SEVERE Left Butt cheek pain!

I have started to experience severe left butt cheek pain. It does not radiate it is in the center of the cheek, It is not a pulled muscle and I do not have back or leg pain. Its just in one area (the center) HELP any ideas?

[tanglewood]

Please don't be offended by this question, but if you are a guy - do you carry your wallet in your left rear pocket? Unless its something simple like that I'd go to my pcp and ask for an MRI of my low back - could be a disc in the lumbar area.

[Kandoit]

No Not a guy. Thanks was just hoping not to have to go out today..

[Mollyrae]

Hello Kandoit and welcome to the Pain Forum.

Pain in one side of the buttock that does not go away within twenty-four hours indicates a significant problem. The pain may be achy, sore, stiff, dull, tight, and throbbing or any combination of the above. You may experience an increase in pain when sitting or standing for a prolonged period. The pain may include a deep dull ache, and/or soreness in the buttock. At times, it may be sharp and severe. Simple tasks such as putting your socks on in the morning seem monumental. Sleep may be disturbed. Pain increases when arising from a seated position making it very difficult or even impossible to straighten up. Pain may radiate from the buttock into the posterior leg. Leg pain may be perceived as pain or numbness. Buttock pain is worse first thing in the morning and/or increases as the day goes on. Other symptoms may be present. Possible causes may include:
Misalignment of the pelvic joints more properly known as the sacroiliac joints is the primary culprit for buttock pain. Altered relationships between the tailbone (sacrum) and the pelvis (illium) in the body cause increased pressure and strain as well as loss of motion in the sacroiliac joints. Many patients mistakenly state, "My hip hurts" when in fact, it is the sacroiliac joint that becomes misaligned. These gliding joints are found in the pelvis and their function is to allow for movement and flexibility of the spine. When these gliding joints (facet joints) are affected by repeated trauma from excessive strenuous athletic activities, heredity, weakened or de-conditioned muscles, and the inevitable aging process, low back, buttock and/or leg pain is commonly experienced.

I hope this was somewhat helpful to you. Please take care and keep us informed as to the outcome of your discomfort.

Mollyrae

[jason80]

When you can't get comfortable sitting it is horrible. It is also extremely hard to diagnosis due to referred pain.  Drs. will probably recommend a MRIs in lumbar spine to check for bulging disk and/or misalignment in the pelvic area.  I've been living with this pain for quite some time and cannot diagonsis it, but I seem to be a complicated case.  For most people it tends to go away so I'm told, but I haven't been so lucky. Good luck to you.

[Kandoit]

AWESOME! You are right on. I was in a horrific accident in March broke both legs hip and pelvis which I thought was all better since I was all fixed up and feeling fine. Its a new pain so, I feel like it doesnt have anything to do with accident.  I love this forum you all on here are so smart!

[LeftCoastChick]

I was going to mention sciatica, sometimes I only get it in the bum region and it doesn't make it's way down my leg. I slipped my L5 and sometimes my sciatica goes with it.
I use an ice pack, a bit of motrin and T1's if required. I don't like taking the drugs, but if all else fails, you have to do what you have to do.

[Tuckamore]

Hi Kandoit,

Welcome to the Pain Management Forum on MedHelp. I am sorry I am tardy in responding to your questions (I had a medical issues). But I am delighted to see our members have done a good job in their responses.

Because I began this terrible ordeal with chronic pain in the center of my buttocks I cannot help but wonder if you do not have an SIJ problem. SIJ (sacroiliac joint) is often in the near center of the buttock. A classic and diagnostic sign of this problem is the ability to point to (or touch) the exact spot in your buttock where the pain is located. In time my pain began radiating to other areas.

Our members are correct. You need to get this problem diagnosed. If they physicians are unable to attribute the pain to spinal issues I would ask for an evaluation of the SIJ.

Good luck to you. Please let us know of your progress. I will watch for your updates with interest. And as always take care, Tuck

[bernieboy]

I have this pain in the left butt cheek.  It is high toward the belt line. It manifests when I bend doing most anything left of the bodies center line. The depth of bend does not seem to matter,  Sometimes shallow sometimes deep.
, sometimes just a little straining in the effort to begin bending. The pain is instantaneous and then gone but dibilitating in strengh. It can put me on my knees. Sometimes I can feel it start and I can stop what I am doing in time to prevent the pain. I have hade right down the leg numbness that got bad and then quit, moving to the left leg. I still have occassional numbness in both legs if I stand up without much movement for a fair length of time. I have and two MRI's that have had no big WOW ....this is it diagnosis.  This inability to bend over without fear is keeping me from doing most anything. Any ideas???

