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Is it arthritis?

Posted: Mon Oct 05, 2020 10:24 pm
by MrsGallear
I have been suffering with pain in my right hip since June 2019, I have had an x-ray, ultrasound and an MRI as well as physio. I was told that I have an impingement, tendinitis and bursitis (I have had bursitis in the same hip about 4years previous). I have had a steroid injection in my hip in December 2019 (after numerous physio appointments) which unfortunately didn’t help this time (worked great on previous bursitis flare-up). I was referred by my physio therapist for an ultrasound guided steroid injection but due to COVID-19 my appointment was cancelled. I have tried different pain killers from my GP (Coco-codamol, naproxen and co-dydramol) none of them really help to relieve the pain much. I get pain in my groin, lower back, buttock and on the site of the bursitis.
What I really want to know is is the impingement a form of arthritis, I’ve never really had it confirmed and it’s quite frustrating not knowing, I also have had problems with my left knee for 13yrs and have recently started having problems with my right hand and wrist, for which I am waiting for a nerve conduction test.
I don’t think I’ve left anything out, sorry for rambling on!

Re: Is it arthritis?

Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2020 7:34 am
by Arthritis Action
Hello,
It sounds as though you have been through a difficult time. Bursitis, or impingement, or other conditions that cause pain around the outer edge of the thigh (often now called greater trochanteric pain syndrome) are not the same thing as arthritis which affects the joints. Pain from the hip joint is not usually felt where people think their hip joint is, and is actually felt deep in the front of the groin and is associated with pain on certain movements, especially twisting movements of the leg, and pain bending to tie up shoe laces for example. It sounds as though your pain is coming from the soft tissues rather than the joint, hence the MRI findings. Physical treatments, for example physiotherapy and massage can help, as can self-management measures especially losing weight, and sometimes injections can help, although they don't treat the cause of the problem which is usually a mechanical issue. If you haven't already tried hands-on treatment, ask your GP for a referral, or osteopathic treatment can definitely help.


Dr Wendy Holden
Consultant Rheumatologist and Medical Advisor to Arthritis Action

https://www.arthritisaction.org.uk/

020 3781 7120

Re: Is it arthritis?

Posted: Thu Oct 08, 2020 12:42 pm
by Matthew Rogers
Most of the time if we hurt ourselves we know what has caused it and the pain that we experience will resolve within a short period of time, usually less than 6 weeks. Sometimes once you have been living with pain for more than 6 weeks (as you have been), the nervous system will become a little more sensitive to pain than it should be and this is referred to as ‘persistent pain’ (you can find out more here: https://www.iosteopathy.org/osteopathy- ... tent-pain/ ). If you are living with persistent pain, your pain nerves may trigger off a little easier than normal. In this case, the hurt you feel is not necessarily a sign of harm. You could think of this as a sensitive car alarm that goes off in error when someone walks past.

Persistent pain is very common and effects over 14 million people in the UK alone. It often does not respond to conventional medical interventions and needs a different kind of approach, but there are many things that you can do to manage your pain yourself with the support of your medical team, your family and loved-ones.

Keeping active, performing exercises and stretches can help, learning to pace your activities so that you don’t trigger a flare-up of your pain as well as setting goals and priorities are all very important and can help you to maintain a fulfilling lifestyle (the charity https://www.arthritisaction.org.uk/livi ... actsheets/ provides lots more information on this). Your GP might be able to refer you to a cognitive pain-management department near you that can teach you techniques that you can use to manage your symptoms yourself. There are also specific types of medication that can help with this sort of pain.

I know all this can sound a little scary, but there is hope and once you have found the right approach for you, I’m sure things will improve.