Glute/hip pain that nobody has been able to diagnose or really help with

[Collin Thompson]

I've seen 4 different professionals ranging from MD, PT and chiro for the same injury and gotten no actual answers, not even good guesses. Just blank stares. This hip injury can't be that mysterious! In a nutshell, strained something deep in my glute where it looks like my piriformis might attach, and all my hip flexors slowly locked up on me as well. I kept reaggravating it doing VERY light squats right when I would hit the bottom of the lift (bar-100lbs, was squatting 400+ prior).

What I'm especially frustrated with is, even when I feel 100% I can recreate the pain (it is on my right side) by doing a LEFT knee to chest stretch - I feel a strain deep in my right glute, toward the SI. Air squats, lunges, bridges, you name it I can do it. As soon as I put weight on my back though things go awry. It's a sudden pain, doesn't really radiate, and I slowly feel the musculature around my upper leg/right side of low back lock up. A deep childs pose also can cause a straining feeling. Honestly this can't be as difficult to figure out as the guys I've seen so far are making it out to be, right?!

[Alex Burden]

Did you MRI it? or did the professionals have x-ray vision

Otherwise it is just a guessing game.

[Sean Rockett]

Can't say exactly without an exam but possibilities include lumbar facet joint irritation, referred disc pain, SI joint pain, lumbar pedicle stress reaction. Time off from squatting should help, but follow up with someone after backing off squatting if not better

[Collin Thompson]

Originally Posted by Sean Rockett

Can't say exactly without an exam but possibilities include lumbar facet joint irritation, referred disc pain, SI joint pain, lumbar pedicle stress reaction. Time off from squatting should help, but follow up with someone after backing off squatting if not better

I appreciate you getting back to me. I understand these are all somewhat shots in the dark, but for all the ones you listed, would I experience pain on a day to day? For instance I can bend down and touch my toes, sit in the bottom of an ATG air squat for a couple minutes, etc. Since the initial pain was difficult to determine whether or not it was within the glute musculature or the right "side" of the SI I guess I just expected the injury to be limited to that region, especially since I didn't really have any referred pain. I think the most telling sign is (though I'm not sure what it tells me ) is the left knee to chest stretch hurts the right side around where the initial injury was.

Like I said, about 3 times I've felt 100% and started out very light (bar), then arrived in snap city. I realized overhead presses actually seem to aggravate it: my most recent setback was from doing 1 Arm Overhead Press (left arm) and halfway through feeling my right side just seize up on me.

[Sean Rockett]

would need to examine you, being able to touch toes may eliminate disc herniation, my spine guy in my group has seen a lot of MRIs with facet joint irritation or swelling most likely due to some of the hyperextension maneuvers that we do in the low back like fatigued burpees.

Originally Posted by Collin Thompson

I appreciate you getting back to me. I understand these are all somewhat shots in the dark, but for all the ones you listed, would I experience pain on a day to day? For instance I can bend down and touch my toes, sit in the bottom of an ATG air squat for a couple minutes, etc. Since the initial pain was difficult to determine whether or not it was within the glute musculature or the right "side" of the SI I guess I just expected the injury to be limited to that region, especially since I didn't really have any referred pain. I think the most telling sign is (though I'm not sure what it tells me ) is the left knee to chest stretch hurts the right side around where the initial injury was.

Like I said, about 3 times I've felt 100% and started out very light (bar), then arrived in snap city. I realized overhead presses actually seem to aggravate it: my most recent setback was from doing 1 Arm Overhead Press (left arm) and halfway through feeling my right side just seize up on me.

[John Drohan]

Hi Sean - that is an interesting observation, to me in particular.

I had a discectomy/laminectomy in January of this year. 90+% of my symptoms are gone, but occasionally, and for weeks at a time, some resumption of sciatic irritation does occur. Most recently I believe it to be coming from a pretty high volume burpee workout.

Is facet joint irritation something that is treatable with certain exercises or is it something that needs more formal treatment?

[Sean Rockett]

usually improves with the dreaded activity modification