Thigh - Hip - Knee Pain

[Kelly Leal]

I have been having problems with pain in my thigh area (right leg) for around a year. When I lay down and try and rotate my right leg outwards I get a really sharp pain across my knee - more towards the top / outside.

My Chiropractor reported that it was probably due to tight muscles caused by my hip bones being mis-aligned. However, despite rest the problem has not resolved itself.My Doctor referred me for a hip x-ray and this has come back clear, which is good, but still doesn't explain why I'm in so much pain.

The pain varies in degree and location. Sometimes I feel like someone is clamping my leg around the top of my knee, other times its in my buttock and at times its at the top of my thigh. When I'm sat on my chair at work I feel like my leg is a dead weight. I have just started deep tissue muscle treatment, but can't say this has really helped.

My Doctor is very unhelpful and suggested strong pain killers to help - they're not helping! At the moment I'm unable to use the gym - which is frustrating - and even short walks and climing stairs is proving hard work.

It seems that whatever I do and however much I pay for treatment it just won't improve. Living on the Isle of Wight means I have limited access to people specialising in sports injuries. Does anyone have any advice?

[Heidi]

Hi Kelly,

I think your problem is quite complex. I suspect if you have had a mis-aligned pelvis that this has caused muscle imbalances throughout the leg and lower hip. This is probably causing impingement of the sciatic nerve which is causing buttock pain and probably related to the other areas of pain.

I suggest that you need someone who can perform a full assessment to see which muscles are tight, which are weak and to look at your movement patterns. These problems can then be corrected through an exercise program combined with soft tissue therapy.

I hope this helps, this is certainly the road that I would be wanting to go down if I was treating you.

Good luck!

[Kelly Leal]

Thank you for your advice, much appreciated. It seems like I may have to 'shop around' to find the right person for me, but hopefully I'll get there in the end.