Pain from hip when sleeping

My OH also read about the high pillow thing and as l normally sleep on two pillows because of the COPD am now trying with just one. I started the excercises the consultant suggested and to be honest they seemed to make it worse. Have been alternating with cold pad and then heat, something else he suggested and as it seems to have settled will start the excercises again tomorrow.

DH has back trouble and, daft as it sounds, was told to check his pillow wasn't too high. Apparently if your head and neck are too high it affects your posture lower down and can cause pain.

I had a steroid injection in September but it didn't do anything and I waited 8 months for it. I do my exercises every day and it does help. I am bad today and I think it might be walking on icy surfaces putting a strain on my hips.

Thanks for the update Elizabeth. I have chronic bursitis and find its much worse at night, usually about 3am inevitably.
I had a steroid injection almost a year ago but unfortunately it didn't help. I'm currently seeing a good local physio. Hope yours gets sorted.

Good luck Elliebeth I have this and it's no fun. I have Amitriptyline to help me sleep and it does help

Good to know Elliebeth. What a long year it must have seemed to you though.

Hello everyone. Just to give an update and my thanks to everyone who replied and to say what it is. It's bursitis. My GP arranged the MRI which showed normal wear and tear and then followed it up with a CT Scan. This showed an enlarged kidney but no abnormality. Had an appointment today with an orthopaedic consultant who knew exactly where to press and diagnosed bursitis. I have some excercises to do and an appointment with physio. If this doesn't help then the next thing is steroid injections so it's taken most of the year to sort out but at least I know what it is.

I have worked out that mine is definitely a back problem. It is very slowly getting better - as backs do with luck.

Hello everyone. I'm back again ! The pain is still there at night and l have avoided going back to the GP because of what he might want to do next. Well it's no better so had to go and he has arranged an MRI for later today for hip and lower back. They have said l will be in the machine about an hour and l'm dreading it. Had one a few years ago and was in eleven minutes and was getting ready to press the panic button. What l wanted to ask is what are the chances of going in feet first. I am quite tall. My GP has given me some Valium to take but am still panicking.

Thanks again for all the replays especially Grafter who went to the trouble of asking her boss !! What nice people on here. As expected had very little sleep last night but no pain. Now, because l'm tired am on the sofa with my legs up and the damn things aching again and have slight pins and needles in my foot. Been stood previously ironing for about 45 minutes and was fine. Very strange.

GrafterPA this thing about yoga and pilates is the golden rule all good teachers use at the start of class. They ask if there are any new health issues they don't' already know about and stress that if an exercise hurts or causes pain afterwards, it isn't for you, so don't do it. Simples. My hip bursitis has been helped by both the classes I go to.

Big Apologies Elliebeth ( shows what happens when you stay up until 4-15am on Sunday mornings, and you 'lose it' with self inflicted fatigue!! ...lol)

It's not Olechranon Bursitis!! ... the boss said 'Trochanteric Bursititis'!!!

Sorry about that and I think an early night is advisable here!! x

Sorry to hear about your hip probs Elliebeth, so spoke to my boss who's a Biomechanist ( only 18 in the UK) and he has GPs, Physios, Pilates and Yoga teachers, Osteopaths and Chiropractors as clients.

He says you could well have something called 'Olechranon Bursitis' which he's dealt with quite a few times in his 47 years of work. On the outside of your hips, you have fluid filled sacks called bursae, which act as shock absorbers and if these get inflammed you can get the reactions you describe.

You need to put that into the frame and voice the possibility to your GP. My boss says it's very unlikely indeed to be sacro-iliac related, but as he can't examine your personal Biomechanics and what messages your movements are flagging up, he wouldn't attempt to advise further.

He did say that unfortunately for quite a few people who's bodies don't actually suit Pilates or Yoga ( both these have numerous flaws as well as good things) doing them can actually escalate problems, a statement which surprises many people, but is nevertheless a clinical fact. x

Bit of an update. Didn't have the pain last night but GP put me on steroids as well for the copd. Been more breathless than usual and one of the side effects for me is they make me more restless and in a couple of days will probable sleep very little. It's just for five days and l take six at a time. So wondering if because l'm moving about more in bed this made the difference. Anyway off for a walk now so see how that goes.

Pain at night in bed is symptomatic of something being wrong. It's caused by the muscles relaxing after having to work very hard during the day so persevere with the GP. If they propose an MRI make sure they do knee and hip.

I have that pain too . It wakes me in the night . You seem to have a good GP if he is going to investigate so soon . I have been going back and forth to the docs for years with mine . I did have an Xray once but don`t think that was the right test as it only shows bone and from my symptoms it seems more like sacroilliitis .
Hope you get sorted and you `on the move ` plan continues to help .

Well although having a sleepless night - getting over DHs thing - but tonight pain free - so it could be what I thought - move more as I have been on the move every waking hour including walking the dog for 2 hrs. since DH went I to hospital - now out. Mind you I am so tired now I can't sleep! Will settle eventually.

I'm a cracked record on this subject but i'll say it again. I've found a combination of yoga and pilates has helped with low back, neck, shoulder and hip pain - with all kinds of aches and pains frankly. It's not expensive to join classes and it can be fun as well as "good for us"

I had similar pain, it was bursitis caused by a hip that needed to be replaced. Hopefully yours can be treated as your GP hopes and you won't need surgery. But if you do need a hip replacement you may find it won't be a general but a spinal block that's used. It wasn't nearly as scary as I thought it would be and it avoided the after effects of a general. Good luck with it all and try not to worry, easier said than done I know.

I've been getting hip pain which has gradually got worse over the years. Recently I went to a physiotherapist who said she thought it was a back problem rather than a hip problem.
She did some manipulating and gave me some exercises to do and advised doing more walking, cycling and swimming also.
I hope she's right and things improve.

Elliebeth I get spasms in my lower back/hip area and find that the stick on heat pads (you stick them on your pants over the painful area) work wonders. I get mine online from Amazon - much cheaper than at the chemist. Worth a try.

Thats good Elliebeth , I hope the anti-inflammatories help and that be the end of the matter.

Hi. Seen the GP today and he thinks it's a trapped nerve so given anti inflammatories. If no improvement in two weeks l am to go back and he'll investigate further. Going to try and do a bit more walking and see if that helps. Thanks to everyone who replied.

It could be a trapped nerve. If it was osteo arthritis of the hip it would (if my experience is anything to go by) be painful when you were on your feet. However, if it does turn out to be your hip, don't worry about anaesthesia. Most hip ops are carried out with a spinal anaesthetic nowadays and you are given a sedative, not a general anaesthetic - very welcome to me as I react very badly to GAs. See your doctor and if he/she isn't helpful, better see a physio.

Thanks Elliebeth. It sounds like you have a lot to cope with. Take care.