I want to start off with I'm not asking for medical advice and I will be going to the Urgent Care Clinic as soon as hubby wakes up. (He works third shift and he'll be useless if he doesn't get at least a couple of hours sleep.)
Ok, so May 2009 I gave a birth to a 9+ pound baby. Literally moments after I delivered him, my right hip started bothering me. I had trouble walking, moving, laying down...anything and everything hurt. My midwife said it should clear itself up within a few days and that I had just given birth to a big baby so it was expected that my pelvis and hip would feel a bit unstable.
Four days later it was still hurting and my leg started giving out on me so I went to my family physician (well, I saw one of his nurse practitioners, he was too busy to see me himself.) She said that it was due to the delivery and to give myself time to heal. In the meantime, I was to rest for three to five days and not be up walking around. Yeah right, I have four kids...like that's going to happen! I did my best though and managed to get through four days with very little walking. (From the bed to the bathroom, that was it!)
Ever since then I've been having issues on and off with this hip. I've given birth to another little one since then (he's almost a year old now) and it's not getting better. Last night I was half asleep and went to roll over in bed and my pelvis hurt so bad I woke up screaming! I managed to get my hip to "pop" and it felt a bit better and I was able to get some sleep.
My question is, have any of you mamas experienced this? What was it? How did you find temporary relief? I need something to just get me through until I get to urgent care.
Thank you!
ETA: Just wanted to clarify. Whenever this happens all I have to do is get it to pop (which is sometimes easier said than done) and it starts to feel better. Hubby thinks it's tendons and ligaments too.
I went to the chiropractor today. My pelvis was tilted and my hip was partially out of socket. He gave me an adjustment and although I ache (and feel weird!) I'm feeling better. Because of the issues I'm having with my hip/pelvis it's going to require constant maintenance. He gave me exercises to do and told me to call him if it goes out and I'm in pain again.
Thank you all for the great advice! I'm icing the area and taking 800mg ibuprofen and I'll probably be back in there in a week or two for some "maintenance." (Ok, I'm like a classic car at this point. I have to have routine oil changes, tune ups and an alignment, lol!)
Get a Diagnosis.
But probably, also getting Physical Therapy will help.
It will strengthen the ligaments/muscles/tendons in that area.
So, if I were you, I would get a referral, for Physical Therapy.
Too.
I agree with Cheryl O.
My pelvis was misaligned. Physical therapy helped and then exercises to strengthen it. Short term I used ice and motrin.
Sorry, I don't have any suggestions for a temporary solution, but you might try finding a chiropractor to visit. Chiropractors have helped me with sciatic nerve pain. Hope you find relief soon!
I would go to a chiropractor to have my back and hips aligned.
It bet your hip was out of socket due to the birth of baby #3 and was never really addressed - they should have taken Xrays and they should have sent you to an orthopedic doctor to have you looked over...baby #4 just pushed it that much further and now with the "popping" you had - YOU might have been able to get it back in the socket - but your tendons and ligaments are going to be stretched for it being out of place for so long...
Good luck!!
I work in Orthopedics & my husband is a chiropractor...An urgent care clinic will prob only give you meds for pain but not do anything to solve the problem. You should really see a chiropractor-if you feel that route wont work for you then I would call an orthopedic. He will most likely give you a hip injection to calm the inflammation & refer you to physical therapy. Its always better to take the non invasive approach first & do chiropractic-just know its not going to go away with 1 treatment. As far as an ortho & PT you will prob be doing 3x a week for 4w of therapy & repeat visit with the ortho. Taking anti-inflammatories regularly will help some, but it sounds like you need to see someone. Good luck.
Yes, I had hip pain on and off for quite awhile. The doctor said it was adjusting to carrying around a baby.
These things helped me. Get the right kind of shoes. Exercise. Learn exercises that will align your body...... stretches. A chiropractor maybe. Get a good mattress. If you sleep on your side be sure to put a pillow between your legs.
No one should be giving you advise that you should be receiving from a trained professional specializing Orthopedics. Urgent care can take x-rays and give you a pain medication perscription to temporarily help the matter but that won't fix the problem. Do yourself a favor and make an appointment with an Orthopedic Physician and try to find one that specializes in sports medicine (they are the best at getting you back to normal), you should be able to find that on the internet and read the reviews from other patients. This Orthopedic Doctor will have his own x-rays taken and if need be an MRI which will really show what is going on. Good luck. By the way, the best Orthopedic Physician in Austin is Eugene P. Schoch, III, MD at Austin Bone and Joint Clinic
Central Office - Plaza St. David's
1015 East 32nd Street, Suite 101
Austin, Texas 78705
Phone: ###-###-####
Fax: ###-###-####
You can look up Austin Bone and Joint, look at his accomplishments and his photo is posted. I have experience with this Doctor and he has performed miracles on my Son's leg as well. You will not regret taking the time to see him.
