2025 52 Card Project: Week 45: Pain

[pegkerr]

About three or four months ago, I started feeling a vague pain deep in my right hip. Not a muscle problem, not an arthritis bone-on-bone feeling. It just...hurt.

I kept trying to exercise, but it kept getting more difficult. I vaguely thought, "I should see someone about this." I had my usual yearly appointment set with my doctor for several months away, so I waited.

I probably waited too long.

I have been walking around Lake Nokomis regularly but by the time the appointment came up, I had been reduced from walking all the way around to managing only about one-third of the way around, limping.

Then I realized I was starting to feel pain in my knee. And my lower back.

And then I realized it hurt just lying in bed.

My doctor sent me to an orthopedic specialist and I met with her this past week. The diagnosis: Gluteal tendinopathy, along with some mild osteoarthritis in the right hip and tranchaneric bursitis in both hips. What a mouthful.

Action plan: start physical therapy, and if that doesn’t help, will consider cortisone shots.

image description: a view of a pelvis portion of a skeleton with a muscular overstructure on one side. Lower left: close-up of one side of the hip, showing the IT band. Right: picture of a woman sitting on the ground, with legs pulled up close and forearms covering her face. Lower center: a cane.

Pain



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Comments

[dreamshark]

Bummer. Walking is the best exercise - until it isn't. I hope the PT helps, but don't be afraid to try the cortisone shot too to break the cycle of inflammation/aggravation and let things heal. When I had a similar problem with my hip I did not find PT at all helpful. The only thing that helped was ibuprofen and NOT WALKING. That hip is fine now, btw, but I am still a little skittish about walking. Whenever possible I bike instead, which doesn't bother my hip at all. Good luck - I feel your pain.

Oh Noes!

[lsanderson]

Oh noes. That is a mouthful. I hope it gets better with PT.

[minnehaha]

What pain relief are you able to take?

K.

[pameladean]

Ow ow ow, I'm so sorry. I hope the PT is helpful. I've had good luck with it for other things. And a hip problem is so maddening. I had a minor one last year and went around dolorously singing "Dem Bones" with a crashing conclusion of, "The hip bone's connected to EVERY DAMN THING."

P.

[pegkerr]

Ibuprofen is working well enough for now. I've had a pain patch recommended should it become necessary.

[ndrosen]

I’m sorry to hear about this, and I hope that the physical therapy works well for you.