Pain in the rear....

[hess]

Well, I've been doing really well, or so I thought. I noticed that I had lost a lot of extension a while back, so my OS sent me back to PT, and I was at -8!
Needless to say, we really started working on my extension. The more work we did on the extension exercises, the worse my rear started hurting. It was really weird because they kept thinking it was my gluts, and I would stretch and everything, but this wasn't where the problem is! The pain is higher , but not quite to my lower back.

It has gotten so bad, that I don't even do the exercises to work my extension anymore except when I have to, which is when I go to PT, which is a bummer!! The other day, my PT thought that maybe it was in the sacrocial (spelling???) joint. When she pushed in the area, it seemed like she was hitting it! She said that it may be because my body is off kilter now, and hopefully I will get back to normal.

Does this sound familiar to anyone? I'm not sure what to think. When I lie down on my back at night, the pain keeps me from sleeping, so I am constantly flipping from side to side, which doesn't work well with the ice!

Any advice?

Thanks in advance,
Hess

 

[Linda2]

Another pain in one's butt can be the piriformis. I'm sure Jo will show us a picture. Mine acts up along with my IT band.

 

[1jt@atime]

Hess, I woke up from my first knee replacement surgery with this problem. The pain was much worse then the knee itself and any time I tried to staighten my leg I would get a pain from the butt down, sometimes all the way to the foot that would send me through the roof. I could not lay in bed and I could hardly sit in a chair and I would be in tears multiple times a day. My PT treated me for this in addition to the knee and it eventually got to a tolerable level but has never gone totally away after almost a year. My problem is ithe sacro-illiac (SI) joint and L4 and 5. Because of this nerve problem, I was never able to get full extension and had a manipulation on this first knee when I had my second knee done in June. My neuorsurgeon told me the back problem was there prior to the knee surgery and all the tugging around that we experience during surgery just brought the problem I didn't know I had to the surface.

 

[beachcomber]

Hess,
I use a heating pad for SI joint pain. It seems to help relax the muscle spasms in that area. I sleep on it. It actually shuts off after 30 minutes, but by then I am asleep and if I wake up during the night and it hurts I just turn it back on.
I also take muscle relaxers when needed...

 

[1jt@atime]

I'm with Beach...I prefer heat on the backside.

 

[Linda2]

Here's another vote for heat on the butt.

 

[VikingFan]

I had a similar problem when I woke up from surgery(TLKR). I had pain in my back that, when the nerve blocks in my leg wore off, radiated down into my left toes. My PT seems to think it's a herniated disk between S1 and L5. I have been getting some relief from traction therapy but am going into a back specialist in a couple of weeks. I'm not so sure about what your PT attibuted the cause to(being off kilter?). I would suspect it has something to do with the surgical procedure requiring the surgeon to apply direct pressure to the end of the femur(sometimes by using a hammer ... saw it on youtube.com). That impact has to lead directly to the lower spine.

 

[Josephine]

Not really to do with the hammering, more likely the contortions to get your hip dislocated. Occasionally those joints can be reluctant to part company! This can jigger up the sacro-iliac joints, the L5/S1 and all the other little joints around. It's also a mistake to put the 'blame' on one structure or joint. You're talking about a body mass that that is approximately 5-7" cubed and where "everything is connected to everything else"! Inflammation is rarely totally confined to one ligament or joint though the core of it might be there.

I would suggest you look into getting a TENS machine. Best non-invasive pain control I know.

 

[dw6928]

Agreed. Took mine to rehab after my 2nd TKR with my Os's blessing. Funny thing was I had to dial the intensity way down from the pre-surg settings.

 

[hess]

Okay, so I webt to PT the other day, and she measured and saw that my left leg (operative leg) is 3/4" longer than my right. She mobilized my pelvis (?), and gave me 1/2" lift in my right shoe. It seems to be helping some. I am going to see my OS tomorrow, so I can't wait to ask him about this. Does this sound familiar?
Thanks, Hess

 

[Rowdy66]

Had a lot of back pain after the surgery especially at night, would start in between my shoulder blades and work its way all the way down my spine. I have severe osteo-arthritis in spine and cervical spine with moderate to severe cervical stenosis so my back is pretty much a mess and I had expected to have a lot of back pain after surgery due to walking like a crab for almost two years prior to surgery and suddenly being upright. It passed and is back under control, even sleeping at night, which is sheer heaven after so many, many months of tossing and turning. I would imagine the leg being that much longer than the other one would be a catalyst for the pain. Good luck, I hope after you see the OS tomorrow you have a better idea of what is going on. Rowdy