely causing the right quad/thigh weakness. Numbness and tingling to the right leg would be another indicator for it being spine related. Right upper hami/buttocks can be overworked to compensate for quad weakness during cycling and running motions. Pain and weakness from degenerative spine issues does not resolve with time and rest and will progressively get worse. It sounds like your symptoms are getting worse instead of better. Triathlon training causes a lot of progressive wear and tear.

Yes, PT can help spinal issues by strengthening other supportive muscles, but most spine surgeons will request PT and wait for PT to fail before they operate. Candidates for spine surgery will say PT made their symptoms worse and not better. It is best to try the least invasive fix before moving to a more invasive fix.....also, failure to improve with PT helps with billing the insurance for the Surgery.

I am not saying to go get surgery nor am I recommending anything...this is my ST prediction... I believe you are looking for ST ideas and opinions. Keep us updated.

Last edited by: Jimbotri: Jan 21, 21 21:09

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Re: Going in circles and I'm sick of it - Desperately seeking diagnosis and cure for massive ongoing pain in glutes/thigh/hip/back area [trirocket] [ In reply to ]

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TriBri00

Jan 21, 21 11:02

Post #21 of 48 (2862 views)

as a pain doc I'll give you my 2cents, (for nothing)
definitely get the EMG, I doubt the L2-4 issues are the problem but at this point more data is usually better
look into piriformis syndrome as a cause. In general it's over diagnosed, but given how your pain started it's more likely. In that case an ultrasound guided injection can be diagnostic. Treatment could be steroid injection or botox.

Brian
“Eat and Drink, spin the legs and you’re going to effin push (today).” A Howe

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Re: Going in circles and I'm sick of it - Desperately seeking diagnosis and cure for massive ongoing pain in glutes/thigh/hip/back area [trirocket] [ In reply to ]

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tallswimmer

Jan 21, 21 11:23

Post #22 of 48 (2831 views)

Have you tried dry needling and/or acupuncture? Those in combo with a cortisone shot finally got my low back/upper butt to quit giving me hell a couple years ago (with PT too)

I wrote this, you should read it:
https://www.slowtwitch.com/...n_Swimming_6700.html

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Re: Going in circles and I'm sick of it - Desperately seeking diagnosis and cure for massive ongoing pain in glutes/thigh/hip/back area [rhayden] [ In reply to ]

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Amnesia

Jan 21, 21 15:40

Post #23 of 48 (2788 views)

rhayden wrote:

I have held off replying to this as I was kind of setting a stopwatch to see how long it would take for my reply to trigger a passionate ST response like this.
Unfortunately, I stand by my comments and as the rest of this thread shows, apart from a few experienced medical practitioners who even then, as our profession dictates is good medicine, will only provide some general advice which is all in keeping with what the specialists caring for the OP are recommending.
Personally, I would avoid any heath care professional who needs to turn to ST to get some suggestions or advice on how to treat a patient. Either you (rhayden) don't understand what being a medial specialist entails and how investigations and formulations of opinions and diagnoses happen, or you are not seeing the right specialists.

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Re: Going in circles and I'm sick of it - Desperately seeking diagnosis and cure for massive ongoing pain in glutes/thigh/hip/back area [trirocket] [ In reply to ]

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Jan 21, 21 21:33

Post #24 of 48 (2727 views)

Going to mostly agree that using ST for a diagnosis is a stretch. That said, a) how old are you? Gonna guess at least late 40s or older (eta: if you just had a stress test, you aren't too young) from the sound of your back report. If you're 25, then you've got quite a bit of degenerative change. b) you didn't mention any scoliosis, but the asymmetric disc space narrowing makes me think that may be some component -- not the cause of pain per se, but why symptoms worse on that right side. c) you say you've had injections in hip and at SI joint, but what about epidural spine steroid injection (maybe your pain doc could do this).
My response is mostly because a family member has been through a bunch of back issues. Not trying to make a diagnosis or imply treatment plan; leave that to your health care team.

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Re: Going in circles and I'm sick of it - Desperately seeking diagnosis and cure for massive ongoing pain in glutes/thigh/hip/back area [trirocket] [ In reply to ]

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noodlecat77

Jan 22, 21 2:51

Post #25 of 48 (2704 views)

Hey tri rocket, can you PM me on this. I’m a physio with vested interest in hip/pelvic disorder. Think I might have an idea. Thx.

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