Hip pain after sitting for a while

seadoug

seadoug

Well-known Member
Location
Texas
I'm 66 and have always felt fortunate that I can go to the gym 5 days a week and enjoy mobility. Lately I've noticed that after I sit for a while my hips/glutes are pretty stiff. I stretch at the gym and still do strenuous lower body exercises for legs, glutes, etc. I have very little pain at the gym and I can walk on a treadmill or by the lake for miles. It is just that when I've been sitting that the discomfort happens.

I've done all the online research I can do to figure out what's happening. There are so many different opinions. I have started taking Osteo Biflex but the reviews have been mixed. Aleve or Motrin will make me feel better for a while but I want to correct whatever is happening.

Any similar stories or recommendations?
 

Murrmurr said:
Just a guess based on experience; The origin of that pain is likely in the sacral region of your spine. It should help to do some research on pain and treatment for that specific area.

Talk to your doctor, too.

Best of Luck, Doug.
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Thank you!
 

I finally stopped sleeping in my bed years ago. One reason was because I'd wake up with an annoying feeling (not quite a pain) in the hip of whatever side I slept on. A friend of mine, who just got a new mattress, has been having the same problem. Like you, I didn't feel that tightness while doing anything else. Have you added anything new to your diet, any additives? People touted the supplement condroiton (sp) mixed with something else, I forgot...it did not work for me.

A few years ago, I started developing stiffness in my knees while sitting at the computer.. I had an epiphany after reading something in Dr. Gary Null's Encyclopedia of Natural Healing and substituted decaf green tea daily for the Hawaiian Punch sugar free drink mix I was drinking way too much of. I noticed a difference within 24 hours, so now I swear by green tea. According to my orthopedic specialist, who had given me two cortisone injections, I would likely need a knee replacement. That was at least two decades ago; haven't needed it yet.
 
(I keep thinking of things)

Is one of your glute exercises the one where you lay on your belly, clasp your hands behind the small of your back, and lift your chest off the floor high as you can? I forget what it's called. That's a really good one for the sacrum.

I still do that one. Just half a dozen repetitions, usually, hold each lift to the count of 10.

I stick my legs under the couch to hold my feet down, but if Michelle's home, she holds them down for me.
 
Check the WAY you sit. Are both feet on the floor keeping your hips level, and keeping your back straight without slumping? And I learned a long time ago no one should sit longer than about 20 minutes at a time without standing up and stretching for a minute. Sitting too long messes with the blood flow to the legs and can cause muscle cramps along with back pain.
 
seadoug said:
I'm 66 and have always felt fortunate that I can go to the gym 5 days a week and enjoy mobility. Lately I've noticed that after I sit for a while my hips/glutes are pretty stiff. I stretch at the gym and still do strenuous lower body exercises for legs, glutes, etc. I have very little pain at the gym and I can walk on a treadmill or by the lake for miles. It is just that when I've been sitting that the discomfort happens.

I've done all the online research I can do to figure out what's happening. There are so many different opinions. I have started taking Osteo Biflex but the reviews have been mixed. Aleve or Motrin will make me feel better for a while but I want to correct whatever is happening.

Any similar stories or recommendations?
Click to expand...
The symptoms that you have described are more or less the same that I experienced. A kind of dull ache in the gluteus maximus. Or to use the correct Latin: "dolor in asinum." (Google it.)
It might have been that I had unknowingly injured myself bumping into something, but the ache never receded.
Some months later, attending a medical at my doctor's surgery, for life insurance purposes, doctor said to me: "Is there anything else I need to know?" So I owned up about dolor in asinum. Doctor arranged for an x-ray, the result of that was clear evidence of the need for a hip replacement.
Hells, bells, that was the last thing that I was expecting, but researching the experiences of others and their recovery I went for it.
Hopefully your dolor in asinum is nothing so dramatic, but if an x-ray proves otherwise, just go for it.
 
I have been taking Alleve to work through the dull ache, and today I went to the gym and stretched extensively before doing arm and leg machines. The pain seems to have mostly gone away. I think like @Murrmurr said, it was a disc issue because my neck and right arm were also a little sore. I may have injured myself at some point or just exercised too hard.

