Well I don,t want to repeat my history, just quickly, been on pred 6 yrs, from 40 mgs, now down to 4 mgs, last 6 weeks, have always had back issue, degenerative, slipped disk, spinal stenosis, etc, since July back issues worsened, some sciatica on and off, have been going to chiro and physio, since then, just last few days, started to get niggling pain in groin, on one side, and lower right back and right hip , tightened and more painful, chiro said, pain in groin coming from hip flexor, she only uses pro adjuster to manipulate disks, not hands on, as I do have ostopenia, showed in scan couple yrs ago, physio been treating back problems since August, so, wondering if this is part of result of being on pred so long, or flare? or possibly compressed nerve, tear etc, can,t get to see my GP until next wed, and rheumy appt not until Nov 7, but been having trouble sleeping with discomfort, and pain, taking extra strength tylenol,, ice, heat etc,, be interested in hearing anyone else who has suffered with groin hip, pain down inner and outer thigh, and what the cause was, thank you
Pain in groin, and inner , and front thigh - PMRGCAuk
Pain in groin, and inner , and front thigh
Hi
Has tylenol,, ice, heat etc,, helped at all? And is it all on same side, or hip one side, leg the other? If all same side and painkiller etc helped, it might be worth asking for X-ray to see if osteoarthritis.
The problem is with higher doses the Pred masks all sorts of pain -which surfaces as you reduce the dose.
Oh I have had MRI done on back, and shows osteo, but this hip thing, and groin something different, and just started couple days ago, ice and heat, gives very little relief, only on my right hip, and inner ,front of thigh, did have exrays on hips actually, couple weeks ago, as they were tight and hurting, no call from results from rheumy, so would take that to be not a serious issue, hopefully would have contacted me, but this pain , lower right of back, around hip and in groin, somthing new, and would think after tapering to 4mgs, now been on every day for at least 2 or 3 weeks, would have had some issues before last couple days?
….and would think after tapering to 4mgs, now been on every day for at least 2 or 3 weeks, would have had some issues before last couple days?”
In that case, could be a flare then …
so even though one side, and in hip and groin, could still be pmr related?
Could be, if you can’t put it down to anything else..and one-sided can turn into bilateral for some.
Although could be myofascial pain -think you need to wait and discuss with your doctors.
thank you, nov 7 long way off right now though, but will see GP next Wed
Just seen your reply to PMRpro -would say stress hasn’t helped and may be a factor in flare -if that’s what it is!
yes, have thought of that too, thank you,
One of my self diagnosis after 10mg for a flare not doing anything was Adrenal Innsufficiency or Hypothyroidism. Not helpful I imagine. I have a doctor's call back on the 7th Nov to discuss one of them can't do both on one 10 minute call.
It takes tine for inflammation to build up enough to show symptoms - it can take more than a few days.
wow, at this point, so much going on, Im confused, and tired out, son in hospital still at PMH, had transplant week ago, still ongoing treatments for weeks yet, so all is bothering me, and really didn,t need anything else going on with me, want to be well for him, when he is out of isolation,
note my diagnosis is Stills Disease which manifests as RA in my case. I do not have PMR and only take pain relief. Diagnosed aged 17 now 60 with joint stiffness worsening with the menopause (on HRT),
I have been experiencing exactly what you have just described for the last year or so and posted somewhere here about it. Some days the pain is excruciating, some days a painful throbbing ache but it is constant. I am not with any specialist and my GP is not available so I’m careful how I move and with what I do and try not to take to much codeine as constipation with this hip/back pain is awful. Biggest problem is turning over in bed.
I’m assuming my issue is OA and tolerating it as the chances of getting a referral appear slim. Also I had a leg injury Oct 20 which went untreated due to Covid when I should have worn a cast or boot and have been limping for two years and suspect my right hip which is the issue (before the injury as well) has suffered from overuse since the injury.
