Please Help Mysterious Hip/Groin Pain

Hey everyone. I have always had a tight lower body. I wanted to address this and last July I purchased a tennis ball to use around my hips and lower body in general. While I was doing this I had pain but it was similar to when I would foam roll. The only difference was the pain was slightly worse I think because the ball is smaller. Since that day i’ve had constant hip and groin pain. The next day I was in agony. Every Time I would plant my foot I would have pains in the upper thighs. Any lateral movements caused me tremendous pain. If I would sit with my feet up for a while and go to get up I would have hip pain. There would be cracking/popping coming from the hip area.

My range of motion has also severely decreased post injury. For 4 months after I first injured myself it was so bad that I had to take 4 aleve just to make it into work. I work on my feet. Now I need 2 aleve and it dulls the pain. At that time I had just started a new job and my insurance hadn’t cleared yet so I couldn’t see a dr. In Oct I saw a Orthopedist. He had an xray ordered. It came back and it was clear. He thought it was a sprain and he ordered 2 months of PT. The day when I would get PT it would feel better. The next day the pain would be back to square one. I went back and a MRI was ordered. The MRI was clear except for slight water around the hip joint which the MRI report said was too small to have any influence on the movement of the joint. I was then told by the ortho he didnt know what the issue was and to find a different dr.

While I was researching drs I started going to a chiropractor. He said I had all scar tissue around my hips and the hip area. He would use a tool (dont remember the name) that rubbed slughtly over my skin and instantly my skin would show burst blood vessels. He said my pain was from the scar tissue. I saw him about 10 times and there was no change. I went to a new ortho in May. I brought him my reports and he said he thought I had Bursitis of the hips and ITB syndrome. He gave my stretches for ITB syndrome and said we would do a shot for the bursitis. I got the shot last Monday and I stayed home like he said. Went back to work friday and the pain is worse then it was before the shots. Does anyone have any idea what this could be? I haven’t been active since last JUly because I don’t know what this is or even if the doctors know what it is. All I know is it hurts tremendously. I cant do any side stretching without pain. Any kind of lunge no matter how deep will cause pain. I just want to be active again. I’m scared i’m being misdiagnosed because before i’ve been misdiagnosed. I’ve had thumb pain since my early twenties (31 now). I went to all different doctors who all told me I was fine and tests are clear.

A few months ago I went to a different hand specialist who looked at my xray and told me that I have thumb arthritis. He said it was int eh early stages but he could tell i’ve had it for several years. This is why I don’t know if the drs are correct about my hip/groin issues. Any help you can provide will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

thegameksk,

I have some follow up questions for you:

  1. Any history of back pain or back injury?

  2. Where exactly is the pain located in the hip? Front side? Back side? Lateral side? Deep within the joint? Any additional descriptors would be helpful.

Thanks.

DPT

[quote]mattf3213 wrote:
thegameksk,

I have some follow up questions for you:

  1. Any history of back pain or back injury?
    No, I have no history of back pain of any kind.

  2. Where exactly is the pain located in the hip? Front side? Back side? Lateral side? Deep within the joint? Any additional descriptors would be helpful.
    Before I got the shot it would be on the lateral side. Now after I feel it more in the joint itself/lateral side. If I move my leg inward the whole hip area is very tight. Moving the hips to the outside causes pain to lateral side. As I was walking around yesterday when I would plant my foot the pain would be in the joint area along with tightness. Every step I took I felt the pain.

Thanks.

DPT[/quote]

[quote]thegameksk wrote:

[quote]mattf3213 wrote:
thegameksk,

I have some follow up questions for you:

  1. Any history of back pain or back injury?
    No, I have no history of back pain of any kind.

  2. Where exactly is the pain located in the hip? Front side? Back side? Lateral side? Deep within the joint? Any additional descriptors would be helpful.
    Before I got the shot it would be on the lateral side. Now after I feel it more in the joint itself/lateral side. If I move my leg inward the whole hip area is very tight. Moving the hips to the outside causes pain to lateral side. As I was walking around yesterday when I would plant my foot the pain would be in the joint area along with tightness. Every step I took I felt the pain.

Thanks.

DPT[/quote]
[/quote]

Hmm. You are a tough one. The pain within the joint/groin region leads me to believe you have some type of hip impingement. A test you can do that would suggest this is called the FABER hip test. You can google it so you can watch a video on how to do it. If this is positive and causes pain in the groin, it’s indicative of impingement within the joint. If this test is positive and causes pain in the buttocks/low back, it is indicative of SI joint involvement. Hope this helps. Good luck.

DPT

[quote]mattf3213 wrote:

[quote]thegameksk wrote:

[quote]mattf3213 wrote:
thegameksk,

I have some follow up questions for you:

  1. Any history of back pain or back injury?
    No, I have no history of back pain of any kind.

  2. Where exactly is the pain located in the hip? Front side? Back side? Lateral side? Deep within the joint? Any additional descriptors would be helpful.
    Before I got the shot it would be on the lateral side. Now after I feel it more in the joint itself/lateral side. If I move my leg inward the whole hip area is very tight. Moving the hips to the outside causes pain to lateral side. As I was walking around yesterday when I would plant my foot the pain would be in the joint area along with tightness. Every step I took I felt the pain.

Thanks.

DPT[/quote]
[/quote]

Hmm. You are a tough one. The pain within the joint/groin region leads me to believe you have some type of hip impingement. A test you can do that would suggest this is called the FABER hip test. You can google it so you can watch a video on how to do it. If this is positive and causes pain in the groin, it’s indicative of impingement within the joint. If this test is positive and causes pain in the buttocks/low back, it is indicative of SI joint involvement. Hope this helps. Good luck.

DPT[/quote]

Wouldn’t an impingement show up on the Mri and Xray I had?

Whatever I have it was caused by the tennis balls. Could they cause an impingement?

[quote]thegameksk wrote:

[quote]mattf3213 wrote:

[quote]thegameksk wrote:

[quote]mattf3213 wrote:
thegameksk,

I have some follow up questions for you:

  1. Any history of back pain or back injury?
    No, I have no history of back pain of any kind.

  2. Where exactly is the pain located in the hip? Front side? Back side? Lateral side? Deep within the joint? Any additional descriptors would be helpful.
    Before I got the shot it would be on the lateral side. Now after I feel it more in the joint itself/lateral side. If I move my leg inward the whole hip area is very tight. Moving the hips to the outside causes pain to lateral side. As I was walking around yesterday when I would plant my foot the pain would be in the joint area along with tightness. Every step I took I felt the pain.

Thanks.

DPT[/quote]
[/quote]

Hmm. You are a tough one. The pain within the joint/groin region leads me to believe you have some type of hip impingement. A test you can do that would suggest this is called the FABER hip test. You can google it so you can watch a video on how to do it. If this is positive and causes pain in the groin, it’s indicative of impingement within the joint. If this test is positive and causes pain in the buttocks/low back, it is indicative of SI joint involvement. Hope this helps. Good luck.

DPT[/quote]

Wouldn’t an impingement show up on the Mri and Xray I had? [/quote]

Not necessarily unless there is damage or inflammation to the tissue. The other thing from your history is the popping. Take a look at snapping hip syndrome. Also here is a link to a few orthopedic tests that will narrow it down. Good luck.

It’s not a click/pop you can hear but I can feel it. At this point I’m not sure what I should do as far as going back to my dr or going to a new dr or just trying to figure it out on my own. I don’t feel pain with that test just alot of tightness.