Has Anyone Here Had Lower Back Pain, Along With Hip and Groin Pain?

Question by starlight90210: Has anyone here had lower back pain, along with hip and groin pain?
My daughter is in a lot of pain (it’s been months now) started as lower back pain that gradually got worse… We went to the doctor and they took x-rays…at first they said that it was probably sciatica, which we didn’t think it was…. since she didn’t have any pain in her leg… we went back a few times but they could never find what was wrong.. So I decided to take those x-rays to a Chiropractor doctor and he found out that she has a tilted pelvis and that one leg is slightly shorter than the other one, he did measurements, etc and you can obviously see that the pelvic is tilted…He recommended orthotics for her shoes and also adjustments…For a few months she was feeling better…But then all of the sudden she started having pain on the side of her hip and it got progressively worse, where it would be all around the back both hips and also groin area… The chiropractor did ultrasound therapy on her hip area, continued with alignments etc, but nothing would help…The pain was getting worse…We went back to her primary doctor and he thought she might have bursitis of the hip, he did a shot of cortisone and gave her anti-inflammatory meds, but as weeks went by, the pain was still there and getting worse…. She then, was referred to a Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation doctor… He thought it was something irritated in her lower back (I forgot the name for that) anyway, so he gave her a shot in that area…..After a couple of weeks she was not getting any better or feeling any relief!……To make the story short, the pain in her groin area has gotten worse, she can’t not longer sit (not even for a few minutes) cause it’s so painful…the pain in her lower back is always there, along with the burning pain in her hip and groin area and sometimes she feels tingling on upper legs…. She was sent for a CT scan of her abdomen and pelvis and that came out normal… Thank GOD!….Now we are waiting for her MRI results of lower back….I’m totally devastated, my daughter is a young girl (22 yr) never had a problem in her back before, I don’t understand why she got so sick and so suddenly and unexpected. She recently graduated from school with a bachelor degree and she used to spend many hours sitting in front of her computer studying (that’s when her back pain slowly started) but after her graduation is when the pain really got bad!
The doctor she is seeing now think it might be a pinched nerve of the lumbar spine, but I have done a lot of research on this and I can’t find the combination of this pain she is experiencing (groin mainly -hip and back) due to a pinched nerve?
I’m so exhausted and I would give “anything for her to feel better” even trade places… has anyone have a clue what is this?

Best answer:

Answer by Doctor J
Hi Starlight. I am a retired Chiropractor.

My first thought, given the pattern of pain, is a kidney stone. A kidney stone can be missed on a CT scan.

Another possibility is a myofascial pain syndrome – these types of conditions often produce the pain patterns your daughter is experiencing. Muscles to consider: ileo-psoas, quadratus lumborum, internal and external oblique abdominals, rectus abdominis, tensor fasciae latae (TFL), and piriformis.

A disc (or multiple disc) herniation(s) is/are another possibility.

A fourth possibility is a “lumbar facet syndrome”.

A fifth possibility is a “piriformis syndrome” (often misdiagnosed as a lumbar disc herniation and/or “sciatica”).

The simplicity of thinking your medical and chiropractic doctors are displaying is not a good sign. “Sciatica”, “Bursitis”, “pinched nerve”, etc. are examples of terms that have no real diagnostic value and are usually NOT used by highly knowledgeable health professionals.

Suggestions:

1) Get 2nd, 3rd, and 4th opinions by other Chiropractors – just as with medical doctors, there is a huge range in knowledge and skill-sets within the Chiropractic profession: no single doctor knows everything!). (Your daughter has already had multiple opinions by several different M.D.s.)

2) Because you are knowledgeable and motivated, I feel comfortable recommending that you borrow or buy a copy of the book “Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction – the Trigger Point Manual” by Simons and Travell. It is very technical, but very thorough, and I think you have the ability to understand and apply the information it contains. This book (it is a two-volume set) is a goldmine of diagnostic information. This book set is expensive but worth the money.

http://www.amazon.com/Travell-Simons-Myofascial-Pain-Dysfunction/dp/0683307711/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234757241&sr=1-1

3) Another book that looks at chronic pain from a dietary/environmental/chemical perspective is called “Pain Free in 6 Weeks”. It was written by Sherry Rogers, M.D. It is another goldmine of useful information. This book is not expensive.

http://www.amazon.com/Pain-Free-Weeks-Sherry-Rogers/dp/188720203X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234757169&sr=8-1

4) An evaluation by a Nephrologist (kidney doctor) may be worthwhile. And, a thorough evaluation by her gynecologist to rule-out internal organ-system problems that might be causing her back pain, is also appropriate.

Best wishes and good luck.

Answer by dares2cares
Dr J gave you some really good advice. As a new chiropractor ( awaiting my license), I would like to two more strong possibilities to what he already said.

1) If your chiropractor did not adjust your daughter’s feet, he may have missed the entire cause of the problem. A foot misalignment can cause misalignment to occur the rest of the way up the chain. I personally seen symptoms like you are describing that are all caused because of misalignment of the feet (which is why the orthotics helped for a little while).

2) There are sometimes problems with the sheath that covers the spinal chord. It can cause a pulling and twisting which affect the muscles and nerves. I would recommend going to a chiropractor that specializes in a technique called SOT (sacro-occipital technique) They will be able to diagnose and see what the problem is.

I wish your daughter the best.

Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!

 

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