Severe Suden Thigh Pain

[newfiemom]

Hi Everyone,

I am still in the worsening stages of bilateral hip OA at age 43. I am still very active using the elliptical trainer everyday and lifting weights 3 days a week. Last night while using the seated abdominal crunch machine where you are seated with you legs behind supports and bend forward pushing the weight forward with your abdominal muscles. I felt a sudden SEVERE thigh pain in my right thigh that stopped me dead in my tracks. I felt as if one structure got stuck while moving another structure. Last night I was not able to flex my hip much at all after this due to severe pain. The pain is slightly better today but still really bad. I have this pain in both hips with hip flexion from time to time and feel as if one structure is getting stuck while trying to move over another one but last night was much more severe. I have had this pin recently in my right thigh last night was just much worse.

My questions are, is this due to my hip arthritis or have I injured a hip flexor? I have bone spurs in both hips now as well.

I am sorry for the vague descriptions but this is the best way I know to describe them.

Any advice or opinions are most welcomed.

Take Care,
Kim

[Pat Walter]

Hi Kim
Welcome to Hip Talk.

I am not sure any of us can help you much since none of us are medically trained.

My thoughts would be to take it easy for a few days. Then if the pain does not go away - check with your doctor.  Probably only an x-ray can tell if your actual hip joints are getting worse.

Do you do any workouts in a gym where there is a PT type person.  They might also have a better idea if it is muscle or hip. Sometimes it is difficult to tell. Most of us had back problems tossed in too - so you had to learn the difference from the hip pain and back pain.  I use to live at the chiropractors.  When my back was aligned, I did not have a bad of hip pain. 

Good Luck.  Keep in touch.  If you start thinking about hip resurfacing, be sure to ask questions. We can point you in the direction of a lot of useful information.

Pat

[Scott C]

Kim,

The mechanism of injury sounds as though you may have "torn/stressed" one of your hip fexor muscles (if you were not doing an unusual range of motion activity to aggravate your DJD). Someone else may have a better way of helping these heal, but I have usually just realized that it takes time to heal (6+ weeks) and gently progress your activity. Try not to re-injure it.

Scott C

[newfiemom]

Thanks Pat, I am starting to seriously think about resurfacing. My last allergy results were negative for cement. So now I have to decide if I want to risk it with one positive result for cement and one negative but i find resurfacing so much more attractive than THR. Any information would be most helpful. i see that my surgeon, Dr. Mont,  had done 1200 resurfacings when he was listed, so he has the experience.

I will definitely stay in touch!
Kim

[Pat Walter]

Hi Kim

Dr. Thomas Gross
1100 Hip Resurfacings to date
1910 Blanding Street
Columbia, S.C. 29201
Lee Webb, RN, BSN, CNOR, CRNFA
Assistant to Thomas P. Gross, M.D.
803-256-4107 office, 803-355-2774 pager
803-331-6894 cell, 803-933-6754 fax
Contact email: Ms. Lee Webb, RN
South Carolina Joint Replacement Center


Dr. Gross has done 1100 Hip Resurfacings and offers a cementless version.  I think he is the only doctor in the US doing that.  Quite a few hippies have selected that option.  I thought you would like to know about it.

You can read Dr. Gross's complete article here http://www.surfacehippy.info/faqcementcomponents.php

I hope that helps.

Pat

[newfiemom]

I spoke with my surgeon's nurse yesterday and she told me that if I have pain with passive flexion as well as active flexion that it is most likely due to further joint deterioration and not just a strained hip flexor. I see Dr. Mont again on January 9. Hip Flexion is somewhat less painful now but still quite painful. I did an hour workout on the elliptical trainer last night and that went fairly well since not much hip flexion is involved.

Thanks,
Kim

[Pat Walter]

Hi Kim

I hope things get better for you. If not, hip resurfacing is definitely a better option than a THR.  Don't forget that if you are worried about the allergies - Dr. Gross offers a cementless hip resurfacing.  All resurfacing acetabular cups are normally cementless - but almost all the US doctor use cement on the femur ball portion of the hip device - except for Dr. Gross.  Many of his cementless patients are very happy. 

Good Luck.

Pat