It hurts to sit. It hurts to walk. It hurts to lie down. It hurts when awake. It hurts when asleep (or trying to sleep). It hurts even when not moving. The pain radiates down the leg and into the buttocks. Such is my recent experience with the left hip. An inflamed bump on the trochanteric bursa which lies on the outside of the top of the femur bone is quite noticeable by simple observation. I observed the swelling today while comparing it to the right side. My rheumatologist drew attention to it during my last visit in August. She gently pushed on the outer most part of the hip where the bursa lies and a sharp pain immediately became apparent. She mentioned that such inflammation of this bursa is common with RA. According to an article published in the Annals of Rheumatic Diseases,
“Trochanteric bursitis is an underdiagnosed, easily remediable cause of pain in RA. Specific examination for in presence should be a routine in all patients with RA, especially those with hip pain.”[i]
I do wonder about the “easily remediable” part of the quote as nothing related to RA ever seems to be easy or permanent. Over the past few months, the pain has gotten increasingly worse to the point where it’s impacting daily routines. My rheumatologist mentioned that the first line of treatment will likely be a cortisone injection. This will be the first topic of discussion at next week’s appointment. I’ve never had a cortisone injection so this will be a new experience.
Off for my monthly Orencia infusion tomorrow morning…
[i] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1000992/
I love your understatement of “a sharp pain immediately became apparent.” In other words, you hit the ceiling and screamed like a girl?
Steroid shots can be wonderful. Sometimes they take about a week to kick in. Sometimes they feel like being bathed in cream from the get go. I love ‘em. Hope yours works wonders.
I’m hoping for the bathed in cream response!
What Lene said.
I’ve got trochanteric bursitis; I’ve had it for several years. I thought it was rheuma, of course. It FELT like rheuma, and still does. The first time my doc pressed “gently” on my thigh over the bursa I nearly jumped off the exam table, and to say I said “OW!” is an understatement. I’ve had no luck getting rid of it, Andrew, but I’ve read about many others for whom steroid injections worked very well. Fortunately, the intensity of the pain varies. Sometimes I hardly hurt at all, other times it’s intense and continuous.
I do hope the shot relieves your pain. Fingers are crossed for you.