hip joint pain

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

OK, I'm 54, i usually never post in here, seldom have health problems at all...never broke anything, no arthritis etc....
But I seem to have somehow damaged my right hip joint.
Two days ago I went outdoor roller skating and it was tough going- rough pavement, headwinds....a huge workout and when I got home I felt sore in both my hips joints but not too bad.
Then last night I went to the roller rink and skated another 2 hours- much easier going than outside, but I was working on some new moves and skating hard. I worked up a sweat and got home sore all over from the big workout, but I felt sore and wiped out in a good way, you know like after a hard workout.
I have not fallen at all or done anything else weird, no heavy lifting or jogging.

So this morning my right hip joint is quite painful (left one fine by now), but I figure I just need to rest for a day or two and I can hobble around the house ok.
But now this evening it's been getting worse all day- anybody ever have this?
It's odd- I am fine as long as my leg is pretty straight....I can walk normally around the house with only slight pain. But I cannot lift my right leg up more than 4" off the floor due to the intense pain, and sitting is very painful. I can barely lower myself into a chair (or onto the toilet) and then have to sit leaning back with the one leg extended out straight. I can only go up the stairs one at a time with left leg only. I can't bend over to pick up something from the floor, except if I keep that leg stretched out straight behind me.
Yikes. I'm hoping it's just a bruised joint thing or ligament, since i did not impact it in a fall or anything.
Anyone ever have this?? If so, did it get better after a couple of days rest? I'm not used to anything like this!

[LBTC]

Lisa, I'm hoping the physio types can give you more detailed information, but in my opinion ice, rest, massage, and some type of antiflammatory (best results may be from an arnica salve) may do a lot to help.

I'm sure they would want to know where in the hip joint the pain is - at the socket, along the front, in the back; and what type of pain it is - sharp, shooting, or really throbby - to help get a better idea of what it is.

I've been known to have recurring bursitis in one hip, initially caused by a fall, but it is aggravated by my glute muscles pulling on the hip joint (so I've been told by massage therapists). I can tell when it is bursitis because the pain feels cold, strange as that sounds.

I'm sorry you're hurting -it's very frustrating I know! I'm sending you some healing butterflies and hoping that our physio friends can help you out!

Hugs, too,
~T~

[spokewench]

Sounds like you over did it. Just give it a rest, some ice would be good and try to stretch your IT bands and do some stretching unless it is too painful

A couple of days and I'm guessing you'll be right as rain.

[mimitabby]

aw, get well soon!!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I'm sure they would want to know where in the hip joint the pain is - at the socket, along the front, in the back; and what type of pain it is - sharp, shooting, or really throbby - to help get a better idea of what it is.

Thanks T.....

The pain is sharp shooting pain on the outer side of my hip joint- stops me dead in my tracks.
Doesn't hurt when leg is straight- I can put all my weight on that foot and no pain at all, can walk normally with only a little pain unless I bend that hip. But terrible pain if I try to bend the joint- bending over to pick something up, sitting down, climbing stairs. Can't lift my foot off the floor more than 2" now from standing position. Also hurts if I am sitting and move my knee even a little to either side left or right.

My DH is making me take aspirin, and I plan on going to bed early tonight.

[Wahine]

Lisa - based on some of the things I've seen you post elsewhere about your hip, I would guess that you have some degenerative changes (age related arthritis) in the joint. But this current problem is not hip arthritis type joint pain, or at least it's not the typical pain presentation pattern. It sounds more like an irritated bursa that is now inflammed and needs to settle. This can com from muscle tightness. So active rest, that means doing lots of the things that don't hurt to keep you moving (like walking) for the next week or 10 days. Try to avoid the things that cause sharp pain for that time frame. Keep us updated on how you feel. The advice will likely change once the acute irritation settles.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Lisa - based on some of the things I've seen you post elsewhere about your hip, I would guess that you have some degenerative changes (age related arthritis) in the joint. But this current problem is not hip arthritis type joint pain, or at least it's not the typical pain presentation pattern. It sounds more like an irritated bursa that is now inflammed and needs to settle. This can com from muscle tightness. So active rest, that means doing lots of the things that don't hurt to keep you moving (like walking) for the next week or 10 days. Try to avoid the things that cause sharp pain for that time frame. Keep us updated on how you feel. The advice will likely change once the acute irritation settles.