The pain was with me over Christmas when I didn't work out at all so I knew it wasn't from exercising. I've stretched extensively the last two days at the gym so I think that has helped. It has taught me that I don't stretch nearly enough prior to working out.

Thanks to everyone for the great advice. I can learn much more here than by going on Google. Just another great benefit of SF!
 
Murrmurr said:
(I keep thinking of things)

Is one of your glute exercises the one where you lay on your belly, clasp your hands behind the small of your back, and lift your chest off the floor high as you can? I forget what it's called. That's a really good one for the sacrum.

I still do that one. Just half a dozen repetitions, usually, hold each lift to the count of 10.

I stick my legs under the couch to hold my feet down, but if Michelle's home, she holds them down for me.
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Thank you for continuing the suggestions. No, I typically sit down and cross each leg as far as possible over the other one. I learned this from a massage therapist. The first time he pushed down on my leg my hip hurt like hell. I knew I needed to include this in my stretching. I also do squats while holding onto cables or just against the wall.

I'll try the exercise you mentioned. (y)
 
Murrmurr said:
Also, I just remembered, I got a ton of relief using a "donut pillow" in the seat of my chair. I was given it because I'd injured the coccyx region, too, but it helped the sacral spine as well.
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Yes, I have something similar that I sit on in my office chair. I've now been using it while sitting on the couch as well.
 
My husband has been using ThermaCare Wraps Lower Back and Hip for years, cuts back on his taking Aleve. They stay warm for a long time. They are pricey, but we get them from Costco online, if they're on sale we stock up. They do seem to help no matter where you use them. Good luck, hope it gets better soon.
 
SeaBreeze said:
My husband has been using ThermaCare Wraps Lower Back and Hip for years, cuts back on his taking Aleve. They stay warm for a long time. They are pricey, but we get them from Costco online, if they're on sale we stock up. They do seem to help no matter where you use them. Good luck, hope it gets better soon.
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I'll check them out. I've used heated wraps in the past. They do work. Thanks!
 
I had lower back and hip pain for about a year. I kept going to the doctor and they gave me antiinflammatories, steriods and muscle relaxers. It just seemed to get worse over the year. I had been doing a lot of walking and exercising, doing squats etc.

One evening I got up to go to the restroom and I had the most servere stabbing pain in my groin. This continued on and off for a few days. Went back to the doctor. She asked the normal questions and she used her little hammer on my knee. She proclaimed "OH Crap". I asked what was wrong and she said we need to get you to an orthopedic.

Could not get an appt. for weeks and the pain became unbearable. Finally got to see the doctor, did a xray, and my hip had totally collapsed. I had to have a hip replacement the next week. Diagnosed with avascular necrosis, the bone had died in my hip and just shattered.

I will tell you the pain of a hip replacement is nothing compared to the pain of the collapsed hip. I can only hope this disease does not show up in other joints. I do have problems/pain once in a while, I can't be as active as I once was and I am very careful about getting on the floor unless I have something nearby to help me get up.

I am telling you this as it was something I had never heard of, do not know of anyone who has the codition. If your pain does not resolve and stay away it might be time for an MRI. Mine was so bad it showed up on xray but I have been told in the early stages of bone death it does not show up on the xray.

I always say it is better to be safe than sorry, so if you continue to feel pain keep going to the doctor until it is resolved.
 
OneEyedDiva said:
I finally stopped sleeping in my bed years ago. One reason was because I'd wake up with an annoying feeling (not quite a pain) in the hip of whatever side I slept on. A friend of mine, who just got a new mattress, has been having the same problem. Like you, I didn't feel that tightness while doing anything else. Have you added anything new to your diet, any additives? People touted the supplement condroiton (sp) mixed with something else, I forgot...it did not work for me.

A few years ago, I started developing stiffness in my knees while sitting at the computer.. I had an epiphany after reading something in Dr. Gary Null's Encyclopedia of Natural Healing and substituted decaf green tea daily for the Hawaiian Punch sugar free drink mix I was drinking way too much of. I noticed a difference within 24 hours, so now I swear by green tea. According to my orthopedic specialist, who had given me two cortisone injections, I would likely need a knee replacement. That was at least two decades ago; haven't needed it yet.
Click to expand...
Diva that's wonderful!! :giggle:
 

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