My son was 8lbs and 10 oz when he was born. I experienced excuciating pain for months. I hurt from 1988 until 1990 and my doctor recommended a hysterectomy to me. I had it done, but praise God there was nothing they found such as cancer. My pain did stop. It may be fibroids, so make sure everything is ruled out before you opt of major surgery like I did.
I delivered Nov 2010 and had a similar experience, however, only pelvic not my hip. My Ob/Gyn recommended a Chiropractor. I had aways been skeptical of chiropractors but have been converted. After carrying/pushing a child your pelvis can fall out of alignment. The two sides of my pelvis were over 1 inch out of alignment and causing excruciating,tear jerking pain. The chiropractor diagnosed and fixed the issue AND saved my sanity. Try a chiropractor to get everything back into alignment. Urgent care is probably not going to help you much, this sounds skeletal as a result of carrying your babies. My experience was such that a few pelvic adjustments got me back to normal.
I am sorry you have been going through this... Please see a Doctor and have x rays done.. You may need to see a bone specialist too.. You could of broken your pelvic or hip bone.. Hope and Pray all works out and you get helped..
I have this too after having my kids. Chiropractor helped a lot and exercise but probably the most relief I've had when getting up in the morning was getting a new mattress! It hasn't gone away completely but occurs rarely now.
I don't know if my experience is related to what you are going through but after I had my second son I had similar problems except they were with my hands, I was a waitress and it had a devastating effect on me and quickly progressed to the point I was terrified that I would become an invalid. Changing a diaper or even flipping on the car blinker while holding the steering wheel would cause debilitating pain. Thankfully one of my customers was a hand doctor and he told me the name of what I had and what to do for it. I went to a dr. and they gave me an orthopedic brace and a cortisone shot in one hand and it went away in both, but doing more research I found out that this form of tendonitis was nicknamed the new M. disease or some such thing and was commonly associated with women who had just had children. So when you do have it checked out I would ask about the possible connection. The good news is that my son is 4 now and I haven't had any more problems with it. Good luck! Let us know what happens!
It sounds like "snapping hip" I have had it most of my life and it certainly got worse after kids. It can be quite painful for me until whatever is in that joint pops out. Then I am fine. The good news is that it is treatable with physical therapy and the occasional anti-inflammatory.
I would almost suggest skipping urgent care and making an appt with a hip specialist or orthopedist. They will be of more help to you in the long run. But you do need immediate relief.
Good Luck!
Hi Jennifer,
I began having a very similar pain in my right hip while pregnant with my first child back in 2002. This pain continued after her birth (she was 7 lbs. 8 oz. and I am a small individual). My doc said it was mostly likely pressure on my sciatic nerve and that over time, it would get better. Well, 18 months later, I had my second daughter and the pain began again. This time, it didn't go away and another two years later, I had my son. Well I have lived with this pain off and on ever since. Like you, when I pop my hip, it feels better. I've also found stretching to help. And even though I can't get there often, massages help too. Some say chiropractic care can be helpful. I haven't spoken with anyone, doc included, that says my will go away completely on its own and I am not in a position with three active kiddos to have surgery (I am sure like you, I can't even get sick for a day w/o the whole house falling apart). I am curious to know what you find out. Please do share what you learn. Best of luck to you.
S.
I had the same problem after the birth of my second child. I struggled with it for several years finally went to the Dr. he gave me meds which I didn't want to be on and kept trying to give me a cortizone shot. Finally he referred me to physical therapy. The first thing the physical therapist did was get out the model of the hip to show what happens to your body during the delivery of a baby. Totally crazy. Anyway, the tendons and ligaments can stretch and fail to hold the hip in place (thus the popping out). She gave me exercises to strengthen the muscles to help hold the hip in place. A year later it is much better. If you have insurance you might want to insist on an MRI to make sure that there is not something else wrong. Good luck.
My hip pain started with my 3rd pregnancy. Now it hurts every time I become pregnant. I am now on my 11th pregnancy and my hip pain started up around 4 months gestation. What a pain in the *#$%, or, rather, hip!
