hip pain worse at night

annkn

Hi, my hip pain is much worse at night, from relative immobility and mild pain in the day to pretty near unbearable pain at night, after about 4 hours sleep. I have my neck aligned, and am trying to work on a small cushion between my knees, as I sleep on my ok side. I have a decent mattress with a panda mattress topper.

Pain has been diagnosed slightly differently by two senior physios, mainly bursitis or mainly arthritis. X-rays show hip degeneration .

Any hints on the night pain and questions to ask of the consultant I am due to see at the endow July to discuss a hip replacement?

Thank you,

Ann

Woofy

https://community.versusarthritis.org/discussion/62961/hip-pain-worse-at-night

Hi sorry you are in so much pain at night.

When my pain was at its worse, usually at night, but mine was my shoulder. I went on YouTube and watched two American physios.

They suggested having a pillow under my body, as well as my normal pillow under my head. So you create a gully / gap, where your sore limb is in the gully/gap, and is supported by the pillows either side. Not sure if you could try this with your hip. Maybe two pillows lengthwise with your hip joint in the middle gap, so you are not putting pressure on your sore hip.

I’m probably not making much sense lol, but it did help a lot when I tried it. I think the two guys were called bob & ted but I did stumble upon them whilst looking up how to sleep with shoulder pain.
good luck.

Ellen

Good morning @annkn lovely to meet you and welcome you to the online community.

Hip osteoarthritis and bursitis are making sleep really difficult for you. So many of us struggle with pain more at night when we most need to rest.

I don't know if there is anything here that you haven't already tried?

https://www.versusarthritis.org/news/2023/june/sleep-and-arthritis-tips-for-dealing-with-pain-at-night-and-getting-a-good-sleep/

Possibly some of our 'hippies' @Janlyn @Nurina @alwayssewing and @Trish9556 to name a few might have some tips for you having recently had their hips replaced. Their threads by the way are well worth a read.

Best wishes

Ellen

Trish9556

Hi @annkn

I am sorry you are in so much pain and discomfort at night with your hip pain. Thank you @Ellen for the tag.

I am 7 weeks post shiny new hip surgery and know only too well. I had 18 months of nights spent tossing and turning, getting up to walk around the house to ease the pain and I know exactly where you are coming from.

My physio advised me to use a pillow rather than a small cushion between my legs while sleeping. I had also purchased a 'knee' pillow (looks like a rectangle squashed in the middle lol) and used that at the top with the pillow down the rest of my legs. Sometimes it worked and I slept, sometimes it didn't.

When I came out of hospital I was allowed to sleep on my 'other side' for a short while at night and with this I used a huge square cushion, again it was luck as to the amount of help it was. Now I sleep unaided all night without :)

When all this didn't work pre surgery, rather than tossing and turning which just made me cross and even more uncomfortable, I got up, went downstairs, had some more painkillers, made some hot chocolate (the real stuff not instant), put my headphones on, listened to classical music on the radio and worked on my jigsaw for a bit. Jigsaws are good for distracting you from pain - sometimes I stood to do it with my stick and sometimes I sat down.

After a while I found I could then curl up on the sofa (or the floor with cushions although I was told off for this - it was comfy!) and sleep.

By using a combination of pillows in bed, the getting up and distraction therapies I usually managed 3 or 4 hours a night. Good job I'm retired.

Try also to leave your last daily dose of painkillers until about 30 minutes before you go to bed.

Good luck!

Trish xx

helpline_team

Hi @annkn

Thanks for posting on the Helpline Online Community and sorry to hear you're in such pain and struggling with sleep. @Ellen, @Woofy and @Trish9556 have shared some really useful information on sleep and managing pain.

You may wish to review the pain medications you’re on with your GP. Low dose antidepressants can be prescribed by GPs as pain relief. They can improve the way your body responds to pain, whilst also improving your mood, emotional state, and helping with sleep.

As with all medications, there are risks and benefits to weigh up in discussion with your doctor. It's also important for a health care professional to consider potential interactions with any other medications you may take. As I am not medically trained, I am unable to advise on the most appropriate pain medication for you and would therefore encourage you to reach out again to your GP. It may be worth asking for a referral to a pain clinic which is run by teams of professionals that can work with you to find the right solution for you.

You may find the following pages on our website helpful: 

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

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

I hope this helps,

Helen, Helpline Advisor

annkn

Thank you very much for replying, and offering your experiences, it's much appreciated. I am managing my night pain better now - partly as I just accept it.

raching

such a helpful post as I just had a bad night like and great to know how others have coped