None of this is of any help to you I’m afraid but I offer sympathy at least x
I bet my lot here would identify back muscle problems resulting from all that walking squint. Mine are improving slowly but I do find the variation in pain level confusing. Some days I have almost no pain all day, sometimes it starts late morning/early afternoon but by then any pain relief takes hours to take effect. And it doesn't like walking or even standing for long.
yes I’ve noticed the pain relief takes longer to take effect than on other joints and standing for more than 5 or 10 minutes is uncomfortable however I can walk at moderate pace for a hour or so assuming I’m wearing the correct foot wear.
I’m of the mind that from 17-60 I’ve managed (off meds after 5 years) with Stills and symptoms so managing from 60-85 or more shouldn’t be too bad 😜
Fingers crossed!!! I can walk for an hour or so - but I do know about it in the evening and sometimes next day.
I'm having a lot of hand ache - I assume OA now the pred is a lot lower. But it is gone an hour or so after paracetamol, not so the back.
Hope this woodpecker searching our lawn for grubs raises a smile. I sometimes feel hip pain is like a hammering on the bone by a host of woodpeckers 😉
The extracorporeal shockwave therapy the guy here is so keen on feels like a woodpecker!!! It has done a decent job on the trochanteric bursitis though!
sorry, are you saying you are getting pain down inner and front of thigh, ache, and shooting pains, on my right side, the hip hurts, and do have osteo in back joints etc, but this pain Im having now just started couple days ago?
I started on 40 mg 8 years ago, but still struggling to get below 10 mg. Eight years prior to PMR diagnosis I had undiagnosed bilateral leg issues. Heavy weak legs, and difficulty using stairs. All docs blamed the long-standing issue on PMR. I've always believed this to be convenient excuse to look no further.
Prednisone has never helped, and the leg issues continued and got worse over the last eight years. I've been plagued with bilateral hip bursitis and myofascial pain, which have been dealt with by combinations of ice, heat, exercise, rest, brief doses of ibuprofen, etc. , all researched on my own. For the last year or so I've been experiencing numbness down my entire right size after exercise or walking long distances.
MRI and X-Rays of the back in the last year or two and even previously have clearly indicate lumbar spinal compression/degeneration, but no nerve compression. Also, back osteoarthritis.
My experience with physiotherapists has never been rewarding, however PMRpro's mention of shock therapy sent me in search of a clinic offering this service in the hopes of getting some help on the long-standing issues. It worked! I went armed with copies of all the back x-ray and MRI reports and a written summary of my history. I think I stuck gold with the therapist.
All these years the problem MAY have been coming from the tight muscles throughout the lumbar spine and building sciatic issues. The mobility in other areas of my back and legs is excellent. I've been given a set of three mild exercises to do 2 to 3 times a day, which must be doing something based on the reaction after only one day, The reaction took the form triggering numbness, hip pain and pain in the gluts, because I was too aggressive with the stretches. I need to back off, take it slowly and avoid doing anything to damage the spine. We'll see how it goes in the coming weeks, but I'm hopeful.
Interestingly, the muscles in my lower back may be ceased up because of the advice given by previous therapist to avoid certain movements/exercise in that area.
I'm not saying this is your issue or solution. Everyone needs to be assessed properly when it comes to spinal issues. However, ....
Hi. I just thought I would tell you my diagnosis with very similar pains. It’s Sacro iliac joint dysfunction, groin pain is very common and very uncomfortable,also feels like a knife is sticking in the hip at the back along the ileac crest. There are stretching exercises that you can find on u tube that do help. I get a lot of relief from X ray guided steroid injections but I have been on the waiting list for more for seven months so it’s really bothering me. Ice packs help the most.
You have my sympathy!!! That is the bit I'm struggling to escape!
