Archives1
Staff member
After having erratic hip pain since I was 16, over the past year it became constant, both on the external sides of my legs right where the top of my femurs land. Given my profound and agonizing familiarity with it, I easily recognized the constant dull ache to be osteoarthritis. Yesterday I finally dared to bring it up with my orthopedic surgeon. He took x-rays. It turns out I already need hip replacements, UGH! I cannot believe how rotten my bones are, body-wide. One hip is bone-on-bone and the other one soon will be. The tops of both femurs have big bone deformities growing off of them that smash into my pelvis every time I’m sitting down.
Since getting the diagnosis yesterday, I’ve been doing research about how hip osteoarthritis (HOA) can cause your lumbar and sacral vertebrae to slip down onto one another, a condition called spondylolisthesis. One’s pelvic tilt changes by as much as 20° because of HOA. The end result is of course back and pelvic pain, but also nerve impingement in the region, which can involve bladder nerves being pinched and impeded. You can end up with something called hip-spine syndrome.
I didn’t know anything about that until today. My back has been killing me for the past several months in conjunction with the big ramp up in my hip pain suddenly. Now I realize it’s all connected. I feel like my butt sticks out weird lately and it must be because of my hips. The good news is that maybe when I get my hips are replaced some of my back pain may be alleviated, which would be wonderful!!!
So if your back hurts, and your doctor can’t find anything wrong with your spine, tell them to have a look at your pelvis and your hips instead! Maybe some of us have HOA that is bad enough to be causing enough lumbar spinal compression to cause incontinence via Neurogenic Bladder.
“Pain from the lumbar spine, pelvic girdle, and hip overlap as coordinate motion throughout these regions is interrelated. This may present with a structural, kinetic, or physiologic disorder in combined variation. This complex pathology makes for challenging clinical decisions as to which procedures and in what order will provide the greatest benefit. Determining the diagnosis, symptom etiology, and correct treatment remains difficult in the management of Hip and Spine Syndrome.”
Not a very merry Christmas for me.
Since getting the diagnosis yesterday, I’ve been doing research about how hip osteoarthritis (HOA) can cause your lumbar and sacral vertebrae to slip down onto one another, a condition called spondylolisthesis. One’s pelvic tilt changes by as much as 20° because of HOA. The end result is of course back and pelvic pain, but also nerve impingement in the region, which can involve bladder nerves being pinched and impeded. You can end up with something called hip-spine syndrome.
I didn’t know anything about that until today. My back has been killing me for the past several months in conjunction with the big ramp up in my hip pain suddenly. Now I realize it’s all connected. I feel like my butt sticks out weird lately and it must be because of my hips. The good news is that maybe when I get my hips are replaced some of my back pain may be alleviated, which would be wonderful!!!
So if your back hurts, and your doctor can’t find anything wrong with your spine, tell them to have a look at your pelvis and your hips instead! Maybe some of us have HOA that is bad enough to be causing enough lumbar spinal compression to cause incontinence via Neurogenic Bladder.
“Pain from the lumbar spine, pelvic girdle, and hip overlap as coordinate motion throughout these regions is interrelated. This may present with a structural, kinetic, or physiologic disorder in combined variation. This complex pathology makes for challenging clinical decisions as to which procedures and in what order will provide the greatest benefit. Determining the diagnosis, symptom etiology, and correct treatment remains difficult in the management of Hip and Spine Syndrome.”
Not a very merry Christmas for me.