[middlechild1983]

i had a lumbar puncture a few weeks ago. dr hit a nerve! since then still have pain in lower back and horrible pain in buttock. seems to start in between both cheeks and then into left one and kinda underneath it. does this make sense?  the pain is really  bad. has this happened to anyone else after lumbar puncture?this was my second one. after first one had the horrific headache and had to get patch. then lab lost results. so had to do again. ouch! i have fibro and these punctures seemed to flare me up anyway, so didn't really need this pain in my back and bottom.

[BadButtCheek]

I have sever pain in my left center buttock area about a year ago. I quit putting my wallet in my back left pocket and the pain went away after 2-3 days. About a month ago it came back. I again quite putting my wallet in my back pocket..The pain has been getting more severe day by day. Today it has become unbearable. I cannot sleep on my left side with out being uncomfortable. When I cough I can feel the pain in my butt cheek, When I get up from a chair it hurts. it has been hurting all day. I do not exercise and work at an office all day. The majority of my day is spent sitting down. When I get out of my chair at work, I always get up to the "right", using my left leg to stand up. I think the combo of the wallet in the back left pocket and getting up the same way all day may be the cause. i don't like taking pain pills, which don't do much for the pain anyways. But some relief is better than none. Any other thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

[sandee1818]

Bursitis is common in this area but most buttock pain is
due to a ligament injury and/or weakness in the area.
There are treatment available for this pain.
My uncle has this problem and uses Prolotherapy.

Here is an overview I found of Prolotherapy.....

The basic mechanism of Prolotherapy is simple. What most people are surprised to find out is that the body heals by inflammation. In other words, we need inflammation to heal our bodies. Prolotherapy works because it actually stimulates an inflammatory reaction in the body. Prolotherapy solutions are injected into the affected ligaments, tendons, and/or joints, which leads to local inflammation in the injected area. The localized inflammation triggers a wound healing cascade, resulting in the deposition of new collagen, the material that ligaments and tendons are made of. New collagen shrinks as it matures. The shrinking collagen tightens the ligament that was injected and makes it stronger. Prolotherapy has the potential of being 100 percent effective at eliminating pain and sports injuries that are a result of ligament and/or tendon weakness.

[rx1girl]

I'm having a pain in my left buttocks, I can point my finger on where the pain is. I have had extensive back surgery correcting scolosis of the spine. It's been 10 yrs, now I have this pain.  If in fact it's SIJ, how do they treat it?

[rebel951]

I have read the other post about left butt check pain and it has been helpful. With my situation, it only seems to happen when walking at a certain speed, mainly. on the treadmill at a speed above 3.0. It usually goes away shortly after I get off the treadmill. I started using orthotics back in Sept I got the orthotics due to the fact that my left hip would go out of ailment which would then cause me to limp due to my right leg being shorter. Am wondering if I just need to strengthen my left hip/left side of lower back as that area was never as tight as the right side.

Looking for suggestions???

[Hoppalonga]

I'm only 23 and have never had any accidents or whatever to cause anything, my walk has never been completely normal partly due to feet turning inwards which caused back problems previously but the last two months I have had occasional (every couple of days) stabbing pains in my left butt cheek (embarrassing) that have sometimes made me yelp and it has made me limp a lot as it hurts at some point most days too. It has hurt so much three times that i had to grab my bedside table to stop myself falling over when i get up. It feels like it's at the back of the joint and gets worse towards the end of the day. Am getting quite worried as it's getting quite frequent, and it's interrupting my work on an acute stroke ward.  What do I do? It's certainly not an a&e thing but what can a gp do? Help! I shouldn't be getting this at my age!

[castaway58]

I have left buttock pain in the am.  Starts around 3 am sometimes or I awake with it.  But when I get up for the day it goes away in as little as 5 minutes to maybe 20 minutes.  Then I got it in both buttocks area and had it all day.  It doesn't seem to be sciatic.  Just deep tissue pain.  Worse when I urinate in am but then like I said, when I get up for the day it usually goes away.  Had it for a year or more.  Sometimes like now, it goes away for a week and then comes back.  I don't even know what to tell the dr.

