Significant low back pain!

[bosoxgordon]

Hello all. Well my surgical date with Dr. Gross is quickly approaching and I've run into a bit of a curious development in my symptoms. Over the last few weeks I have been suffering from some very bad low back pain and stiffness. My hip still has some pain and obvious ROM issues but my back pain is far worse than anything I'm experiencing with my hip right now. I know there has been some discussion of this on here but this back pain is pretty bad! I've had some minor back pain in the past and I know back pain can be a symptom of FAI but this is significant. I've seen my chiropractor and she took x-rays. My back is out of line pretty bad. I'm assuming and hoping its because of me unconsciously favoring my hip. Anyway, I've tried getting adjusted, therapeutic massage, and a few other things and nothing fixes it. Ibuprofen helps but I obviously don't want to be popping pills more than I have to. I spoke with Dr. Gross and he wouldn't really commit to being able to attribute the back pain to the hip. My hip is bone on bone at this point and he can't believe my hip isn't more painful.

Anyway, I really could use some feedback from those of you that have been thought the surgery. Did any of you have this back pain issue? If so, did the surgery correct it? At this point I'm very ready to just get the surgery over with but I'm fearful that I may be dealing with a back issue now. I've never had back problems before so I'm hopeful that my hip is the source of all the pain and alignment issues.

[Miguelito]

Yes, I think it is likely sourced from the hip. Not sure exactly why the hip causes the back pain but I think that is its origin. Part of it, I believe at least in my case, is that general inactivity caused by the hip problem lead to lower back pain.

Post surgery mine went away promptly. Some of it came back due to, I believe, inactivity (due to a bad sinus infection/shoulder and upper back problems). Once I was over the cold and started working out again, the back pain went away again.

I hope it goes away in your case post-surgery.

Mike

[kimberly52]

Hi Scott,

I have not had my HR yet but can speak to back pain.  My hip problem went undiagnosed for years because they kept looking at my back because that is where I was having the most pain.  I have learned that the hip and back are so closely connected that it is very difficult in some situations like mine to determine which it really is. 


I had hip arthroscopy last January where he cleaned up my frayed and torn labrum.  As soon as I woke my back pain was gone!  Doc said that quite possible it was the traction he had me in when my foot was in the boot to dislocate the hip so he could work.  His recommendation if my back ever caused pain to have traction. Sure enough last fall the pain started and I did have PT traction and it worked great.

A HR friend of mine just had her hip done two weeks ago and she has commented that her back feels so much better now and she is seriously rethinking her upcoming back surgery.

I hope that you find that your back pain is coming from the hip and that you experience once your hip is fixed. 

Kim

Dr. Michael Clarke
4/6/13

[Miguelito]

I'm with Kimberley. If I had the room I'd get an inversion table. It makes sense to me. Granted I was younger, but my back never used to hurt as much when my sister would crack it for me, which is essentially the same principle as the rack.

[chuckm]

Scott, my journey started with unexplained back pain for a couple of years when I was 43. I went to three different surgeons. The third x-rayed my hips and discovered the "painless" severe osteoarthritis in my left hip (the side that the back pain was the worst). He was shocked I had no pain in hips but he predicted that my hip would be in pain within two years. He was correct. But in the meantime I used pillows under my knees to sleep knowing that my stiff hip joint was the source of my back pain. If I got the position right and didn't roll around too much, my back pain would be much less the next day.
I  had my left hip resurfaced and I am now four months post op. My hip pain was gone right away and my back pain subsided to zero in the first three months.

Chuckm

[Marco Polo]

Scott: glad to hear you are moving forward with your surgery. I had a thread going here a month or so ago because I too was experiencing significant lower back pain, especially in the morning.  Ross said he had gotten considerable relief using a Lafuma zero gravity recliner. I bought one and have used it periodically for sleeping at night. It has given me a lot of relief and will come in handy post-surgery.

Good luck with your surgery. 

[Ross]

Hi Scott.  I feel your pain.  My back was so twisted before my surgery.  I was getting deep tissue massage twice a week and within a couple of days the pain would return.  I had bilateral FAI and failed hip scope.  Some have said that there back pain stopped immediately after surgery.   Mine has been a steady progression to normal and at 15 weeks my muscles and body are still adjusting.   The more time went by and as my hip deteriorated the back pain got worse and worse.  It moved from my lower back all the way up and into  my neck.  Like Marco mentioned the Lafuma takes a lot of that pressure off your lower spine.  Sorry you are having to deal with this.  I know how hard it is and the pain of being absent in life due to pain but it all gets better.  Pick a TOP surgeon even if you have to travel and you should be fine.

Ross

[Ross]

Just to put my 2 cents in.  Kimberly had mentioned traction.  Traction is for Disc herniations to pull the disk material back into the disc.  I never had a back problem until the hip arthroscopists put traction on my leg.  I awoke and felt like some one took a nine iron to my spine so be careful.
Ross

[bosoxgordon]

Wow. Thanks for all the great responses. It does make me hopeful that the back pain is due to the hip and it will be corrected after the surgery. My x-rays did show some degeneration in my low back but not very severe. I think the hip combined with some pretty intense stress I've had lately have conspired to make my back hurt.

I've also heard a lot about these zero gravity chairs. It seems like one might be a must have for the recovery period. Does it have to be the Lafuma brand? I've found a few others on Amazon for a bit cheaper. Anyway, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the surgery will help my back because the pain is pretty bad right now.

[hernanu]

Hi Scott,

I also had significant lower back pain before my surgeries. All of my muscles were so stiff that like Ross, a deep tissue massage would barely touch it.

