Please help with info.....I had a fusion 6-30 at l4-l5, that was doing good. I started with this horrible left hip pain that is much worse when I stand completly straight up, or sitting, esp. bearing weight on that leg just kills my hip. My surgeon did CT and said the fusion looks great. He said to try the SI injection and that I should get immediate relief from the local if it was the SI joint. I did the injection yesterday and I have not one little bit of change. I am suppose to follow up after the injection to let them know. My hip pain is horrible and even the top of my thigh hurts.....Any ideas??????This is completely different from my l4-l5 symptoms. I need input...Not to mention I have a cervical injection for next week for C6-C7 lat. herniation. I sound like I am 90, but I am in my early 30's.....Any info is appreciated.
Myspine
If it is the SI joint, which is what I battle daily, then he should start you on PT for that joint. Maybe, because of the L4/L5 fusion, you favored one side over the other and are inflammed. Ask if your pelvis is aligned. If you are out of alignment, you want to get back into alignment and stay that way with PT, as quickly as possible. As for the shot, that is a quick fix that he has to offer you. If the first one didn't work, then he might move you onto PT.
You have the classic symptoms for the SI and or/ligmament that runs through there. (at least that is what I experienced). Did this happen right after your surgery? You might have torn a ligament during surgery? A nerve might have become pinched or, you may have a muscle strain.
They told me, never bend at the waist again, never cross my legs when standing or sitting, always sit level, no knee to the chest again, ever, walk, walk, walk. This just makes my hip hurt more. Then they said, bursitis in the hip. I see three different doctors, I get three different opinions.
See if you can see a different PT than you are seeing for your fusion and tell them about your symptoms.
There is no immediate relief for the SI. It is the toughest part of the lower back to try to fix. It is a puzzle to the doctors. They haven't solved it yet. If you surf the net, at all, look for info on that joint, the SI. Scientists and doctors have long, drawn out arguments on if the SI moves, should it move and if so, how much it shoud move. They argue its reason for existence.
When they did the SI joint injection, did they use a flourescope?
I had the injection 3 days ago, yes it was a guided injection. I thought they said I would have relief from the local (that would wear off in 2 hours) immediately if it was the SI. It did not happen until about8 weeks after surgery. I do have scoliosis so I have never been "even". I do not get it in the groin area, the low back to the left hip and the top of my thigh when I am sitting , When I am standing it is the back hip and side of my thigh. If I am standing and very slightly bend forward then NO PAIN, but if I stand and completley straighten my back, then it happens everytime. Is this how yours is?????Do you have pain when laying down or more when standing up??
Thanks for your response.....
Myspine
I used to hang out here a lot and check back in occasionally, but when I saw your post I had to reply. I had similar pain and all the doctors felt it was the SI joint. I was treated as if there was something wrong with the SI joint (through PT), which only seemed to make it worse. Finally I had a local injection and felt no relief, either. That shows that there is nothing wrong with the SI joint and that something else is causing the pain. If there was something wrong with the SI joint and they inject a numbing agent into it, you should feel better very quickly. So if you feel the same, something else is wrong. The tough question then becomes, what is the problem?
For me, my problem was a torn L5/S1 disc. The piece of torn disc was compressing the S1 nerve root, mimicing SI joint dynsfunction, when in fact the joint was fine. They determined this through a discogram. I then had the IDET procedure in November 2002. It was a long road to recovery but I do feel much better. I am actually now 7 months pregnant and I have not had any significant problems.
I hope this helps you somewhat. It was so frustrating to spend months in PT for SI joint dynsfunction when in the end nothing was wrong with the joint and the problem was the disc. Best of luck and feel better!!
thanks for the info.. What symptoms did you have??My doctor asked after my CT last week or whenever, to remind him on the discogram of L5 when I had it. The first one was posiive and they redid it because the L4 was positive and he thought that it was residual pain. So 2 weeks later we retested and it was negative at the L5. I did have the 4-5 fusion and was worried this was the 3-4 level since I had part of that disc removed 8 years ago. I do not know what the CT report was because after I had it last week I hand carried the films to him and that is when he mentioned the past discogram at L5. I know that in the old MRI's that was the best looking disc in the lumbar region. I too thought I was suppose to have some sort of relief even if it was momentarily after the injection if the SI joint was the problem. Oh it seems like this road is never ending. I went back to work 4 weeks after my fusion and am really worried about what this is. When I walk and put weight on the left leg it sets off the hip pain. Thank you for any and all info that I may receive. This is the only source of info and a place to ask questions that I may not ask my physician for fear of looking ignorant....
Thanks Again...
My pain was always centered right over my SI joint. On bad days, my left hip would hurt, which was described to me as greater trocanter pain. I had an injection into the greater trocanter which did not help and there was nothing wrong with the SI joint. The doctors described my pain as referred pain, in that I felt pain in a place where there was nothing actually wrong.
Walking was the one activity that gave me no pain whatsoever. I could walk for miles and feel fine. The PT said that was a sign of a disc problem. Since you have more pain when you walk, that might mean something else.
After the SI injection 
