Groin pain for 18months

[Michelle]

I have had groin/lower abdominal pain/discomfort since feb 2004.
I was at the time doing long distance running on some unstable surfaces.
The pain got that bad that I had to stop running all together. I was diagnosed with a labral tear by MRI and so I had surgery to repair the damage.
After recovering I returned to running to find that the pain in the abdomen was still there. My surgeon said he didn't know what it was and sent me to a hernia specialist to check it out. That came back negative. I then saw another specialist who diagnosed me with Osteitis Pubis by bone scan. I was being treated with physio for 8 months when I decided that I wasn't improving and should see a specialist in this area.
He sent me for another MRI which came back negative to Osteitis Pubis. I've very recently had a cortisone in the adductor for diagnosis purposes. The cortisone helped a little but not greatly.
When I run it's like a soreness in the lower abdomen, which gets worse the further I run. The soreness can also be right in the groin around the pubic bone and into the higher part of the adductor.
Has anyone experienced this type of pain, I am very frustrated because it has been so long and it's costing me a fortune. I love my running and enjoy exercising and am struggling to do anything.

[rena]

I too have had groin pain (over 3 years) as well as lower quadrant pain that was "misdiagnosed as a hernia".I eventually had labral debridement, serious waste of time and energy/long rehab.... for pain returned/even worse with a serious catching/limp.I am now planning on replacement, Michelle mentioned she was in her late 30's and I am 53. I read recently that debridement has only a 30% recovery. I heard about a different procedure (a name something like Dr. Phillipont in Philadelphia) where they use heat to cause scarring and soft tissue retraction (I heard from a sports medicine chiropractor that he sends his patients from Oregon to Philadelphia). I will not go through another surgery that provides temporary relief.What I did discover from the "failing procedure" that the deep buttock pain was alleviated temporarily. Therefore, the diagnosis is clear that the pain is from my hip and not the perineum.

[rkdjones]

After 20 years, 8 with pain, and an inability to bicycle or engage in any sports, I was finally diagnosed with anterior femoroacebular impingment (FAI). I probably tore my labrum 20 years ago, which is reportedly a common injury for those with FAI. There has been some written on FAI over the last 10 years (see research by Ganz et al in Berne, Switzerland). My injury initially presented itself as a jabbing groin pain, then became more dull and chronic but still in the groin.

Robert

[Unregistered]

kickers groin or a sports hernia?

some info on this website......I showed this information to my physio and we started some core stability exercises as well as all my flexibility work and found a significant decrease in oain with running after a couple of weeks.

[Stacy]

Michelle,

Not sure if you are still checking the forum. I also have OP from long distance running with the abdominal pain that you describe. Check out the posts on that forum (groin and hip--osteitis pubis) here on the site. There is some really good information and support. It can take a while but with proper treatment it seems like we can expect recovery. I used to run 40 miles a week and will be happy to get back to walking/jogging a much lesser distance after this. It's hard to take the runner out of us but a well-balanced approach may be a solution.

Best to you,
Stacy

[Bigfoot]

Michelle,
Have you seen a good Chiropractor? Take all your scans & xrays and see one. Many so called OP cases that I see are rectified by re-stablishing proper balance and alignment of the iliums and sacrum (rotated sacrum can cause acute groin pain) , along with numerous massage techniques. Doing core work will then be more beneficial once your skeletal alignment is corrected. Also some clients have had great success with a newer style of very long needle acupuncture, including one who has bad labral tears. Hope these thoughts help. Look for what works best for you.

[TierraMarie]

