Dealing with referred pain from arthritic hip

fionay_68

Hello! I've recently been diagnosed with osteoarthritis in my right hip (after 15 years of physio referrals and various prescriptions for what was thought to be a muscular issue... didn't get sent for an xray until June this year!). My worst issue isn't the hip pain but the referred pain through my mid thigh and in my knee. This tends to flare up in the evening after I get in from work and can be absolutely excruciating. I take Gabapentin (100mg in morning, and 300mg at night - been taking it for five years and was initially prescribed 3 x 300mg a day but I can't function with it). After diagnosis my GP prescribed Duloxetine which was great for the pain but the side effects was so horrendous I couldn't cope with them. I have gastritis so NSAIDs can be tricky. Anyone got any suggestions? I'm within a healthy BMI, do muscle strengthening physio exercises daily but the pain is getting me down... Grateful for any input! Fiona x

Cath100

Hi @fionay_68

Welcome to the online community, I hope you find it a helpful resource and a source of encouragement. So Sorry to hear that the pain is starting to make you feel low, it is so tough sometimes to say the least dealing with a condition like arthritis on a daily basis and also not being able to find a treatment option that gives you some relief.

You could perhaps check with your GP about whether either Capsaicin cream or Flexiseq could be suitable, these can help reduce symptoms of osteoarthritis and you can find out more about them here

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

You might also find some further tips here in our section about managing your pain

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/managing-symptoms/managing-your-pain/

If you haven't already you could also ask your GP about a referral to a pain management clinic and perhaps look at the 'Escape pain' programme- you can find this on our website or the 'Lets move with leon' programme.

We are a supportive community and am sure others may also have some suggestions.

Thanks for your message

Best wishes

Cath100

(Moderator)

fionay_68

Many thanks for your reply - very much appreciated. I'll definitely give these a go!

Lilymary

I had a lot of referred pain from my hip before replacement last year. It's just your nerve endings firing off, rather than your body warning you to stop doing whatever's causing pain. Once you get your head round that, you can deal with it differently than simply changing/stopping what you're doing. When I got a sudden random burst of pain down my leg, I found relaxation techniques worked well for me - it sounds a bit "New Age", but closing my eyes, taking a deep breath and relaxing, visualising allowing the pain to flow away actually helped. Best not done when driving! Distraction also worked for me, ie focus on anything other than the pain, preferably something you enjoy and can immerse yourself in. When that didn't work, I resorted to swearing at it. I understand there is genuine psychological benefit and pain relief from doing so! (try googling it). Again, best not done in polite company, but it can make you feel better!

Meanwhile, try to keep your muscles around your hip toned and your hip mobile by exercising as much as the pain allows. This stops the muscles from seizing up, which will only increase pain levels, and it will also aid recovery post op.

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/exercising-with-arthritis/exercises-for-healthy-joints/exercises-for-the-hips/

Hope this helps