It has been hurting my hips to lie on them since June. Used to sleep on a futon.

[sorrel32]

Could this be the OP ? Dr. says no.

Am now lying on a different bed with a pillow topper... and putting a "waffle cushion" under my hips.

It helps , but I have to switch sides quite a few times due to soreness at night.

Lying on my back is uncomfortable too. Lying on my hips relieves the lower back pain.

MRI came out clear for back and hips.

Have been going to PT and seeing an osteopath.

Yesterday, the osteopath thought I either have tendinitis in the gluteal muscles around the hips or a torn tendon. But he didn't follow up with what to do.

So confused. Have seen many doctors to get an answer. All think it's not related to OP.

Anyone else experience this?

Thanks so muchhh in advance.

[Fruitandnutcase]

Do you mean when you lie on the side of your hips? Could you have bursitis in your hip? An MRI showed that I have trochanteric bursitis in my right hip, it doesn’t hurt anll the time but it can get irritated and painful when I lie on that side. You could also try putting a pillow under your thighs when you are lying on your back, that should take the pressure off it.

[Stella1618 in reply to Fruitandnutcase]

I always sleep with a pillow between my thighs and knees; it takes the pressure off my hips and spine. Helps keep my knees and hips in alignment.

[Fruitandnutcase in reply to Stella1618]

Me too, so much of my bed is taken up with pillows - I put one behind my back to keep me on my side although sometimes I lie face down at an angle over it with my to knee on top and like you I also have another pillow between my knees. The younger me certainly never saw this coming!

[sorrel32 in reply to Fruitandnutcase]

Yes, I hear you. The younger me- only several months ago- after June that futon that I've loved for years beat up my hips. I used to be able to sleep on my side and not even think about it. This is craziness!

[sorrel32 in reply to Fruitandnutcase]

MRI ruled out bursitis. I'm sorry you're dealing with that . My friend has it too, and I know it's painful for her. x

[sorrel32 in reply to Fruitandnutcase]

Yes, my MRI ruled out bursitis. I'm so sorry you're dealing with that. My friend has it too and it's painful. I have tried the pillow under my thighs when lying on my back too... I have to switch beds to lie on my back. One bed is soft enough for my hips , but too soft for my back. It's very frustrating and I'm constantly switching between beds. Have looked high and low for beds... Sleep number... healthy back store, etc. Nothing felt right. So, I'm sleeping on a mattress from my brother and sil. and have memory foam/tempurpedic on top of a futon.

[Zillogirl]

I used to have such terrible pain in my left hip, but it was the mattress. I also sleep with a pillow between my knees and, as I’m a side sleeper, one behind my back for support.

[sorrel32 in reply to Zillogirl]

I believe it was my futon that did this to both hips. I also sleep with a pillow between my knees.

[Fruitandnutcase in reply to sorrel32]

Goodness! We all sound alike don’t we. I’ve tried so many mattresses over the years. I’m on a Tempur soft one at the moment - bought on the basis that an old Tempur mattress we had in the past was the least bad, not the greatest selling point is it!

That one started off really but I’m not sure about it now. I think like you some mattresses are good for the hips but not for the back. I go through to the spare room every now and again and that’s good - but only for a while. It really is desperate isn’t it. Ideally I need a storage space where I could keep and rotate mattresses depending on how my back feels or maybe I need a very large house with different mattresses in every room. We’re not alone though because on the U.K. site Bone Health people are often asking for recommendations.

[Jemi7266]

I have severe osteoporosis and ever since both my hips hurt when I’m lying on my sides. I have to constantly switch sides. I use a heating pad and low heat until I can fall asleep. I normally cannot sleep on my back but on a rare occasion I do.

Best of luck.

[sorrel32 in reply to Jemi7266]

Gee... you sound like me. What are your T-scores ? Mine are Left hip is -2.3. Femoral Neck -2.7 and lumbar spine -2.8. I have to switch sides so many times every night too!

[Jemi7266 in reply to sorrel32]

My baseline T scores in 2015 -Left hip -3.5 Fem Neck -3.4 and Lumbar -3.8

After treating with Forteo (2016-2018) and Prolia (2019-Dec 2022). My last DEXA was in March 2023 - T scores Fem Neck -2.9 and Lumbar -2.1. They did not measure my hip.

Most recently, I have lost some of the gains I got with Forteo so I was offered Reclast (1xyr), which I rejected. Instead, I choose to use Evenity (1xmonth) injections which I started in June. So far I am doing well on Evenity with respect to side effects. I will be doing some labs soon an my next DEXA is in March 2024.

