“Intense hip pain ”
I have degenerative discs in lower spine. I have been getting intense pain in the outside of my left hip. Had one xray from above over pelvic area, doctor says nothing wrong with hip, is one xray taken like that enough to see that hip is fine ? Im on 25mg amitriptyline (one a day) for pain and 300mg of modified release Ibuprofen twice a day.
Female | 69 years old
Complaint duration: 6 months
5 Answers
Sounds more back oriented. Would see your ortho or back physician
Hi! Lateral hip pain can come from the lumbar region or the hip. If it is painful to the touch then you may be experiencing chronic trochanteric bursitis. An X-ray is good to show no hip joint arthritis. This entity is usually treated with rest, ice, massage, stretching and anti-inflammatory treatment. Also, one or two injections separated by three months will cure over 95 percent of people. Good news is that if nonoperative treatment does not work then a standard outpatient procedure can be done to relieve your pain with good to excellent results over 90 percent of the time. An MRI is usually done when nonoperative treatment does not work to ensure no tendon tears. Finally, If you can’t “touch” the pain most likely it is coming from the L5 disc area.
Usually for evaluation of hip and spine the initial tests are X-rays after clinical evaluation. It depends on what clinical evaluation demonstrates. Usually hip requires 2-3 X-rays views and spine 2 views. If X-rays are negative then your doctor might order MRI. Keep in mind that sometimes spine pain can radiate to hip. Thats why clinical evaluation is important to determine what X-rays and MRI are needed. Speak to your doctor.
Pain could be coming from nerve pinch in back but probably not.More likely hip bursitis/tendinosis.Need a hip MRI for accurate diagnosis
The unanswered question here is, What do you mean by "hip pain". In my practice, the hip is referred to by pain in the groin or inguinal pain, pain over the lateral aspect of the hip and pain in the buttock. Inguinal pain is true hip pain, the hip joint is located anterior and pain from the joint is typically in the groin. Lateral hip pain, pain over the greater trochanter, the bony knot you feel on the lateral aspect of the hip is most often related to bursitis and can be diagnosed and treated with a local anesthetic/steroid injection. Buttock pain can be related to SI joint inflammation or if your lumbar issues are at L1-L2 or L2-L3 levels, nerve root irritation at those levels can cause pain to radiate around the hip. In answer to your question a single AP hip x-ray can demonstrate whether significant arthritis is present in the hip joint.