I thought I had. My old school pain clinic dr. put a leather bit between my teeth (I.E. no sedation) and attacked me on all fronts (or backs actually). He injected the bursa, The iliac crest, the facet joints and did RFA on both SI joints. I was almost pain free for 18 months but it has all come back and standing and walking is very painful. I am hoping he will just repeat.
The pain clinic here won't do it as I'm on anticoagulant therapy. But my lovely rheumy WILL as he just does it into soft tissue which also works well. Another rheumy in the rehab department had offered a while - but he only spoke Italian and didn't know me from Adam so I wasn't keen.
I've got rid of a lot with extracorporeal shockwave therapy now some physio but the iliac crest area is still there if I walk far. Rheumy appt on Tuesday - and it well past the ECSW therapy so I shall ask for something a bit more dramatic for the remaining pain. I was in the middle of it last appointment - when the guy then asked hadn't it been mentioned but they really don't mix.
PS - got a link for those stretches? So I get the right ones!!!
I searched and searched for the exercises, which were taught to me by a physio years ago when my pain started after a lengthy abdominal surgery but so many of them involved balls and elastic bands and bells and whistles lol. Not to mention doing them on the floor! These two are like a bad comedy team but they are closest to what I do. What helps me most is to sit with the good leg straight and the knee of the bad hip bent, then gently push the bent knee over the straight knee to stretch out the back of the hip.
youtube.com/watch?v=iUVY4Cp...
Sorry, link doesn’t seem to work. Anyway, it’s utube, Bob and Brad, Immediate Relief and Self Treatment of Sacro iliac Joint.
google.com/search?q=Bob+and...
This works - YouTube can be very iffy!!
They do have good stuff - wish they'd cut the crap!!!!
yes -talk too much….especially all the “aren’t we brilliant blurb” -which is a pity because they do give good advice
oh thank you, was wondering what could be done for it , if that,s the case, getting phone appt with rheumy Monday morning, he did send me for hip exrays and has results, and did do MRI few mos ago, which at that time showed osteo arthritis in back
It sounds like you back issues and tightened hip area may well be causing some nerve entrapment or compression on your obturator nerve . There could also be some impact on the femoral nerve
Unless you have accidentally caused a strain to the groin or an entrapment during exercise or activity , no matter how small.
The only thing that will help is standard antiinflammatory if there is a swelling , rest is vital and either heat , ice or a combi of both.
After a week try your hip loosening exercises again but build up little and slowly. Gentle groin exercises like walking and swimming also help as well as making sure you put less pressure on your pelvis when sitting by adjusting the height of your chairs , bike etc. and using cushions around the outer thigh to support your legs in a knee forward position
Tell your Chiropractor of your groin area symptoms , and suggest a tightening or compression of your obturator nerve may have occurred . As Manipulation Therapy is one of the ways recommended to get rid of the entrapment they may have a particular movement treatment to help reduce this nerve being compressed.
A neuro pain medication for a short time while the nerve pain exists would be worth discussing with your GP if the symptoms persist or get worse. This could also reduce the possibility of the problem changing your posture and mobility which could increase the chance of a PMR or inflammatory flare and the need for a steroid increase.
A lumbar support belt with heat pad while active tightly worn around the widest part of the hips can help to release the compression of lumbar spine and ease both sciatica and obturator and femoral nerve pain and tingling. Try carefully for a short time and guage how it helps both your back and nerve pain for you if you have preexisting back issues.
The Dynamik clay based hot and cold back and abdominal wrap is a life saver for me as it can be worn easily because of the velcro .Worn while you are active under your coat or in bed at night it targets heat where you need it while you are moving causing less pain and stiffness . They are available on Amazon.
A thigh compression support may help to ease the pain when at its worst but don't wear it all the time as it will reduce your muscle strength if you don't do some exercise without it.
