Hello

Chliad

Hi,

I've just signed up to this site. I have had O.A. for 8 years now, and I am looking for some answers to my questions that the doctor or physio cannot give me.

Tom

Hello, @Chliad and welcome to the forum.

I see that you have had OA for some 8 years now and are looking for more answers. You do not say to what questions specifically, so here are some links to general information from our website:

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/conditions/osteoarthritis/

I see from your second post that your problem is in the hip, so here is more targeted information:

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/conditions/osteoarthritis-oa-of-the-hip/

Like you, I was on statins, but after discussion with my GP left off them, and my pain reduced.

I hope you will find more useful information and support from other users of the forum.

Tom

Chliad

Hi Tom,

I specifically wanted to know if the pain in my thigh is solely due to the O.A. or if I have something else as well. Maybe something muscular. I only sleep for 2 hours at a time, I think it is because I have been in the same position for too long and my leg is so painful I have to change position. As soon as I get "comfortable" again I am able to go back to sleep for another couple of hours. I am truly fed up waking up so often during the night. I have to be in bed for about 10 hrs to get a combined 6 -7 hrs sleep. I have co-codamol and Ibuprofen gel, I am not sure if they work as well as I would like. I can only sit on certain chairs for a short space of time as when I stand my muscle feels as though it is in a spasm it is so painful.

I am active I go to the gym 3 days a week and use the equipment there, I cycle, walk/run and use the abductor and addductor all trying to improve my thigh muscle.

I have also been told that my O.A. is not bad enough to cause the pain that I have and that the pain must be deferred pain. I have thought about acupuncture although I do not know if is any good. Thanks for listening anyway.

regards WIlma

Mike1

Wilma, I spent over £600 on a course of acupuncture and got no benefit whatsoever.

Chliad

Ok thanks for that. Makes you think

Tom

@Chliad I am not a medical professional, so I am not the best person to ask. However, I share with you the delight of waking up with thigh pain. The severity varies over time (worse in hot weather) I got some relief by taking co-codamol at bed time. Does your GP have any suggestions and are you seeing a physio?

Lilymary

Have you seen a physio? It may be that the referred pain is being aggravated by some of the gym exercises you’re doing. Also, running in particular is not kind to arthritic leg joints. Cycling or swimming (ie low impact) is safer.

As for the arthritis “not being bad enough to cause that level of pain”, if you’re on cocodamol and ibuprofen gel to try to manage the pain I’d be inclined to say “pish and tosh” to that comment. Referred pain is every bit as bad as the arthritis that causes it. Have you had an X-ray recently to review the damage? My hip went from “a bit of a limp and niggles” to finding out I needed a new hip almost overnight after a fall knocked off the last remaining bit of cartilage and I was in agony thereafter until I had hip replacement. The referred pains were awful too. I was doing pilates and yoga up to that point, but had to give up both as the pain and loss of mobility was too bad to continue.

As for night times, try propping bits of yourself on an arrangement of cushions and pillows. This really helped me, as I found lying with my duff leg out straight pinched something in my hip. I had a cushion under my hip (I tend to lie almost on my front) and another raising my foot wchich kept all my leg joints slightly flexed, which I found much more comfortable. Experiment and see what works for you. Also take a cocodamol before you go to bed. Sadly no pain killers completely mask the pain of arthritis, but they can take the edge off it to keep you reasonably mobile.

I seem to remember having acupuncture years ago for something, but can’t remember clearly if it worked. But a review of your exercise regime with your physio, who can also do an assessment of the mobility in your hip and review the cause of pain in your thigh would be a better starting point.

Chliad

@Tom Hi,

I do take co-codamol and I also have ibuprofen Gel, however after a couple of hours sleep both wear off and I have to keep changing position for relief. This morning I have been prescribed Buscopan ( although it is not for muscle pain) to try to see if it will relax the muscle in my thigh. I do attend the physio, he had left me to my gym exercises however I will have to contact him again. I'll try to remember to le you know how the buscopan goes.

C1955J

Hi Tom

Initially my Osteoarthritis in my right hip was difficult to diagnose as it was complicated with Bursitis, which is inflammation of the fluid filled sacs (bursa) that cushion your joints. The pain was excruciating and wasn't just limited to my hip....it went down my thigh to my knee and was painful when any pressure was put on it.

I was also told that my Osteoarthritis wasn't bad enough to cause the pain.

Osteoarthritis and Bursitis share a lot of symptoms so it may be worth checking out.

I found sleeping practically impossible with Bursitis and would only get a couple of hours sleep at a time before the pain would wake me up.

I still have severe Osteoarthritis but, without the complication of Bursitis, can sleep for several hours at a time now.

I also take Co-Codamol before going to bed.

I'm no medical practitioner of course ......

C1955J

Apologies......That last post was intended for Chliad

RogerBill

Hi @Chliad Osteoarthritis in my left hip first caused pain in my thigh and I get referred pain mostly in my lower back and right knee. Disturbed sleep is also a problem. Until six months ago I used to enjoy regular ten mile walks but now can only manage 15 minutes and bending even just to cut my toenails is unpleasant. I've a replacement hip operation in a few weeks time. After consulting with my GP I stopped taking 20mg statins daily because I thought they might be aggravating the OA. I didn't notice any difference so started taking them again. If they had been contributing to the OA pain the GP said there were alternative statins which could be prescribed.

Although everyone is different, as mentioned above common advice is to avoid impact activities like running.

For three months I spent a lot of time doing exercises recommended by a physio. I've since changed to a different set of exercises recommended to prepare for a hip replacement operation. These seem to be better as I now have a few more good days. Physiotherapists each seem to have different ideas. The exercises I'm now doing are from a website by Lou Grant, a UK physiotherapist who had a hip replacement herself a couple of years ago. One exercise uses a roller, the one I've just got is firm and about 150cm diameter. By lying on it and rolling up and down between my knees and hips does seem to help the thigh pain.

I second @Lilymary 's “pish and tosh” comment about what you were told that your arthritis is "not bad enough to cause that level of pain". When I asked about my x-ray I was told that it wasn't possible to predict someone's level of pain as some with less serious x-ray reports suffer more pain than those with x-rays that appear worse.

RogerBill

Another thought following on from the point that it not being possible to tell how serious someone's pain is from their x-ray.

When discussing my x-ray report I asked whether I should have a hip replacement. The answer was that it's up to the individual and how it affects their life. Hip OA stops me from walking far, standing or bending for very long. If I was the sort to be happy leading an inactive life I could well carry on, but as I like to lead a more active life, especially walking, I decided to opt for a hip replacement. I'm 68 and have already lost a year of enjoyable walking, DIY, etc and having been doing the recommended exercises for six months I don't believe my situation will improve and may well get worse. Balanced against the relatively small risks associated with a hip replacement operation to me it seems a chance worth taking.