Hip or back??

bailey27

Hi

I have had this problem for a while and am wondering if it is the arhritis or something mechanical.
I have been told I have a Spondyloarthropathy, my GP refers to it as AS but to be hoenst my rheumy isnt quite sure what is going on at the moment.
I often get a deep pain in my left bum cheek really deep in I cant sit on the floor and turn my knees in. When I wasa younger I use to be very flexible and be able to sit on the floor on both knees and sit with my ankles my my backside, if that makes sense. No when I sit on the floor I am unable to rotate my knee inwards at all, although I am able to turn my knee out and when I sit on the floor with my feet together I am able to get my knees to touch the floor wihtout a proble, but I cant turn my leg in at all now and has been getting worse over time.
Any advice or suggestions what it could be??

speedalong

Hi,

Have you had x rays to rule out that this is not a skeletal thing? If not ask for some - and a referral to an ortho surgeon as they will be able to interpret the x rays for you. Otherwise might just get results saying - patient shows signs of AS!!

If it is not skeletal I would go and see a remedial sports masseur - I had real problems due to my hips and the muscles were very contracted and doing the opposite of yours - constantly pulling and turning my leg inwards - after work on the muscles the therapist managed to help the muscles relax and lengthen again and it really made a massive difference. You need one who has knowledge of trigger points too. I had to pay for my treatment, but it was worth it.

Also ask to see a podiatrist as the knees turning in thing maybe due to your feet and this can cause a lot of pain elsewhere .... you may need insoles.

Finally I woud learn about Trigger points as the pain in the bum definitely sounds like some trigger point therapy would help.

Speedalong

bailey27

Hi

I have been told I need an operation on my knee as when I sit with legs straight out in front my knees face inwards slightly and the orth said this was becasue i had damage to the cartlidge and i am currently waiting for him to say yes or no as to whether he is going to re-align the knee.
I cant actually rotate my thigh inwards at all and am getting quite anxious about it as I am also getting groin pain and am worried there might be something wrong with my hip.
I am due for an mri on my pelis beginning of june, would anything show up on that or would i need a seperate scan to show this area?

dreamdaisy

The deep pain you referred to may be the sacro-iliac joint. Mine give me hell. I only sit on the floor now when I fall over. Dreamdaisy

bailey27

Hi
I thought it might be beacsue although I can sit on the floor I cant sit on the floor with my legs straight unless I have a wall behind me / support.
Do you have AS / similar condition?

speedalong

Hi Bailey - I don't know for certain - but x-rays of the pelvis and hips are one and the same (or are in my case.)

Sounds a nightmare.

I don't see why rotation of the hip should be affected by the problems in the knee though - unless because of the knee - you have not been using the muscles to guard against undue pain. Have you seen a physio?

Speedalong

bailey27

Hi, I have seen a physion but was in a flare at the time and she said that the muscles were all stiff because they were protecting joint.. Or something along those lines. But tje flare has calmed down a heck of a lot but the stiffness is still there so am baffled. When the rheuny examined me a few weeks ago I did mention it to him but he wasn't really listeningg and said that my hip seemed fine, although he didn't exactly examine it. My hip flexor is constantly tight, like really solid so could it be this? If so what would cause it to tighten? Sorry for all the questions but I just like to understand what's going on with me.
Cheers, x

speedalong

bailey27 wrote:

Hi, I have seen a physion but was in a flare at the time and she said that the muscles were all stiff because they were protecting joint.. Or something along those lines. But tje flare has calmed down a heck of a lot but the stiffness is still there so am baffled. When the rheuny examined me a few weeks ago I did mention it to him but he wasn't really listeningg and said that my hip seemed fine, although he didn't exactly examine it. My hip flexor is constantly tight, like really solid so could it be this? If so what would cause it to tighten? Sorry for all the questions but I just like to understand what's going on with me.
Cheers, x

Hi - I'm not a qualified medic - but have suffered a lot with my own hips and knees - joints and muscles - so can only talk of my own experiences. I had real problems with my muscles limiting my movement due to being so tight. If you have been guarding the joint for so long this really could be limiting your movement and the actual muscle could be causing you pain. I really do recommend a few sessions with a remedial sports injury masseur - they don't just treat sports injuries - and are masters at this sort of thing.

Speedalong

PS I don't have a rheumy - but I do have a GP and a consultant and neither have been much help with muscles - the sports massage was the thing that brought most relief - got my leg properly aligned again (my whole leg was turning in due to tight muscles and I couldn't even relax the leg when lying down into a comfortable position.) You need to apply ice after for a few days and then start to benefit ... I needed several sessions.