The only thing that will really help is treating any groin injury , gentle exercise , physio or hydrotherapy and avoiding certain movements that trigger more pain until the nerve has moved and the damage has healed. Much like Sciatica, Groin or Obturator Nerve damage can continue to cause pain , numbness during activity and mobility issues for 3 months even after the nerve or groin area is no longer injured or .
oh thanks, so much useful information, Im going to chiro this aft, will definitely mention that orbutor nerve, muscle, hope he can help relieve a bit,
I've got that! Started in my groin about 6 months ago in fact a year ago and now is in the top of my leg - I have arthritis in both hips - worse this right side - pain killers help but do not take it away/
Also with mine - there is no pain for a while and then I cannot walk properly for hours I was thinking it was a trapped nerve, lots to read up here, I still think its my worn discs and hips though. I have been on Pred for 6 months and currently on7mg.
Where in your hips area?
sometimes in back around hip, sometimes on side, haven,t slept thru since last tuesday now, pain in groin, down front and inner thigh, sometime on side, when in bed, sharp pain at times in back, lower toward hip girdle, I got some roboxcet based with tylenol, muscle relaxer, didn,t help last night, at all, put hot water bottle on groin, front of hip, felt not bad at time, but doesn,t last, ice on back , nothing seems to be helping, Im beside myself, and exhausted, rheumy phone appt tomorrow am, don,t know if he can help me, physio tomorrow afternoon, whom Ive being going to for weeks for back, ,
also, sometimes feels slightly better when standing rather than laying down
Think you need to describe all that to the rheumy AND the physio - one of them should be able to identify where the problem is. Sounds as if it could be greater trochanteric pain syndrome to me.
Well not 100% sure what the xray showed but moderate in right side, mild in left whatever that is! But it started in my groin, I would literally nearly drop down with the sudden stabbing pain, but it seems to have moved to my upper leg now like its radiating out - I do get aches and pains further round my leg where my hip is but this is debilitating, when it comes on I can hardly walk, very annoying if I am pushing a trolley round, I nearly give up. I wondered if it was the Obturator nerve after reading it on here at the weekend, My friend is an ex nurse and qualified osteopath and she says this". Its most difficult to define symptoms to one structure you have longterm changes to your joints, lower back pelvis hip and these will activate mediators of chemical inflammation causing muscle spasm and change of neural function. " She says more. I am 57 now but was hospitalised in my late teens with back issues - pain and no reflexes in either legs and it improved itself after a week on bedrest and valium! But now its awful, just picking up a few dropped apples leads to almost immediate lower back pain and I have to keep sitting down. Extra weight doesn't help I know, but being on Pred and was already overweight due to lack of exercise and getting around has compounded it. I am swimming 2-3 times a week though and although I can feel aches and pains I am still cutting through the water like a mermaid on steroids!
Exactly - my current physio says that trochanteric bursitis is just a sign of a load of things going on further up, in the back. Back problems make you walk differently - and it just spirals. All stuff I believed anyway - and I was doing fairly well keeping it all in balance until Covid arrived and stopped almost everything. Constant pain is so draining ...
Yes it is - and you are a very positive person, helpful and informative but these bodies of ours they just have a myriad of things going on at any one time. Wear and tear - thats all I ever hear - do they think I was an athlete?!! I keep saying I am "only 57" but they are probably about 30 years younger than me and think there's no "only" about it!
I think it is a fault of a medical system that isn't joining up the dots - you have to hand it to the German-speaking medical schools, they are a lot better on holistic approaches. The best orthopod I have ever had told me his boss when training insisted on all would-be orthopods also studying chiropractic saying they couldn't be complete orthodpods if they didn't. It influenced everything - down to taking spinal x-rays with the patient standing, years before it became more standard in mainstream medicine.
Yes it needs to - such a huge proportion of the population suffer to some degree with back, spinal and associated issues. Othopod is a new word on me - I was seeing a Chiropractor for over 20 years but really I think good exercises would have been nearly as effective, looking. back, but he had a vested interested me of course. He used to provide lots of relief but its too bad for that now, sadly.