There is a physical connection here too, in that the iliopsoas muscle, which is affected by OA and is one of the muscles which needs attention afterwards, is attached to the lower back, goes through the hip and terminates at the femur / groin area as you can see.

So with our instability and pain, it makes sense that one of the closest muscles should be strained in trying to compensate.

[einreb]

Did any of you have this back pain issue? If so, did the surgery correct it?

I had it before the surgery (back pain).  I had it after, but its something that I've worked on and continued to improve.  The connection between the lower back and leg/hip (psoas,iliopsoas) is significant.  Dr Gross actually lengthend (to make things even!) with my resurfacing, so the things that were tight, initially were even tighter, but the end result has been phenomenal.

Stretching, strengthening, posture, correct 'athletic position' for activities, etc is all something to be worked on as the post surgery protocol allows.

-B

[chuckm]

Scott, let me add to my previous post because you mentioned arthritis of the back in your last post. As I said before, several years before resurfacing I was experiencing back pain just like you. It was debilitating and x-rays on my back indicated mild spondylolisthesis (long word for slipped disc) and severe arthosis of face joints on the spine at multiple levels. That's why surgeon didn't look anywhere else for a cause to my back pain. My hips didn't hurt back then as the arthitis, although severe, was painless. I just didn't notice how little my hips were moving and it was my back that was doing more of the motion to do thing like walk and even sleep on my back.
But, after my hip was resurfaced 4 months ago, my back pain is gone. During rehab if my hip gets a little tight my back will too, but it's not painful. All I have to do is stretch and use the roller on my leg and even that back tightness is gone.

Chuckm

[fenceman]

Gordon,
I too wrestled with back pain before my surgery.  Even doing my own PT and core exercise, my back has still been sore as I get myself back into shape.  I finally took 4 days off from exercises and by back feels great today.

One other factor that use to bother my back was stress.  If I had a big event or trip coming up my back would tighten up and cause me problem.  Your upcoming surgery is a big worry and could be adding to your problem.  Good luck,
Bill

[bosoxgordon]

Thanks again for the great feedback everyone. I have never had back pain like I've had the last few weeks. It is very bad! It hurts just to sit down or get up. I have noticed that my limited ROM in my hip and the back pain has made me bend over strange. I tend to kick out my bad leg (like you see golfers often do) and I think it because I can't flex my hip comfortably. I also find I am bending my back more and less at the waist and knees.

Anyway, at this point I'm truly hoping my hip is the source. I was always fearful that the bad hip would lead to degrading my back. Dr. Gross basically said he couldn't guarantee that hip surgery would help my back pain. I am also sure that stress has played a role as well. I recently received some news that a family member is facing a life threatening illness and my anxiety has been pretty high because of that. Ironically it has made the prospect of my hip surgery seem pretty minor.

   

[Ross]

Yeah, Dr. Gross is very reluctant on promising anything that he can not deliver.  Before I saw Dr. Gross I saw Dr. Stubbs, one of the top top hip arthroscopist, in Winston Salem.  He had said that it could take upwards of 8 months for your body to return to proper mechanics.   I have no more neck or mid back pain just a little low back pain

[somegypsy]

I'm glad you wrote about this.,....I have been having back issues for years and was convinced it was hip related. Of course chirpractors want you back, so they don't mention that possibility....

Thanks again to members of this site for being so overwhelmingly supportive in offering information and suggestions.

Good luck.

[Baby Barista]

Hern's post about the psoas is right on the money. The easiest way to tell if that is in fact the problem, is to lie flat on your back on the floor. Try to keep the back of your knees on the ground. If after 5 minutes, you're in pain, or it really hurts to get up, your psoas group is to blame.

In my case, with dysplasia and bone spurs, I was unable to extend thru the hip joint. My psoas had significantly shortened. It took a number of months after surgery for that to improve.

[podgornymd]

I know what you  are going through. I am in the same boat. I am scheduled to have BHR next week and for past 2 months my back has been killing me to the point i have become sedentary. I am actually an emergency physician who is very active mainly competing in ultraendurance mtn bike races so i have a few theories.

The hip and lower back are definitely intertwined. In all my years of practice it is a known fact that is sometimes very difficult to delineate which is causing the pain and numerous surgeries have been done on the hip /or back with limited results b/c it was misdiagnosed. So i believe that months or years with a bad hip affect your back for alot of different reasons.

Being inactive plays a big role also. Just like with any muscle it atrophies(wastes away) with inactivity. Needless to say, it goes for your spinal muscles also. I believe this is a big part of my pain.I havent been able to do alot of weights or strenghting exercises.

Thirdly, stress is a major player. Working in the Emergency room for all these years , I dont get stressed too often outside of work but the past 2 months i havent been able to exercise to release my tension and i believe it manifests as back pain.

Hopefully yours and my back pain will resolve after surgery.I hope that helps.

[toby]

Just a quick one from me to offer some re-assurance.
I had back pain for years which was getting progressively worse-once I had my HR 3 years ago it went completely and luckily has never returned.
Best
Toby
L HR Adept Prof Cobb UK

[bosoxgordon]

Thanks for the feedback on this. It has been a major concern for me lately. My pain levels have increased and mostly in my back. I was very concerned that I was developing a separate issue in my back. After talking with many folks out here it seems that this is a common symptom. I am hopeful that the surgery will help the overall pain levels and any alignment issues I have because of favoring my bad hip.

I was scheduled for surgery for this Thursday but unfortunately there is a member of my family that is facing a life threatening medical issue and I had to put the hip on the back burner until this other situation is resolved. Obviously I've been under a tremendous amount of stress as well because of this and I think it has made my back issue worse. Anyway, I am hopeful that I will be able to have the surgery by the fall and put all of this behind me.