Knee pain from my hip?

23109VC · October 19, 2010, 10:29:56 AM

I have noticed that as my hip pain has progressed in my left hip, I notice pain in my left knee. I usually only notice the pain in my knee when my hip hurts. My doctor has said it is referred pain.. an I understand what that is...

I can tell from walking, flexing my knee, and other activities that my knee itself is fine...

I"m just curious how many of you also had pain/discomfort in your knee that was the result of the hip? did it go away after surgery?

Lopsided · October 19, 2010, 10:59:06 AM

Knee pain from a bad hip can be real, not just referred. When your foot wants to go one way, and your hip cannot rotate, your knee takes the strain. Gets better after surgery.

Chris James · October 19, 2010, 01:53:10 PM

I had bad knee pain the Dr took a x-ray of my Hips. both hips shot bone on bone OA. I Had A RBHR 7 weeks ago Knee Pain is gone.Hip feels great .next one is to be done Nov 9.

Dayton96 · October 19, 2010, 06:29:00 PM

You may want to consider having a knee doctor take a look at your knee. I initially went in to have my knee looked at and that is when I learned about my bad hip. The knee doctor initially said there was nothing wrong with my knee, that it was referred pain from my hip. He later admitted (sorta) that he had not paid enough attention to the MRI of my knee and in fact there might be a separate issue with my knee. He is now recommending that I wait on the hip resurfacing while they figure out what really is going on with my knee.

Mac

Pat Walter · October 19, 2010, 06:52:04 PM

Knee and back pain are very common with bad hips. You can have actual knee pain and not just refered pain. The hip is forcing your legs and body off balance and putting abnormally large loads on other joints. Whether if is referred or real, you need to take care of your hip first. Normally, the knee and back pain will subside after your are on the heal - sometimes 6 months or a year or more. It took a long time for your hip/s to deteriorate and your body took that long to become unbalanced. It will often take an equivalent time for the rest of the body to heal and become balanced again after your hip surgery.

Pat

Luann · October 19, 2010, 07:44:12 PM

I had horrible knee pain on the same leg as my bad hip. Some days it was worse than the hip itself! Now it is GONE after HR! Amazing. I would argue with my Dr that it hurt so bad it had to be my knee! I love that he was right, and it was referred pain. Hope this helps. Lu

stevejco · October 19, 2010, 07:47:53 PM

I have also noticed that my knee pain has worsened. I know that my gait has changed to accommodate my increased hip pain. This ,I'm sure, has caused my knee to be stressed. I've put off hip surgery for years. I realize that if I put it off any longer I'll be replacing a knee as well. So resurface a hip and save a knee. lol
Steve

newdog · October 19, 2010, 10:46:00 PM

I am having both hips done in January. It seems like the right hip is worse than the left. The right knee bothers me and a pain will radiate down my right outside calf into my foot. I am sure the pain is because of my "old man gait" that I have developed in the last year or so. Also my lower back bothers me more than ever. It has to have an effect on the rest of the joints of the body.

Josephine18 · October 20, 2010, 02:13:02 PM

I am another who had knee pain associated with my hip problems. My gait mechanics became increasingly compensated as my body was trying to make up for my decreased range of motion in my hips, and unconsciously I was trying to apply as little stress as possible to them. I had a lot of swelling associated with aching in my knee which all completely disappeared after I was given back a mechanically healthy set of hips.

Dayton96 · October 20, 2010, 05:31:46 PM

Making a decision on which body part to deal with first, the knee or the hip, is complicated by the different opinions you receive from the professionals. The knee doctors, hip doctors, and physical therapists all have different opinions. The knee doctors warn that the knee must be dealt with first, because after all the knee is the body part that is hurting, while the hip doctor claims that the knee pain is caused by the hip, and therefore the hip should be dealt with first. While the physical therapist warns you that a hip resurface right now could result in a twisting and wrenching of the knee that could cause further damage to it. My solution has been to wait and give PT a little time to work. My understanding is that during a hip resurface, particularly a posterior approach, there is a bit of twisting and turning going on. I just don't know how much abuse the knee takes during the surgery. I want to finish physical therapy, get updated x-rays, and then ask a knee surgeon that question.

Mac

Mac

23109VC · October 20, 2010, 10:05:24 PM

oh... make no mistake... my PAIN is massively concentrated in my HIP. No Questions about that!! :)

It's just that depending on what I'm doing.. what angle.. I sometimmes noticd a pain in my knee that feels like it starts in my hip then shoots into my knee.

i've noticed if I try to do leg lifts... if i lay on my back, and put my hands under my hips,a nd then lift my legs up/down... to work my abs... that puts torque on my hip and as a result, I get weird pain in my knee... even though my knee is NOT moving....

sometimes sitting on the toilet... i get a pain in my knee.... it's the hip doing it...

i was hoping that most of you noticed that AFTER the hip is fixed, this pain goes away... i normallly have no knee pain when I walk.. it's only when my hip pain is shooting.... so I hope that after the hip is fixed this will be gone and that I haven't somehow caused some sort of permanent knee problem b/c my hip is shot..

i'm getting this fixed early next year... i swithced insurance to a PPO and that change takes effect New Years... then I'm off to surgery... I"m researching docs.. lenaing toward Gross / uncemented based on all I've read...

i can't wait to be able to just sit on teh toilet and not deal with pain...
be able to tie my shoes w/out pain
be able to run again!
play racquetball again! wow i miss that game.

a few months and counting...

halfdone · October 23, 2010, 12:50:56 PM

Yes I had pain down my leg, including knee. Gone after HR.

ReneeP · October 27, 2010, 10:53:51 PM

I also get wicked knee pain when my hip hurts. Lately, I can't drive longer than 10 minutes without having agonizing, throbbing hip and knee pain. Walking doesn't seem to bother my knee though. Luckily, my BHR is in 12 days and I am SO looking forward to being on the other side! :D