ischial tuberosity pain (pain in the arse)

Pagem

hi,

i've suffered with this in the left buttock for 2-3 months now and wondered if anyone else has suffered with it and/or has any advice?

i have seen the gp whom has referred me to physio. the pain is a dull ache and tends to really only occur with prolonged sitting. exercise seems to be fine. disc prolapse has been ruled out as has piriformis syndrome.

i did see a chiropractor whom believes it to be related to a tight sacroiliac joint. i'm aware this could be a possibility but just wondered what other peoples experience of this is (if indeed there is anyone out there whom has/ had the same thing).

i've been working on core stability with a decent stretching programme but this has only been for the past week or so. it does seem to ease things.

this is really driving me nuts and i am becoming very demoralized.

cheers in advance.

drewfromrisca

Thank god there are others out there just like me!!!! Mate I know exactly how you feel!!! I've just been to see another Doctor who as soon as I described symptoms told me I had a problem with my sacroiliac joint! Now I'm waiting for physio. Also I had a x-ray which shows loss of height in one of my discs which apparently is related. Oh well only took 3 years to find out what was wrong...oh and a sh*tload of money paid to physio's chiro etc etc!

Pagem

interesting to read your reply. i'm glad you are now (hopefully) on the right track to recovery. i'd be really interested to find out how you get on and i'll post back my progress - both of which may help others.

all the best!

popette

Hiya,
I have sacroilliac problems too - replied to drewfromrisca on another thread in training section about this last week I think.
I've been seeing an osteopath for it. I found physio didn't really help but the osteopath really gets stuck in. Loads of massage, a few manipulations and I go out walking on air. I've found the key to controlling it for me is stretching. I have a whole series of stretches that I need to do or else I will start to feel tightness and then pain again.
I've just been to see a different physio for a knee pain and I explained to him about my sacroilliac problem - he said that cycling was very benefical to sacroilliac problems.
Good luck fixing it. If you'd like a scanned copy of my stretches, send me a pm with your email address.
Thanks

jimmythecuckoo

Yeah, that sounds familiar, especially on cold damp days. It can also present in the form of a dull cramp feeling.

A good chiro manages mine.

Pagem

thanks for the replies.

popette, i've sent you a pm as i'd really like to get a copy of the stretches please. thanks!

Pagem

thought i'd update anyone who's interested in this or does a future search.

in a nutshell i found both physio and chiropractors to be vague and hopeless in my diagnosis. however, i know this isn't true of all of them!

i read around and it occured to me that my hip flexors and quads are far too tight. this has created general tension and trigger points which in turn has lead to an increased lumbar curvature of my spine. i had been doing alot of stretching but not specifically for hip flexors. the tension and increaed curvature has aggravted local nerves giving a referred pain.

over the past month i had been trying to target my lower back and hamstings etc when strecthing but i was still getting this awful pain. i targetted specifically my hip flexors on wednesday (of this week) and the difference has been amazing. i'd say almost 80% better already. i am also working on core stability to improve ab tone.

i am not suggesting this is a 'fix all' remedy for this type fo pain as it's caused by many other things. However, as outlined above i think it's worth considering since no-one formally assessed my hip flexors and/or gave me any exercises specifically for them despite having a full history of my main activity, i.e. competitive cycling.

i sincerely hope this is of use to others whom may come across this in the future desperate to find a possible solution. i'm sure this strecth may have been obvious to some but i'm not a back expert and as such was relying on other professionals to guide me.

windyphil

Pagem wrote:

thought i'd update anyone who's interested in this or does a future search.

in a nutshell i found both physio and chiropractors to be vague and hopeless in my diagnosis. however, i know this isn't true of all of them! .......... However, as outlined above i think it's worth considering since no-one formally assessed my hip flexors and/or gave me any exercises specifically for them despite having a full history of my main activity, i.e. competitive cycling.

I know you say that you know it isn't true of all chiro's but a decent one should look at the whole picture not just the bit 'in crisis'. If you look at the British Sports Chiropractic site you should find one that's local to you and is decent. Particularly look for one that practices 'SOT' as they do treat the whole body.

I had a trampoline accident in August which made a mess of my pelvis/back. I am lucky that I have one of the leading sports chiro's in the country in my town and not only did I post treatment manage a PB 10m TT, but now feel a whole lot healthier in general than I did before. A lot of the stretching I was doing before was okay, but nowhere near as 'deep' as the chiropractor managed to attain. One of the muscles that really was a trigger in getting everything back in place and staying there was my right hip flexor which was very tight through cycling and not managing to stretch it all the way back out. Keep at it!

Another poster mentioned 'walking on air' which is a common feeling of euphoria post treatment as spinal fluid travels properly to the brain. If nothing else it's worth the treatment cost just for that feeling!

drewfromrisca

I came back from my first session today with the physio. Basically I have about 6 injuries in total with lots of other niggling injuries around it. Will take a while to sort out I was told but I have been given a few lifestyle changes to adopt to settle the large amount of inflammation in my back and hip and groin. Also been told to stay off the bike for now too so I stop curving my spine. I can use the turbo trainer but only sit upright. Better than nothing I guess!?!?!