Thanks Wahine, that makes sense.
I did plan on starting to do long gentle walks outside just as soon as I am able to, maybe even tomorrow. Walking gently without lifting or twisting my leg much is not hurting much. Walking has always helped my mild hip joint achiness in the past. Of course this intense shooting pain thing is a whole different thing, but yes lots of gentle movement can only be good as long as i don't strain it and move it in certain painful ways.
DH had to put on my pants and socks and shoes this morning....like i was an old lady!

[mimitabby]

like i was an old lady!

or a bruised athlete!

[BeeLady]

I, too, suffer from hip joint pain, some days worse than others. Rest does seem to help.

I believe mine is either bursitis (when I'm overactive) and/or osteoarthritis. I have arthritis in my neck. Plus I found out earlier this year that I have osteopenia so I am working on that with exercise and nutrition. (Too bad cycling doesn't help that. Maybe I should get back to skating!)

I hope your pain disappears never to return. Unfortunately the aging process might not go along. I am doing what I can to maintain my "youthful exuberance" while also gracefully accepting the changes.

All the half-century types on this forum are a great source of inspiration to me, as I'm closing in on 53.

[Zen]

I'm closing in on 53.

You whippersnapper!

[Crankin]

Lisa, I hope your hip is feeling better. All I can say is welcome to the world of the walking wounded.
And as for the whippersnapper comment, that's not me who is going to be 55 in the fall. I mean, that sounds old! It seems like the birthdays that end in 5 bother me a lot more than the one that end in 0.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Well I should update this thread because it has a happy ending.

After 10 days of incredible pain and not even being able to move my leg much at all, and virtually no measurable improvement, I went to a chiropractor, but that did not help much either except to reassure me I had not broken any bones. He said I just had to wait for the tissues to heal. He said he could tell my hip bursa was very inflamed as well.

The next day out of desperation I read up on all the supplements I could take that might help injured muscles/joints/ligaments.
I loaded up on protein powder (40g/day), glucosamine, chondroitin, MSM, and arnica products, and started taking them all twice a day.
Well, within 48 hours of starting them (12 days into my agony), things turned around dramatically. I could feel improvement every HOUR. One morning started with me only being able to raise my foot 4" off the floor from a standing position, to being able to raise it up 2 feet by that same evening! Wow. NOw 4 days after starting the supplements, I am about 80% recovered and in very little pain and most of my mobility returned. It felt like a miracle, truly. Two weeks ago today I thought I was doomed.
Needless to say, I am continuing all this stuff and I plan to go for a walk tomorrow- my first actual 'workout' since getting hurt. Then I'll slowly and carefully ease into my biking and skating again as I feel better.
YAY!!!
I plan to faithfully continue all those supplements on a lower dose after I'm well, hopefully they will help keep my body parts a bit more resilient. I'm a believer now.
I also will be more careful about overdoing any new 'tricks' I try out.

[VeloVT]

Lisa,
Glad to hear you're feeling better. For a while my bf was getting hip pain from running. After about a year I succeeded in making him go to the doctor (men ). Doctor thought it was ITB-related. In my experience different people have radically different success with stretching for ITB tightness, and different stretches seem to work for different people. This one really helped him a lot:

http://z.about.com/d/exercise/1/0/1/_/spinetwist.jpg

The one his doctor gave him, the "standard" ITB stretch where you cross, say, your left leg behind your right (while standing) and bend at the waist towards the right, didn't help him at all...

I find pigeon pose to help loosen up my hips too: http://yoga.about.com/od/yogaposes/a/pigeon.htm. If I slowly drop my head to the floor in front of my knee and relax into the stretch, it's pretty intense-to-uncomfortable.

Of course, this may not be helpful for you at all, but I thought I'd share just in case...

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

... different stretches seem to work for different people. This one really helped him a lot:

http://z.about.com/d/exercise/1/0/1/_/spinetwist.jpg

My husband and I both have been doing that one for quite a while already- it just feels so good!

[Kano]

I find pigeon pose to help loosen up my hips too: http://yoga.about.com/od/yogaposes/a/pigeon.htm. If I slowly drop my head to the floor in front of my knee and relax into the stretch, it's pretty intense-to-uncomfortable.

I sure do like this one!

Doin' the Pigeon,
Doin' the Pigeon,
people may smile but I don't mind,
they'll never understand the kind of fun I find...

(I LOVE the stretch!)

Karen in Boise