Pain in the Butt.

[midcoastmaniac]

I am a 57 yo male, in fair health.  For the past couple of weeks, I have had moderate sharp pain in my right buttocks, radiating, laterally, down my right leg, sometimes going past the knee into the lower leg.  The pain begins right above my hip joint.  There is much tightness in what I can best describe as my "hamstring".  Iceing and heat help, NSAIDS do not.  Any thoughts as to what this may be?  Thank You!  Midcoast

[midcoastmaniac]

Brian, thanks for getting back to me.  I am able to stand on my heels and/or toes with no increase of discomfort.  Whenever I am walking around, I am limping and causing the good leg to compensate.  I find the worse position to be in is on my side when I am in bed.  It wakes me up with the pain in my thigh area on the outside.  I have an appointment with my Pri Care early next week, and we will have to see what her rec. is.  I will let you know.  

[bmdad]

I would say it is sciatica probably caused by a herniated or bulging disc. I had the same symptoms a few years back and a mri showed a herniated disc which later led to surgery. I did take other non invasive approaches before I ended up having the surgery. I had pain in my buttocks, down my leg, and all the way to my foot. I would get to a doctor and have him refer you for a mri. The longer a disc presses on a nerve the more damage it can cause. The tightness may be from you favoring your leg without pain which in turn would cause your other leg to be under used which could lead to muscle tightness.
When mine was at its worse I had foot drop. Try and walk on your heels while keeping your toes pointed upwards.  See if you are able to walk on your heels without your whole foot dropping to the ground. This can help by seeing how much pressure is being put on the nerve. That is if a herniated disc is even what you have but what you described is exactly how mine started off and got worse with time. Were you able to walk on your heals okay? Does it feel any better while walking around or standing up? Do you feel the shooting pain more while sitting or laying down? Does anything make it worse?
I would set up a doctors appointment and then he will probably refer you for a mri. If you can get back to me with the couple of questions I asked I may be able to help a bit more.
Best of luck and if you have anymore questions, please let me know!
Brian