lower back pain, right shoulder, hip & buttock pain with numbness to right leg and foot.

by julie
(uk)

The sign of Pisa; change in shape of waistline.

The sign of Pisa; change in shape of waistline.

lower back pain, right shoulder, hip & buttock pain with numbness to right leg and foot.


Hi,
I have suffered sciatica since I was 26 years of age. I am now 45. Always been fit and healthy, keeping to regular exercise routine. Until the last 18 months I recognised a - what I describe as a 'clonking' noise in my left hip. I was xrayed and nothing obvious was found.

However, two months ago I started to suffer from severe right buttock, hip and leg pain along with pain in my right shoulder.

I have recently been for xray to identify any apparent cause and waiting the results.
Also, in the last couple of weeks I have noticed a change of shape to my waist line on the right side - which is a concern....

Much of what you have said in your report is helpful and maybe I will resolve this pain and somewhat crippling condition.

I currently take naproxen for the pain - although I don't agree with taking tablets - and these often make me vomit.

regards

Julie

Hello Julie,
Let's take that left clonk first; I take it no pain, just a strange sound. Do you have a family history of hip disease? Has your aunt had a hip replacement? Does granny walk with a stick? That clonking sound suggests an underlying hip dysplasia causing the joint to subluxate. Could you make a copy by photographing your pelvis and sending it to me at Contact? Perhaps ask for another opinion on the xray, specifically with this congenital condition in mind.

That would certainly destabilise your pelvis and contribute to chronic lower back pain.

Ask someone to stand behind you and place both hands on the crests of the hip bones. Are you obviously unlevel? Now bend slowly forwards; are you obviously out of kilter?

Chronic pain is always difficult; two issues need to be faced; getting to the root cause helps to prevent this coming back continually. Have you an anomaly at the L5/S1 joint, a short leg or a hip dysplasia for example.

Then there's getting you over the current problem; it sounds like a sciatica. Do two little tests for me please. Carefully as they can make it worse.

First bend slowly forwards and tell me exactly what you feel. Not too far.

Secondly, sitting in a normal kitchen chair, ask hubby to raise the good leg parallel to the ground. Lower it, now the naughty leg. What's the difference?

That change in shape of your waistline is probably what we call an antalgia; use the search engine at Chiropractic Help to find postero medial disc herniation, as an example. We call it the sign of Pisa.

Lastly, make a determined start to our lower back exercises, done EVERY morning before getting out of bed. And several times a day.

Give me some answers and then we can take this further.

Dr B

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