Hi everybody, I'm to this web site. I hope I have posted this in the right place. please forgive me if I've misdirected this. I need referral to helpful doctor please, IN SPITE OF isolated area of osteo arthritis>>2 years after an auto accident.... I'm suffering bad lower back right hip, groin pain...when I do the treadmill and legs weights....very frustrating for me as I have had active gym/ aerobic lifestyle for 25 plus years. (NOTE< i handle my pain very well, i make it my priority, yet i know i am not at my best, physically by NO means) So, dummmy me>>> last year I went to a hip specialist, orthopedic surgeon. He takes x rays. 15 minutes later walks in to tell me I need a total hip replacement...as my hip is riddled with arthritis.....he says my right hip joints are all dried up...period. NOTE>>Just this one hip, where I was hit in an auto accident 2 yrs. earlier. I asked him "why ARTHRITS in this one hip? no other body part has osteo arthritis?? Is it possible doctor, that I could have gotten a torn muscle, ligament tendon etc., from an auto accident 2 years prior that we can't see in simple X-ray?...can torn muscles etc...such as the psoas muscle be the problem? my worse problem is I cannot raise my right leg when I lay flat on my back....this is 99% of my hip groin complaint doctor. Doing leg weights and treadmill brings on the pain. Also doctor, I am only 47 years old. I am on no pain pills. I am able to handle the pain by natural foods, organic herbs and supplements, massages, acupuncture, mild activity etc. NO PAIN PILLS YET YOU SAY HIP REPLACEMENT??" I laughed in his face as he tried to give me the "a-z" book of my upcoming hip operation. Period. He insisted it was arthritis and there is no cure. I am so upset. How do I find a real good medical professional to do their best to try to correctly diagnose my pain? I don't mean to sound so grumpy......but all the doctors seem to want to blame arthritis period.
help! thanks so very much! :) this is great web site!

[Zaynah]

TierraMarie

I'm a physiotherapist from South Africa.
A good idea is to go to a physiotherapist who will examine the hip area fully, doing tests for the joint itself, the ligaments and all the surrounding muscles to create an idea of possilbe diagnosis.

The following is a guideline of what could be your problem and how the physicians and physio's should get to the bottom of your diagnosis.

The only way to diagnose Osteoarthritis (OA) for sure, is with an X-ray... On the film the joint surfaces will be fuzzy with some small bony osteophytes (bony growths). When the doctor or physio examining you, moves your joint, it will have a grinding clicking feel to it, ecspecially if they localize it and do small gliding movements in your joint, shifting the two joint surfaces over each other. the grinding-clicking is from the erosion of the joint surfaces with bony fraying and growths in the joint space.

In the hip joint there are a capsule, a ligament, a labrum and cartilage lining the joint surfaces that can cause groin/hip pain. So if the X-Rays are negative for OA, but the problem lies in the hip joint and not the muscles (suggested from physical examination tests), the physician should consider the above. Imaging studies for the above include MRI and CT, aswell as an enhanced MRI or CT to see the tears in these structures clearly (injected contrast fluid into the joint and then doing scans). If all fails, some doctors perform arthroscopy (camera-scope surgery) to have a look inside the joint to find the problem that they could have missed with tests and scans.

You might have Iliopsoas tendinitis, aka inflammation of the hip flexor muscle-tendon. This condition also gives groin pain. To test this and diagnose this, the doctor or physio has to place your straight leg raised when lying on your back and then leave it in a position, asking you to keep it there, and then applying some downward resistance to your leg, asking you to resist. By doing the above, the physician is excluding your joint as the test is static, and testing the contraction of the hip flexor muscle. If this test is possible is could suggest iliopsoas tendinitis.

You might have Adductor tendinitis, aka inflammation of the hip adductor (inside thigh) muscle-tendon. This condition also gives groin pain. To test this and diagnose this, the doctor or physio has to place your straight leg on a flat surface out to the side when lying on your back and then leave it in that position, asking you to keep it there while he applies resistance against the inside of your leg, causing you to contract the adductor muslces to keep the leg still. By doing the above, the physician is excluding your joint as the test is static, and testing the contraction of the hip adductor muscle. If this test is possible is could suggest adductor tendinitis.

You might have Osteitis pubis, aka inflammation of the bone at your pubis, where the two sides of the pelvis meet in the front of your pelvis. To test this and diagnose this, the doctor of physio will press down on the bony ends at the pubis, causing a gliding motion of the one bone along the other. If this is painfull, it suggests there is a problem at this joint, aka the pubic symphise. Remember that the center 'sixpack' abdominal muscles (Rectus abdominus) and parts of the adductors (inner thigh muscles) attach at this joint, so both muscles pulling at this insertion could irritate this joint causing inflammation and groin pain.

I really hope you get properly diagnosed. I have had a hip problem for 4 years and had arthroscopy surgery a week ago after scans showed a 1cm piece of bone and cartilage broken off in my hip..

Good luck.:)

[Flash]

i recon its osteitis pubis or Adductor tendinitis. all groin related injuries are hard to dignose and i have herd even with sergury there is always the chance the pain can come back.

Probably due for a good rest


cheers

flash