Yes, I have gone to the doc for this problem, but am following up with you guys because I’m betting we’ve had many hip injuries among us. I had progressive pain in my lower right abdomen and when it finally got to the point of making me nauseous (after 3 days), I went to Urgent Care. After an exam, that doc was sure it was an appendicitis and sent me for immediate CT scan. CT showed no appendicitis and nothing else that worried him. He said it must be a torn hip flexor. It’s now 2 days later and the pain is just as bad.
I’m wondering if this sounds familiar to those of you who’ve had a torn hip flexor? If so, how long did the recovery take? I don’t recall any specific event that would’ve caused the injury but any sort of movement causes really sharp pain now. Sure would appreciate any advice on recovery (doc didn’t really say anything other than “rest” which is really hard to do!) .
Is the pain reproducible (or does it increase) with any specific movement? Anything ease it, make it worse? Better during the morning, day, night?
It is possible that it could be your psoas which attaches to to lumbar vertebra then travels in a generally diagonal direction (back to front) towards the front of the hip. There are a variety of other things it could be as well. I would go to your regular MD or better yet an Orthopedist - the urgent care doctor did his thing - you are not dying. I would also go seek out a really good orthopedic/sports PT and have some additional work up.
For sake of argument - if you have a torn muscle the treatment is certainly relative rest for awhile (i.e. if it hurts don’t do it) then slowly work back into strengthening the offending muscle group and supportive muscle groups.
High on my differential diagnosis list would be hernia but they should have ruled that out for you. Any issues with bowel movements, blood in the stool etc…
I only had one patient that was nauseated from a hip flexor injury and that was a wrestler I had that avulsed at his ASIS and got a little “shockie” on me due to the pain.
What’s ghe latest? Such severe pain should be associatec with grade 2 strain or worse, but I can’t imagine your psoas being torn so high. Hip flexor strains generally occur at the top of the thigh, and the pain should resolve in a few days, after which the muscles began to repair with scar tissud. You should be pain free now.
Thanks for remembering this. I’m now going into my 3rd week of awful pain. I’ve been in Urgent Care and then the ER two nights ago. I’ve had an ultrasound done and a second opinion on the CT scan. They still aren’t sure what is causing the pain (although they have decided it’s not a muscle - that would’ve started to improve by now). I’m actually so nauseaus from the pain that I’m on anti-nausea meds. Not a fan of pain meds but have had to take it to get any sleep. Last doc opinion was possibly diverticulitis so they’ve loaded me up on antibiotics. I’m watching my training weeks slipping away and it’s so depressing. I’d give anything for a firm diagnosis so I could get the correct treatment and start getting better.
KauaiShan,
I’m interested in how this all worked out for you. I have exactly the same symptoms you’ve described, except this pain has lasted 5+ months.
Right side, below the abdomen, below the appendix . . . more in the upper right groin/inner hip area. The pain has never shot down my leg . . . and has never been in my lower groin. It is isolated to the area described.
At first I thought this was a muscle pull. It has lasted way too long. I thought perhaps a hernia. However, there has been no swelling.
I’ve gone long stretches of time having limited physical activity, hoping it would clear up. . . it has not, which leads me to believe there is something more than a pull.
I’ve been to a primary physician for a physical. She gave me the hernia test and ruled that out . . . she also took an obligatory xray, which showed nothing. I have a nurse friend who says this COULD be an inguinal hernia, where swelling may not be evident.
The pain is not constant . . . and there are sometimes days when you don’t notice it. However, there are other days when it is more noticable, and even if I’ve forgotten about it, a twist of my torso the wrong way, or as is often the case, a jump/stretch up (i.e. rebounding in basketball) quickly reminds me there is something wrong in there.
I’ve tried the hip flexor tests. The pain doesn’t occur when I lift my leg up to my chest.
It occurs more so as described above . . . a stretching of the lower abdomon. I feel it most often as I switch positions in bed at night . . . rolling/using torso to twist. While I’ve never had a hernia, this feels much less like a pull/strain/sprain . . and more so like there is something else going on (i.e. hernia), which isn’t healing on its own via rest.
Any help you/others can provide would be appreciated.
Please get checked out by a sports medicine physician or orthopedist who specializes in hips. A lot of things can potentially go wrong in that area.
According to your note, so far you haven’t had any soft tissue imaging.
An ultrasound will pick up any ruptures, hematomas or calcium deposits on your tendons.
A regular MRI should pick up most soft tissue issues. A 3T-MRI wil pick up everything, including a labral tear. Labral tears can also be picked up on an MRA (magnetic resonance arthrogram) where a dye is injected directly into the hip joint.
Sorry that is has been a while - did you ever work out the cause of your pain? I’m experiencing the exact same thing and have had a load of scans with no joy…
Yes, I don’t even know how many doctors I saw about it… but I finally found one who determined it was scar tissue from a surgery years ago. He went in and broke up all the scar tissue pockets by injecting sailing into them and I’ve been pain free since then.
This sounds a lot like my issue. CT scan was neg for hernia. They want me to do phys therapy and an ultrasound prior to an MRI.
I can really feel it when laying down and I try to lift my legs as of I was doing leg lifts. Standing and pulling to my chest doesn’t hurt. Sit-ups do however.
The pain is just inside the inguinal crease toward the inside an inch or so.
You likely don’t have a musculoskeletal issue. Nothing orthopedic in nature should cause you such acute pain at rest for long periods of time. Continue to pursue medical reasons for such sharp pain. Good luck.
This sounds a lot like my issue. CT scan was neg for hernia. They want me to do phys therapy and an ultrasound prior to an MRI.
I can really feel it when laying down and I try to lift my legs as of I was doing leg lifts. Standing and pulling to my chest doesn’t hurt. Sit-ups do however.
The pain is just inside the inguinal crease toward the inside an inch or so.
Did you ever get a diagnosis?
I’ve been going through something similar to this. After several visits to a PT I’m starting to run again after several months of limited activity. The diagnosis was a strained psoas. For me the pain was bilateral. The general routine for PT was to increase my lateral strength and not aggravate it further. No regular planks, but side planks against a wall, bands around the ankles and step sideways or push a leg back and to the side.
The general advise earlier in the thread applies here. If it hurts, stop it.