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Jan 2015
10:07am, 6 Jan 2015
14 posts
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Minni
Hi I'm wondering if anyone can give any advice on my ailments!
I have been suffering from hip pain for more than a year now and having physio since last November. This didn't stop me from running but stopped me running at pace over long distances. After pulling out of London in April I decided to really reduce my running and do more cycling for a while. Then in June I was knocked off my bike and everything went from bad to worse.
Finally in July I got to see a consultant who instructed an MRI of my spine and an Arthrogram on the hip.
These showed general wear and tear of my spine (but nothing significant to cause the pain I was in) and a labral tear of the hip. I got surgery in December to repair the tear but the surgeon was clear that this procedure would not help the pain in my buttock area, however he said there was no clear reason for that and hopefully sorting one would sort the other.
Surgery went well and I certainly didn't have the pain I expected afterwards. For the first time in months I could lie in bed with no pain. Rock on I thought. However, as soon as I started the physio exercised the pain has returned to the buttock and side of hip and is worse than before.
Yesterday i went to see the GP to see where I go from here. She informed me that is was most probably sciatica and would settle down, even though it hasn't settled over the past year. She also told me that the scan showed a bulging disc in the sciatic area that could well me causing it. This is the first anyone has mentioned of a bulging disc (and the scan was done in July).
I am really frustrated and again being told that whatever it is will probably go away. I am seeing the hip consultant for a follow up in a couple of weeks time but the physio has already told me that we will deem the surgery a success (as it has been) and probably not be so interested in the other pain.
I'm not sure where to turn next. Has anyone else suffered similar frustrations and what have they done about it? Has anyone else had sciatic pain for more that an year and it has finally vanished?
Thank you for listening to my desperate rant!
Min
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Jan 2015
9:47pm, 6 Jan 2015
106 posts
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totalbeginner
Sorry to hear about this. Replying to bump afraid i have no expeeience if sciatica. Can you ask to be referred to someone about the disc?
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Jan 2015
9:57pm, 6 Jan 2015
1,453 posts
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PenW
Sorry to hear about this.
I have a labral tear but have elected not to have any treatment for it. So I cannot comment on any aspects of surgery or recovery - I did go through the whole thing of arthrogram and MRI and in and out of clinics before surgeons decided that I didn't need surgery at this point and I decided I wanted to take a conservative approach. I get pain in my sacroilliac joint area which may or may not be related (the consultants could not agree on that).
I ended up very affected by it all, but now have made good progress by working with a physio who understands chronic pain and how to manage it (and that included changing the way I think about it!). My physio also had a labral tear that he did not have surgery for and he had problems for some time before helping himself to return to international level martial arts.
With chronic or persistent pain (any that lasts longer than the acute phase) it's really important to find someone who really understands this (and in my experience several of my physios did not and it took time to find someone who could help me - I found my physio by accident in a way). It hasn't involved "fixing" my pain, but it doesn't bother me so much now. Of course I cannot compare myself to you or anyone else for that matter because pain is such an individual experience.
I'm now feeling as though I'm getting back to running - still only gradually building distance and I've no idea how far or fast I can go but my physio has always encouraged me that I can do what I want in time 
I've blogged some of my experiences.
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Jan 2015
10:03pm, 6 Jan 2015
1,454 posts
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PenW
If you want to know more about pain and how it works get in touch and I'll see if I can point you in the direction of some of the stuff I've found helpful (I have experienced persistent pain and have been learning to manage it and I also work with people who have pain and so have helped them manage it - as a psychologist working with people with health problems).
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Jan 2015
10:04pm, 6 Jan 2015
1,455 posts
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PenW
Oh and if you are in the north east I can recommend a very good physio for consultation!
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Jan 2015
10:11pm, 6 Jan 2015
10,464 posts
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jennywren
I'm watching this with interest!
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Jan 2015
10:18pm, 6 Jan 2015
5,263 posts
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Autumnleaves
I have had bad bouts of sciatica in the past, the worst being when I tripped and trapped a nerve in 2012. My physio (a runner) for the latter occasion worked wonders over a 6 week period. I find core strength training and Pilates have made a huge difference, and although my lower back still gets a bit stiff on occasion I haven't had a bad attack since. I would see if you can find a good physio who understands runners. Lots of sympathy btw - it's incredibly painful.
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Jan 2015
9:41am, 7 Jan 2015
15 posts
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Minni
Wow thank you for the replies.
PenW - I started with on and off pain in the groin about 18 months ago and this then settled into the sacroiliac joint area. I'm not sure if I've had the tear a long time and it was made worse by the bike accident (I was hit on that side by a car that came straight out of junction) but the hip consultant wanted to fix it and I was happy to go ahead. For what its worth its a simple procedure and I haven't had the pain I expected after. There was no bone impingement, which is good, and I think this can happen the longer you have the tear. He went in, repaired and trimmed the tear, took the hip out of the socket to assess the joint etc and give every a wash out. If you're also in the NE I can tell you which consultant I saw incase you need referred again in the future.
The report from that is that everything looks great in the joint and there's no concerns there.
But this pain in the buttock area is really getting me down. Autumnleaves - Pilates has aggravated it in the past but will try again now the surgery is out the way and yes, I think you're right, core training is going to have to be a priority. Do you know what caused your sciatica?
PenW - yes please to a good physio. I have been seeing a very good one since the bike accident, as well as the NHS ones but nothing really seems to be helping. If I have a bulging disc then I wonder if it needs some intervention. As I said, this must have shown up on the MRI I had in July but I've only just been told about it. I'm also wondering if its piriformis syndrome. Whatever it is its chronic though! I will look up your blogs. Thank you.
Jennywren - I read your blog and know exactly how you feel. My advice is to be assertive.
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Jan 2015
9:47am, 7 Jan 2015
10,465 posts
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jennywren
It's very nice to know I'm not alone in all this Minni, although sorry you're still in so much pain obviously. I've had to be assertive already or I would have been fobbed off without even an MR scan to see what's actually going on! I do have hip impingement However at the moment I can keep the pain under control with a lot of rollering and stretching and by not trying to do a lot of running (I can run a bit, as you've seen). It's more of a nuisance (not being able to bend down to put my left shoe on without pain for example) but it doesn't sound like I'm experiencing the same levels of pain as you are. Hope you find a solution soon x
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Jan 2015
9:53am, 7 Jan 2015
16 posts
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Minni
Jennywren - has the impingement shown up on an MRI or xray? Where exactly is your pain? I'm struggle with putting shoes on etc too.
I did run right up to surgery and found about 4 miles just right - much more on the roads aggravated it but if I didn't run it also stiffened up a lot. It was all about finding a balance.
I too had to be very assertive. The GP wouldn't refer me because I was under the physio. The physio wouldn't refer me because she didn't think there was really anything wrong. At the time I felt I had a stress fracture and in the end I said I would only accept there was nothing that could be done if she would put in writing that I definitely didn't have a stress fracture. Obviously she couldn't and agreed to refer me. That was back in July. I had been seeing the physio for 7 months then!
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