I really need for this PMR to run its course and try and get my body to a better size - I know its do able still on steroids but its the lack of movement that I think is my worse issue - that and the wine, I cannot lie!
Just what a lot of medics say for orthopaedic specialists - and easier to write 
Exercise has been discredited as a means to lose weight - apart from anything else, you tend to eat more if you exercise more! Cutting carbs does work for pred-related weight gain as well as reducing the risk of developing pred-induced diabetes. But of course, alcohol can hide a lot of carbs.
Really has it really? I thought exercise burnt calories? And increased metabolism? Well I will continue to swim, can't do much more so its something. And I shower and hairwash when I am done and use their hot water to get my moneys worth for my subscription!
It doesn't really - and it takes a LOT of exercise to burn off one ham sandwich! People tend to use the exercise as an excuse to eat that cream cake - when eating a quarter of that cream cake would be better.
Don't get me wrong - exercise has lots of benefits on the metabolism, just isn't the be all and end all in weight loss! You still have to eat fewer calories than you use.
I feel better about that now - just greed - I can deal with that!! I am sure that the movement of the swimming is doing my joints good no weight loss but I feel better for it - thats the main thing.
Oh yes - movement is good!
My problem is greed. Luckily my day controller has recently retired and watched me closely. Don't shop alone so another control in place there.
Exercise works as distraction therapy for me. If I could get to a non food focused area and do something physical I would. I do avoid cabs where I can especially any form of sugar. Great at ignoring alcohol but would substitute that at the mere smell and sight of confectionary.
Good morning - I have had similar problems and when I saw the spine specialist he advised that this can happen with pinched nerve at L5/S1. For me the answer is a decompression op. It can be very misleading though as the same type of pain came in when I needed a hip replacement. Had both done together. I no longer have PMR been free of this disease for 4 years now. I always fear it coming back. I have a rollator and am walking daily to help stop total seisure of joints. My thoughts are with you as you try and solve exactly what is causing this.
thank you, my physio did , dry needling, in glutal area, said very tight muscle, pulling hip backwards, nerves attached to hip, causing pain in groin, front and inner outer thigh? some manual manipulation of trigger points, was quite painful, ice, tens, etc,, , spoke to rheumy before that physio appt, said only physio therapist could diagnose and treat? but to take pain meds, tylenol regularly every 6 hrs, and same with roboxacet( muscle relaxer), all this helped a little, but last night still woke up, severe pain in right of back, maybe sacrum, so very little sleep in last 8 nights, Im frustrated and worn out, seeing physio again tomorrow though, and GP appt before that, don,t know if he can help at all, thinking of asking him to do ultrasound, exrays, maybe MRI, to check for S1 , sacrolitis maybe? all getting me down a lot,
I too have issues with sciatica problems, 4yrs ago had op for spinal stenosis, I am now getting the same symptoms as you with trapped nerves going down both legs and having difficulty walking, very painful and debilitating. Physio have given me some excercises to do but not always physically able to do them . I have found walking my dog helps ease the problem, I think if I was stuck in the house I would be a lot worse.
Just found this and haven't read the other replies yet. It's taken me a while to get back on here as I thought I was making myself more miserable and wallowing as others can't seem to get medical solutions either. I have been busy with a pity fest involving all of the above. When you read about others mirroring my symptoms I can't understand why it takes medics so long to get this sorted! It's not obscure or one in a million who present with this so why are we living with it for so long? I've had it a year now after an MRI scan X-Rays and a spine injection still a work in progress. My private orthopaedic surgeon said that which muscles are normally like rump steak and mine after 6 years on steroids (up and down dosage for flares)are scrag end that most predators wouldn't bother eating. I'll now see what others say. I do hope you get sorted out quickly. GPS and treatment are a post code lottery in the UK.
I know how you feel I can't always read it for the same reasons. So we are officially scrag end now then!
To think I was fillet once and didn't appreciate it!
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