hip pains. can it be serious?

     i am 21. worked mostly labor jobs. now when i do anything physically straining i get bad pains in both legs from hip to toe. it started when i tore my knee ligament twice on my moving job, wrapped it up, and went back to work for a few days. i think that caused a tear in my hip ligaments too.

     now i start getting pains around my upper buttox, side back and front of both hips, and my knees. also behind my calfs, bottom of feet, and under behind my thy's.  i went to the doctor and took inflammatory pills. even got x rays which i got a hefty hospital bill for now to make sure my bones were ok which they were.

     even after my second attempt of trying to go back to work after a few weeks of good rest and stretching it happens again. the pain starts on the bottom of my foot and moves up all my muscles eventually effecting my hips. i get some sharp pains that shoot up sometimes even when i am carrying something fairly light that does not make me strain much. today i had a sharp pain in my lower right stomach lifting one of those old bulky TV's. of course again i am left with the decision of quitting or taking the risk of hoping the managers will cut me slack until i can walk straight again. my left side is now killing me and I'm afraid to go to work. everyday is a 10 hour shift usually.

     some of my past injuries on previous labor jobs are throwing my back out and tearing my rotating cuff 3 times which surprisingly can lift lots of weight again. i make sure o carry things correctly and not twist and turn with too much weight also. i cant afford a doctor therefore i must come to yous for an answer. could this still be as simple as torn hip ligaments because my knee finally healed after 2 bad tears? how long max would you say i should stay off of it? i was thinking of looking for a less strenuous job with shorter hours because of this.

[carolanivey]

I'm not a doctor, but I suspect that when you injured your knee and went right back to work, you couldn't allow it to heal. The rest of your body subtly shifts to compensate for the injury. This changes the way you walk, sit, stand, etc. As the other joints take the strain off your knee, eventually they get strained as well. This is why the pain seems to travel from joint to joint, even up to your lower back. It throws everything off. Xrays won't show soft tissue damage, so without an MRI (which is expensive) I'm not sure what can be done. You might visit a D.O., who is trained to treat the whole body, not just individual injuries. You also, indeed, might need to find a less strenuous job until your body heals completely.