Pain in thigh

I am a male in 30's and have a sharp pain in outer left thigh area around buttock to. Feels like a bruise that someone is pressing hard with fingers. Its uncomfortable to sit and when walking its a little painful. I have had no injuries and no back problems. I do work in a warehouse and lift heavy things sometimes 100lbs or more, but never had problems before. Seems pain gets worse every morning, it has been three days so far. Bending over is hard sometimes and tend to lay on opposite side  to relieve pressure but doesn't help. Any ideas of what this could be and do I need to see someone. Pain level when it hurts on a scale of 1-10 is a 8.5 or so.

[Neuro Forum]

Thanks for using the forum. I am happy to address your questions, and my answer will be based on the information you provided here. Please make sure you recognize that this forum is for educational purposes only, and it does not substitute for a formal office visit with a doctor.

Without the ability to examine you and obtain a history, I can not tell you what the exact cause of the symptoms is. However I will try to provide you with some useful information.

Your symptoms could be musculoskeletal, due to problems with muscles or tendons or ligaments in the hip areas. However, there are some neurologic possibilities as well.

The first is a condition called meralgia parasthetica. The symptoms of this condition inculde tingling, numbness and burning pain in the outer part of the thigh. The cause of is compression of the nerve that supplies sensation to the lateral part (outer part) of the thigh. This condition has many causes including being overweight, certain surgeries and the positioning that occurred during surgery, pregnancy, very tight clothes, diabetes, trauma. Also, in patients who are bed-ridden for prolonged periods of time in a particular position, this condition may occur. Diagnosis is clinical, and treatment is typically with medications used to treat neuropathic pain, and the condition improves over a few days with minimization of provocative positions or triggering factors.

The other possibility, if the pain shoots down your buttock and down your leg, is a radiculopathy. The spinal cord is encased by bones called vertebra. Nerves start to form as they come off the spinal cord and exit through holes formed between the vertebra. If a nerve is compressed on as it exits through these holes, particularly in an area called the nerve root, a radiculopathy results. The compression could be due to arthritis of the spine or due to a herniated disc or other lesions. The symptoms include pain at the level of the problem (i.e. neck or back etc) and pain that may radiate down the arm or leg (depending on where the problem is). In more advanced cases, muscle weakness or sensory symptoms such as tingling or numbness may occur. A radiculopathy is often diagnosed based on history, physical examination, and MRI of the spine.

Evaluation by a general practitioner (internist, family physician) is recommended. After he/she examines you and obtains a history, it can better be assessed whether the problem is musculoskeletal or neurologic, and what testing needs to be done.

Thank you for this opportunity to answer your questions, I hope you find the information I have provided useful, good luck.