Good Morning! I would say to use plenty of ICE which may help. I am having hip pains myself and guess what? My daughter is 15 years old, but mine may be just due to OLD age (51 years young) -- However the ICE during sleep at night helps a lot along with getting it to pop every now and then when it feels like it. I can't always get it to do this, but again use plenty of ICE while sitting or in bed. Your husband may not like this, but I can get away with it being single and having the bed all to myself. I hope this helps!! By the way, my daughter was a 9 1/2 lb baby and this never happened with my other two which weighed a lot less than she did. I pray this will help you... :-)
I have been having the exact same problem since delivering a large baby ( for me, anyway) 18 months ago. My hip, also pops alot . I have to stop in the middle of walking & raise my leg bend my knee, then a loud , nasty pop occurs. Walking is painful & almost impossible until I can get it to pop. Anyway , finally went to chiropractor a few weeks ago. My pelvis was out of allignment. I finally have some relief. Still, some popping but not as much.
Yes, I had a very similiar situation after delivering my 9 lb 16 ouncer. During my pregnancy my hip would lock or pop once in a while. Never had that problem before. After I delivered, it started feeling like it would give out. I talked to dr and they did not seem real concerned. Eventually, my back gave out and I did physical therapy. The therapist said all those muscles work together and I just needed to condition them back. Did the therapy for lower back and hips and got all better. They also thought I might have had a little sciatia nerve trouble. I had to continue the exercises at home some afterwards, though. I would definitely see your doctor first.
I experience the same thing when I was pregnant with my daughter almost 12 years ago...I have lived with pain almost on a regular basis... pain that wakes me up with screams during the night or with my first step on the floor when getting out of bed. My only relief throughout the years was stretching and trying to pop my hip which apparently gets loose during childbirth... I have been to various types of doctors who have given me all types of answers including "its all in my head" ...yeah...can you believe a doctor would say that to someone??? Needless to say I never went back to him again... but it's also been said it could be the sciatic nerve... I also have come to teh conclusion that sitting around or laying down makes it worse for me!! The more active I am the better off I am... not to say sometimes the pain is almost unbearable when keeping active... good luck and I hope you find something that works for you!!
I would see a chiropractor. Sounds like your hips need to be realigned. In San Antonio I see Dr. Nolasco, he is good. Good luck.
Dr. Noel Nolasco is located at:
6338 NW Loop 410
San Antonio, TX 78238
Phone: ###-###-####
Jennifer,
Personally, I would find someone who works with releasing fascia. Look up John Barnes and myofascial release for research. His main clinics are in Arizona and Pennsylvania. Talented people trained in his work are in the Austin area. Look for someone who has been trained and worked in the arena for at least six years.
The work is extremely gentle and you may not even feel like anything is happening. Let me assure you, it is. As the fascia is relaxed so it is able to let your body properly align, your hip should improve.
I have a similar thing. It seems to be related to my sacroilliac joint. You can get a belt that goes around your hips (low) to stabilize "hold you together" you have to put it on tight and I mean TIGHT, if you feel an immediate relief, it's your S I joint. I also have a brace that looks like something you'd wear under a prom dress (HA) that really helps.
#1 Get diagnosed.
Chiropractor for a short term fix, PT for a long term fix. I'd do both.
see a chiripractor, this is very common & can be fixed w/just a few visits
Hip pain is a common symptom of back dysfunction. Because of the pelvic displacement you experienced with your previous baby, it's very probable that you continue to have an unstable pelvis. The pop you are feeling probably comes from shifting of your pelvic bones and spinal column. You might try lying on your back and elevating your legs up on 2-3 stacked pillows (bending knees) and even putting an icepack in your low back region. I would recommend physical therapy and possibly a good chiropractor. Make sure you find a reputable one that will show you things to do to restabilize your pelvis; that is a big key factor for long term relief!
It sounds like you have gotten a lot of good answers, I just wanted to let you know that once your pelvis/hip is stabilized that it will feel "wrong"! You have been living with it being "out of whack" for years and your body has adjusted to this "new normal". When it gets aligned properly, it will take time and may be painful as your body gets used to what is right for you. I had a similar issue and did a combination of a Chiropractor, some physical therapy and a pilates class - once I was aligned (after doing everything in my life unaligned for YEARS), it felt really strange for about a month.
Take care and I hope you get to feeling better very soon!
blessings,
Stacy
