Bad hip or muscle tear?

So......  for a couple months I have had minor pain on the inner thigh of my left leg. It was not very localized, feeling like it was midway up from the knee to somewhere near the crotch. It only bothered me when I bent down in certain ways or when laying down and laying on my left of  right side. There was no major activity that brought this on.

Then, two nights ago it flared into keeping me up if I tried to sleep on either side. I can walk just fine, even twist around walking, but certain angles or side sleeping hurt rather a lot. Ibuprofen does help.

And the scary part is this flared up almost exactly when I turned 66. Is this like how you need reading glasses exactly when you turn 40?

Question; anyone had similar symptoms- do I have hip replacement in my future?
Thanks!

It sounds like you've got a pulled adductor. Maybe an overuse injury, maybe a movement imbalance.

There are 5 adductor muscles down there: gracilis, pectineus, adductor magnus, adductor brevis, adductor longus.  In addition to adduction, some of them are weak hip flexors; the remainder are weak hip extensors.

I'm a personal trainer, this is slightly beyond the scope of my practice.  Your best bet is to see a physical therapist.

I’m a PT. You describe classic symptom of hip arthritis presenting as referred pain. An x-ray will provide clear evidence if arthritis is present. But, being an old guy myself, you know that we all wake up with pains that occur for no known reason and can last for days. You would likely remember any recent activity that might have strained your groin. It could something as simple as yard raking, dragging debris to the curb, or basketball or baseball moments. If it is arthritis, a cortisone shot would likely clear it up. When you’re younger, aches and pains were ignored and recovery was imminent. Past a certain age, our first thought is “ it might be arthritis “. The second thought is “ how’s this going to change my life?”

frk wrote

I’m a PT. You describe classic symptom of hip arthritis presenting as referred pain. An x-ray will provide clear evidence if arthritis is present. But, being an old guy myself, you know that we all wake up with pains that occur for no known reason and can last for days. You would likely remember any recent activity that might have strained your groin. It could something as simple as yard raking, dragging debris to the curb, or basketball or baseball moments. If it is arthritis, a cortisone shot would likely clear it up. When you’re younger, aches and pains were ignored and recovery was imminent. Past a certain age, our first thought is “ it might be arthritis “. The second thought is “ how’s this going to change my life?”

+1

OA in the hip can present in many ways, the most common being groin pain from what I understand. Mine was knee pain. The hip joint "settled" causing leg length differential, which led to hyper-extension of my knee. Get it checked out for sure.

A hip replacement for most isn't the end of the world - I've got 5 years and  225 ski days on mine and still going strong!

You’ll have to wait until after the Coronavirus crisis to be seen by ortho. Btw, Referred pain can fool even the best. I once saw a retired md who had a lumbar laminectomy but continued to experience his pre surgical symptoms. He then saw the hip ortho guy who dx hip arthritis and performed a thr. That solved the problem. And believe me, doctors always get the best specialists but even his back specialist was fooled.

After I published a strength article on another ski oriented website, a reader contacted me.  75 yo, had hip pain.  His ortho goes, get a hip replacement, and the pain will go away.  He had surgery, still had pain.  I go, I'm not a doctor and I can't diagnose from 2000  miles away, you need to see a physical therapist.  A few weeks after beginning PT, he felt better.

Wondering if he actually needed a hip replacement.

I talked to a teledoc today- waste of time, they can't send out for x rays. I had thought my regular dr had retired already, but my wife said he was still open so I called. The nurse said take 3 ibuprofin at a time to reduce irritation and if it wasn't getting better, I get to see or talk to the DR next Friday. Makes sense.

Keep an eye on maximum daily dosage. Good luck. I know it’s early to think about surgery, but if you need it, anterior hip approach is the only way to go.

Well- taking 3 advil at a time  (600mg dose), 4 times a day, seems to be working, back to being a minor ache. I will stop after tomorrow and see if the inflamation has gone, so that it still feels ok without the high dose. If it is still a problem I am supposed to call the DR on Friday.