OA knee - why is my thigh muscle and hip so painful!!

Janey1951

I've had a flare up of right knee OA since October 2024 - had a fall and injured my LEFT knee! which is now fine - however it seems to have triggered a flare up of the OA in my right knee. I'm really struggling as I don't understand why my right thigh muscle is so painful - bending, walking, standing from sitting - I'm also experiencing a tightness in my right hip which I've not had before. i can't take Ibuprofen and paracetamol alone don't seem to hit the spot so do a codeine/paracetamol combo to enable me to at least do the basics. I just wish I understood the effect knee OA has on surrounding muscle, joints, soft tissue and wondered if there is a helpful book/pamphlet I can read. I do find all the advice quite confusing about what painkillers/exercise to take/do or not. I am feeling quite down with the pain now and the thought of having to be like this for the rest of my life is very depressing. I'm used to being very active and this all came on so quickly I don't seem to be coming to terms with it very well. Thank you all for your support.

annabanana

Hi @Janey1951 , sorry to hear that you are experiencing this, it can’t be easy. I’ve attached a wee link on osteoarthritis of the knee but don’t think it includes anything specific to how it affects the neighbouring joints; however it does say “Osteoarthritis in the knee might change the way you walk or carry your weight”.

I recently bruised a bone in my foot, with rheumatoid arthritis, and the other foot started hurting even more than the originally damaged one due by to trying to compensate whilst walking/moving! Luckily it cleared itself up fairly quickly, hopefully your’s does the same 🤞 or at least someone who knows a bit more about osteoarthritis than me adds to the post. did you see a doctor for your left knee when you fell? It may be worth having it looked at in case it is a similar situation to mine’s where it was due to compensating.

https://www.google.com/url?q=https://versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/conditions/osteoarthritis-of-the-knee/&sa=U&sqi=2&ved=2ahUKEwid9ZauzKKMAxUBWkEAHXIZAyMQFnoECEcQAQ&usg=AOvVaw1YNeXCyT7zIpMQ6TEoZrXk

Janey1951

Thank you @annabanana - the link was very helpful. When I injured my left knee i couldn't put any weight on it for several days so my right leg was doing all the work and I think that's what set off the flare in my right knee. I haven't experienced the pain in my right thigh muscle before, which is really debilitating!, and to add insult to injury I turned my left ankle a couple of weeks ago (doing the recommended walking!!) so my right leg is having to work overtime again, so I think this is contributing to the hip pain as I'm not walking evenly. I've been seeing a chiropractor/podiatrist for another problem so will talk to her at my next visit to see if she can get me walking straight again. Thank you so much for getting back to me - I was getting really down and feeling quite confused with all the advice. I've been doing the Versus Arthritis knee exercises, my right leg feels very heavy, like it doesn't belong to me - i think I needed reassurance that everything I was experiencing is normal for OA knee.

Bryony

Sounds like you could benefit from seeing a good physiotherapist.

The altered gait from OA in both knees (both need replacing as bone on bone) has particularly affected my right hip and right foot, which have joined in the pain game. My hip has been x-rayed and doesn't have significant arthritis, and, after seeing an excellent physiotherapist, she came to the conclusion that it is the altered gait that has caused the problem. She gave me specific exercises, a bit different from those I'd been doing for my knees, to work on my hip specifically, and they have helped quite a bit. She expects that after knee replacement surgery the hip will get better.

I think trying to walk as evenly as possible is very important, but I don't hear people talking about this.

Are you using walking stick(s)? My knees are almost equally bad, and using one stick makes the opposite side worse, and my posture and gait is poor - worse than using no stick! I think a single stick can accentuate any imbalance in gait. Using 2 sticks does help keep a much more balanced gait, and my posture is much better, though carrying two sticks is more limiting as you don't have a hand free!

Janey1951

Hello @Bryony - thank you so much for your thoughts and helpful comments. I don't have to use walking sticks thankfully but I do have a very tight iliotibial band on my right side (arthritic knee side) which is pulling my hip and knee in the wrong direction so I'm working on stretching and loosening this area. I am aware that I don't walk straight and if I consciously walk 'properly' I do find it painful so I know there is a problem here. So with a combination of iliotibial band stretching and the Versus Arthritis knee/thigh strengthening exercises I'm hoping to see some improvement by the time I see my chiropractor in mid April. The change in the weather helps too - high pressure and warmer do help.