I live in the USA.

[Bubba3xt]

My right hip has been bothering me for years side sleeping. When I lay on it, it hurts after a few minutes and when I lay on the other hip, it pulls and still pain in right hip. A knee pillow helps but not completely. Ibuprofen too helps, but not something I wanna take every night. I have no pain lying on my back, but it's impossible to fall asleep flat. The solution for me (and it's been a Godsend) is an adjustable bed. Most are expensive but we found a reasonable one on Amazon. We actually bought it for my husband who has back problems, but thrilled to realize how much I benefitted from it too. A slight incline at both the head and feet simulate the curved side position that's more comfy to sleep.

Good luck discovering what's wrong. I still don't know but ortho Doc ruled out anything serious and no, it can't have anything to do with the op since xray rules out any fractures.

[sorrel32 in reply to Bubba3xt]

I'm glad you found something that works for you and is cozy. I can't sleep flat either even with a pillow under my knees. I can only sleep like that if I'm exhausted. And it's not restful .

[josephinius1]

I have no thoughts related to your pain, and besides, you got lots of good suggestions from others. I'm just tired of hearing, "Meh" from doctors. Maybe it's because they're burnt out/lazy (just aren't trying,) or maybe it's because they don't have answers...but whatever it is, I wish they'd at least punctuate their sentences, as it were. They don't want us scouring the internet for answers? Then they need to be a bit more definitive with their own, even if they're wrong. At least make an effort to help.

I have had hip issues too, best guess is it's some sort of muscle or tendon issue, since I've had this particular pain since college. In my case, it does seem to be associated with activity, so reducing the activity in question helps. I do hear so many with constant hip pain, though, I feel blessed that I don't have that, considering all things. I'm so...not functioning optimally...at this point that it's a miracle some systems seem to still be mostly evading the fallout. Then again, it also seems like the body/mind does triage. Like my brain says, "We only have pain space for only so much, figure out what's most important, and we'll receive pain signals for those items--anything else will have to wait." I say this because I have noticed that if my back or ribs or whatever hurts less, sometimes my hips will emerge again. And after googling it's like, "Ah, I probably was walking wonky, trying to protect my back, and it was putting strain on that sacral-pelvic ligament, (or whatever)," but I totally didn't register it in the moment. Small blessings?

[Southerngirl2787]

If it were me, it would be my SI joints getting nasty again. I didn't even know I had them until a few years back. Docs don't understand the pain of SI joint issues, mine were flaming red and bright yellow on a SPECT CT, which stunned doc. I change positions about 20x a night, but the best position is on my left side, with a Coop pillow for kids between thighs/knees, and very small, squishy pillows behind my back, and under boob on top of abdominal area, then one small pillow, memory foam type about 3" under head, supporting neck. Remaining totally still keeps the fractures and SI joints from killing me. On my back doesn't work right now, due to latest fractures, #9 and 10 in lumbar.

[Reese4]

It's my left hip and I have no idea the cause. My reading lead me to think bursitis could be the cause. I've solved the sleeping problem with an adjustable bed that allows me to sleep on my back with adjustments for comfort. I was never able to sleep on my back before. My back pain is gone as well as the hip problem. It's not as inexpensive as pillows but it sure has worked for me. Of course you need the right mattress too.

[cardinalfan]

Might be trochanteric bursitis? Just a thought.

[SMRM]

I've had similar hip pain issues for a couple years. Mostly one side, so I still had one "good" side for sleeping. Haven't been successful learning to sleep on my back (yet). A new mattress helped, but after a compression fracture L 1 (falling out of the bed because we added the mattress to the stack and it was s HIGH when I rolled over to turn off the alarm, not realizing I was I was so close to the edge), it's been aggravated. Physical Therapist gave me exercizes for gluteal tendonitis - along with some others to strengthen around L 1. Challenging injury, and I'm grateful it wasn't worse!! - it's been almost 12 weeks & I think I'm still improving, but it's difficult to see it. When I'm more active my back hurts more, so on days I'm less active I take less Tylenol. The two things I notice most are 1) a TIGHTNESS in lumbar area after sitting up without a back support or standing for more than a couple minutes, and 2) difficulty standing up STRAIGHT when walking - feels like I have to overextend to stand up straight.

It's interesting to hear what others have experienced. And what works for you. I'm a walker, and the compression fracture has made it very effortful to stand up straight and walk. Maybe I'm just whining here & need to get used to it & feel grateful.