Yup! I have the problem but you're not going to like my personal therapy for it. I don't like it, myself, half the time. LOL Walk! Do it daily and consistently. You [we] can take all the meds we might think will work...but in the long run...they're only temporary solutions. I spent too many years sitting behind a desk...and these days...too many hours working on this PC....sitting on my butt. I've found that long periods of inactivity bring on the most painful attacks. A couple of Tylenol will give me enough relief to get up and take my own advice. I try to walk at least a mile a day...either out in the fresh air or on my tread mill. I don't always succeed...but I know it works and ignoring my own good sense just returns me to pain. If I have an attack at night that prevents sleep...I've found that generous applications of something like Ben-Gay or Icy Hot help considerably.

Hope you find some relief, Susan. I empathize.

Anne

Yes, physical therapy!!!!! That's the best in the whole world. I have spondylolisthesis and it was totally better within a week. From excruciating pain and in the ER, to back to normal. I keep it at bay with physical therapy, and, really important here, sleeping/sitting in the proper positions. Sitting at work, also has a cushion that takes the pressure off the tailbone. I'm considering a new pillow too for better sleeping alignment.

My neighbor just had this and was convinced she'd need another hip replacement--the pain was terrible. She took it VERY easy for 3-4 weeks while making doctor visits, then by week 5 the pain started to ebb. She's much better now, not 100% yet, but much better. She's very good about doing her pt exercises. I sure do feel for you, Susan, as I have chronic back issues. Feel better very soon!

Ask your doctor if working on core body strength might help. A friend of mine found it very helpful for her low back and hip pain.

Go to a physical therapist that has a gym and who believes in using it. Stronger core, proper alignment and walking should help. It will hurt but moving properly, which is key, will help.

alisande, my best wishes to you. I can sympathize because I have periodic back issues too. It's never totally debilitating but it likes to remind me every 6 months or so that it's there.

Physiatrists are physicians specializing in physical medicine, movement, rehab, etc. and many specialize in treating back problems without surgical intervention. Alternatively, there are orthopedists who also specialize in backs and the solution isn't always surgery. I think you've said you live in a small town, hopefully you get yourself to a larger town, or better yet a medical school, to entrust your care to someone who's good rather than just someone who's close.

blfenton, usually physical therapy is covered by medical insurance if
done pursuant to a prescription from a physician. I don't know about
Medicare rules, I think alisande is over 65.

I have gotten relief from this type of pain from my pain management doctor...injections for inflammation. You really need to get a MRI to make sure there isn't something more going on with your hip joint.

I can't offer help, but can offer sympathy. While my left hip replacement was *perfect*, and I used the same orthopod for the right one two years later, the right hip has never been 'good' -- and it gets nasty with me if I *sit* too long. Can you push through the hurt and 'walk it off' at all? I like Anne's advice about taking something for the pain and then *walking*. I think you are pretty active every day, but maybe 'just a walk' or PT exercises would help.

Hope you get relief soon.

This helps me. I have a very large inflatable exercise ball, the biggest I could find. If my back is painful I drape my body over it face down and rock fwd and back, trying to hang as much fwd as possible when in the fwd rock. Good luck. Hoping you get relief very soon.

Thank you, everyone. I have a strong suspicion that sitting
improperly—really badly—at my computer desk has been a big contributor to this
problem. For a long time I’ve been leaning to the left, often sitting sideways
at the desk with my legs crossed, and now my pelvis is way out of alignment.
For weeks I’ve noticed that if I lie on the loveseat with my knees bent, my
right knee is quite a bit higher than my left, and I can’t move them equally to
either side. I think I need a) a new desk chair, and b) sitting lessons.

Another contributing factor might have been the fall I took
on ice this winter, landing on my porch, and a more recent event when I almost fell.

Yes, I’m on Medicare, and my insurance paid for PT on two
other occasions with two separate PT facilities: once for a shoulder injury and
once for a different back problem. Neither experience was very satisfactory;
the shoulder got worse, and the back got no better. The shoulder improved with
rest, and the back eventually improved on its own. But I know several people who
have had excellent experiences with PT, and I’m more than willing to try it
again.

With this pain, walking is more comfortable than sitting. I
actually love the idea of walking, but other issues make it hard for me to walk
any distance. Ironically, just before this pain began I was talking about how
badly I wish I could walk like I used to, and decided to start small and see if
I could build up to something approaching normalcy. I walked around the barn
across the road just twice, and twice up the small hill to the entrance, and
that was all I could manage. I used to walk every morning—early—not always easy
on my dirt road, with clouds of dust that envelop you when cars go by.

When I attended my DH’s college reunion in 2007, I walked all
over the city, taking pictures. When I came back for the next one five years
later, I couldn’t do it.

As of last week, however, I’ve started mowing the lawn again,
and that’s been my best exercise. It uses leg muscles and arm muscles, and
works up a sweat. After my sedentary winter I don’t have much stamina yet, but I’m
working on it. One thing I’ve always liked about mowing is that I don’t realize
I’m breathing hard until I stop. Of course, I’m talking about using a push
mower. I wouldn’t dare attempt to use the riding mower right now.

It’s funny . . . because I’m not used to pain meds, I took
only one ibuprofen at first. It didn’t do anything, so I tried two. Then I
discovered that my bottle of ibuprofen expired three years ago. So I tried a
couple of aspirin, only to find that my aspirin expired 12 years ago! You can tell I don’t take this stuff very often. I
don’t know how meaningful the expiration dates are, but I’ll definitely get
some new stock.

No medical school here, but I do go to a small city an hour
away for anything medical. There’s an orthopedic center there. There are
doctors and a hospital much closer, but I have good reason to avoid them.

I don’t think I can take the injections for inflammation. I
was given two in my knees about a dozen years ago, and had a bad reaction. My
knees felt like they were on fire, and the fire traveled up to my hips as well.
Fortunately, all was back to normal by morning.

My situation got complicated this week when my DIL was
selected for jury duty. They told her it didn’t matter that she had two small
children to take care of. I’m the only person in her family who isn’t working,
so I’ll have to watch them for some of the days during the trial. My son is
taking a few days off, but the rest will be up to me. So I can’t embark on PT
just yet. I watched the boys, ages 1 and 3, for 8.5 hours yesterday, and it
just about wiped me out!

Thank you again for all your ideas and support. I’m taking
them all seriously.

I experienced this years ago when 25. Visited osteopath, he worked on me one time and I was fine! I believe it was caused by picking up the baby over and over. I thought when he said sacroiliac that it was a joke as my grandfather used to joke about his 'sacroiliac was out of whack'! Look at an illustration of that joint and notice how the bones fit together. Osteopathic doctors are perhaps not as rare as they used to be but I was fortunate that there was one locally at that time and he was wonderful! Good luck!

I will tell you Alisande, that cushion I have at work makes me sit correctly. And, I get sciatica when I put just one leg under the other and twist funky to sit. The moment it causes numbness, sure enough, I'll catch myself sitting that way. In other words, I totally reinforce your guesstimate. We're both guessing, but you're likely on target. Good luck!

Wait! Are we talking about sciatica or sacroiliac?!

I'm talking about sacroiliac. I differentiated in my original post.

I added sciatica because it's an additional thing if you mess with your back too much.