[tbeaulieu]

yes my manager had this pain after lumbar puncture.  took ioxy for 2 weeks and it finally went away

[bear3324]

I get these cramps in my buttocks also like right now sometimes they come and go but this one has been going on for 2-3 days. It hurts to set down, bend over, sleep, walk,put shoes on. No back problems at this time but,I do have it sometimes cause I have a bad back. And I was told at one time I have a disk out in my back cause my spine it mess up. But do not know where to go to have it checked at when I'm left with no money and no job.

[danielle2884]

Hip hip hip can I say it again

[danielle2884]

If you have butt cheek pain in the middle of the cheek that is in one spot and doesn't radiate it is more than likely something to do with your hip joint. I am not a doctor but have had several major hip surgeries and I have a huge metal plate and I get this sharp pain in the center of my butt cheek. Always check with your doctor for exact diagnosis. Hope I was of some help. Have a blessed day.

[jenniferinva]

Hi, I would like some advice, I am 30. Last night I got a really bad sharp pain in my butt cheek while I was going to the bathroom, it has continued but only when I go to the bathroom (#1or #2) any advise? no car accidents or injuries, no falls, nothing out of the ordinary.

[Iza1990]

I would probably go to hospital get  x-ray and take it from there. Good luck I hope your pain goes away soon.

[Donnakelz]

I have the same exact thing you have, only one spot in my butt. I hope by now yours has disappeared.Nothing my Drs. have done for me gets rid of this pain.

[Donnakelz]

I have the same exact thing you have, only one spot in my butt. I hope by now yours has disappeared.

[swisskid]

I'm 18 years old , male . i'v been getting an aching pain in my left but cheek for around 3 weeks now . I work 8 or 9 hours each day , 5 days a week (I'm always standing at work) , so maybe the pain is occupational . I usually feel the pain between 2 and 3 hours into work and it gradually worsens as the day goes on . By the end of the day the pain is very severe . I don't want to go to the doctor in case it's something stupid like a bruise or a pulled muscle . The pain does feel like it's in the bone though , not muscle . Any ideas to whats wrong with me ? Should i go to the doctor ? Any response would be greatly appreciated , thanks .

[janaree]

I have had pain in my left butt cheek for over 6 months now. I now can only sit in straight office type chairs. When I get up from cushion chairs/couches, I have spasms in my butt cheek. Mine hurts especially when I lye down at night and get up. I purchased a new mattress hoping it would help. No such luck. I have no problems when standing. I, too, can almost pin point where in my butt cheek the pain is. Anyone have any luck in treating this type of pain?

[tiredofthepain39]

I am with everybody else.  I have alot of pain in my left butt cheek and it's been hurting for at least two years and so far no doctor knows what it is.  It feels like something is pinching it.  It hurts when I sit, when I lie down, when I try to get up from sitting or laying down.  I have been diagnosed with scoleosis.  I don't smoke or neither do I stand all day.  I do sit at a desk and do get up and try to ease the pain but that doesn't help either.  I try to exercise and my pain is still there.  I have seen my primary doctor, a chiropractor and they didn't know what the pain is.  I even had a cortizone shot and that didn't even work.  You would think with all the technology out there somebody would know.  Just getting really tired of the pain and need help like everybody else.  I can also pin out the pain.

[kricket1937t]

I started getting this pain after doing some lifting....it starts to get better but hurts when lifting or bending to lift or pick up something...not necessarily anything heavy.  I think it just takes time to heal....mine anyway as I have not had any surgery or accidents.  I am older so probably will take more time.  My problem is that it prohibits doing everyday simple chores.  

[tamaramarie80]

I am as well experiencing this pain i have done physical therepy anti inflammatories an mri of my spine an latest was a cortisone shot most awful pain ever i stopped taking meds an was so frustrated i about gave up this makes me want to go ask a dr thank you for all your post

[klassic99]

Dear Anyone,
I am in the exact situation as most of you. I have had extensive spinal surgery, a total hip replacement on my right leg and was told that after so many surgeries that I have chronic pain. I dont like taking pain killers however I dont like standing up and getting a pain like someone is sticking a knife in my left butt check that just takes your breath away or makes you literally scream without control. It comes and goes and I have been to several doctors who do not know what it is. After reading your posts I realize that I did have a shot in my lower back for my back pain and I can now associate when this butt pain started. I've been living with it for months and no doctor has come up with a solution. Actually when I pinpoint where the pain is (and now it is spreading around the left side of the butt up next to the waist area) they just shake their heads and want to give me more pain killers. You would think with all the technologies a doctor would know what this is. All your help with my diagnosing this is greatly appreciated.