Chronic outer thigh pain/weakness

[MBerg22]

Like many other people, I am very frustrated with the undiagnosed chronic pain that I have had for 10 years.

I have a pain in my right thigh, near the outer area, 3-4 inches below the hip. If I press on the area, there is extreme, sharp pain. At rest, I have occasional "electric shock" type feelings in the area. It is not shooting from my back and does not travel down my leg. It is specific to this region. The electric shock feelings are more frequent with regular exercise (i.e., jogging or elliptical). That portion of my leg feels weak and causes me to limp from the pain after rising from sitting. It feels like a pulled muscle that never heals. It's strange because at times it feels like muscle weakness but then the electric shock seems like a nerve problem or at least irritated nerves in that muscle.

I have been to an orthopedic specialist who gave cortisone injections to the leg and it aggrivated the problem more. I have been to physical therapy and they do not find weakness in my quads, squatting, bending, reflexes, etc. Stretching and weight lifting has not helped. I have been prescribed Neurontin which did not even touch the pain.

I have seen a neurologist who did an x-ray and MRI of my thigh, showing no tissue damage or other abnormalities. I had a nerve conduction study which did not show signs of sciatica. He also did an x-ray and MRI of my lower back which had only minor showings of arthritis that "wouldn't cause this." Otherwise, he stated that my spine and discs looked like what he wished everyone's looked like.

I don't know where to go from here and I'm scared that it will only get worse as I get older. I'm 30 years old and it has definitely gotten worse since I was 20. I've been told by the orthopedic specialist and the neurologist that this is something I may just have to live with but the pain is taking its toll. It's hard to believe that with all of our technology we can explain this pain.

Please Help,
Thanks



This discussion is related to Left Buttock Pain.

[Tuckamore]

Hello MBerg,

Welcome to the Pain Mangement Forum. You are correct we can relate to years of undiagnosised pain. I've been there as have many of our members.

I finally saw a D.O. (Doctor of Osteopathy). She diagnosed me on the second visit when no one else could or even seemed interested in searching. She is an Internal Medicine DO that practices Osteopathic Manipulation Therapy. She had only been practicing for a year when I initially saw her. I beleive she was "hungry" to find answers for her patients. So obviously I suggest that you make an appointment to see a similar type of DO. At this point it sure can't hurt.

You are correct that the pain you describe sound nerve related. It could be referred pain but from where? Have you had your hips thoroughly examined? Could it be a trochanter (hip) bursitis that is producing unusual pain? Another though would be is this pain related problem in the groin area?

We recently discussed how pain from one area can manifest itself to another area. Such as the pain from an MI (heart attack) can occasionally be felt only in the jaw or shoulder. Our bodies are wonderful but sometimes strange machines.

In my opinion you need a physician that will look and think outside the box. Please keep us updated and let us know how you are doing. I will look forward to your posts. Best of luck to you and please take care.

~Tuck~  

[Mollyrae]

Welcome to the "undiagnosed club" I realize that it's very flustrating to never find the answer to your pain. All you can do is keep at the Doctors. Write down any symptom you have even if you think it's not related. You never know.

I wish I had better advise for you.

My best,
Mollyrae