Help..What Causes Pain Behind Your Thighs???

I'm tagging @srobison @granny998 @jazzdong @goldielocks @robertlclark @kmintx @joidevie @detzler and @amitheonlyone on this discussion about degenerative spine and joint issues, and your recent development of pain in the back of your thighs when sitting. This must be very difficult to manage when spending so many hours in a wheelchair.

@cahnny are you able to do sitting exercises with your legs?

I'm (granny998) not in a wheelchair but at times when sitting, I get so uncomfortable that I can't stay still. If I were in a wheelchair, I'm not sure how I would survive. However, lying down, walking, or using an ice pack or heating pad helps. Just moving my legs helps some but lying down and icing works best for me.

Hi Colleen: I'm not sure what you mean by "I'm tagging...". If you could explain please so I know how things work here, I'd appreciate it.
As for sitting exercises, I think I might have given the wrong impression. I am not confined to a wheelchair 24/7. I can walk and stand...just not for any length of time. For instance, I can't walk long enough to go out in the backyard to visit our small garden. I miss gardening back there with my husband and strolling around looking at everything he's been planting since I stopped doing gardening myself. I can't walk long enough to do shopping in our little local market or get from the car to my doctor's offices. My husband has back issues too so I don't want him dealing with my wheelchair in and out of the trunk any more than he has to. Now he does the shopping for perishables and I do the shopping for staples on line via Amazon and Walmart.
We live in a small mobile home so, depending on the day, I can stand and walk long enough to vacuum or move around the kitchen to make dinner. When my back gives out I just sit back in my wheelchair. I know how important it is to keep what mobility I have. If you don't use it, you lose it...lol. So far I think I'm getting enough exercise for my legs. I was told I need both knees replaced and I've developed painful cysts behind my knees but I still make them work...lol.
The pain behind my thighs is a new thing but I'm thinking it has to do with advanced nerve damage from neuropathy. The next time I see my doctor I'll ask him about it. Right now we're concentrating on doctor's appointments for my husband. As soon as he's seen everyone he has to see and I've paid those bills I'll go see doctor's for my developing issues.

Hi granny998. Thank you for the suggestions. The cold does help. It only hurts when I'm sitting with my thighs against the seat. If I stand, lay down, or sit in my recliner with my legs up and crossed in front of me, it goes away. I'm trying different things but the cold idea was a winner. Thanks again.

Good question @cahnny. By adding the @ symbol and a member's username, that member will receive an email notification to join the conversation - like you did with this message because I @mentioned your username. This is a great little tool that any member can use. The moderators use it to bring people into a conversation that we know have a had a similar experience or something relevant to contribute. So we "tag" people to join in. Make sense?

Given what you shared in this message, I think you might also be interested in the people talking here:
- Anyone here dealing with peripheral neuropathy? http://mayocl.in/2aWCYXq
- After knee replacement surgery http://mayocl.in/2bVSUwB

I'll be interested to hear what the doctor has to say about the back of the thigh pain. Please do let us know.

HI - has your doctor checked you out for Bursitis in your hips? I have it<br>in both hips from complications related to a bad fall and a broken pelvis.<br>The pain from my hips is often referred to my legs/thighs. Extreme<br>tenderness is common. I've had two steroid shots in each hip. The first one<br>helped a lot but the second one didn't and my doctor says I can't have<br>another until next year. I'm not sure I will have another since the last<br>one didn't help. This is just a possible suggestion. My doctor pressed on<br>the side of my hips and my knees buckled just from the pain from the<br>pressure. I had no idea my hips were causing part of my leg pain. If you<br>press on the side of your hips and it hurts, you could have Bursitis.<br>Ultasound done prior to my injections confirmed it. hope you feel better<br>soon.<br>

Hi daisygirl: Thank you for your reply. Interesting information but there is no pain when I push on the side of my hips. I only get the pain in the back of my thighs when I'm sitting in a chair. If I get up or lay down, or move to my recliner where I can raise and cross my legs in front of me, it goes away. Basically it's only when there's the pressure of the chair pressing against the back of my legs.

If you have no problems with steroids you might consider that 3rd injection next year. My husband has had two for pain down his leg from spinal issues. The first one worked better than the 2nd. One of our neighbors had a 2nd injection though with great results. If your doctor thinks you should have a 3rd shot and you didn't have any ill effects from the 2nd one other than it didn't work as well as the first, try it.

I would be very hesitant to have steroid shots as I have chronic glaucoma in my left eye. In layman's terms, it's a blind, dead eye just there for cosmetic purposes. I take drops every day to keep the pressure under control. I've had all the procedures there are to have to keep the eye. Now the doctor says there is nothing else they can do. It's atrophied a little but my family and friends are used to the way it looks. As long as the pain in that eye is tolerable, I can keep it. If it becomes too painful, it has to come out. I'm not anxious to go through that at my age. They started to remove the eye 30 years ago but a new surgical procedure popped up that my doctor wanted to try first. He did. It worked and I've been able to keep the blind eye for all these years. Now I wish I'd removed it way back then. Bottom line...massive doses of steroids for too long of a period of time started this glaucoma mess 45 years ago as a treatment for RA so steroids scare the heck out of me now. I don't want to do anything that would push this eye over the edge. That might be totally medically unreasonable but it's the way i feel. No steroids.

@cahnny, I had to smile when you described how you can sit in the recliner because that's how I get the most relief. It's not very lady-like for me, but it feels better. I am having tingling in my left leg all the way to my toes and this position helps with that too.

I had this in my left hip!  Extremely painful.  Shots didn't help me, either.  I was walking with a cane!  Then I went to physical therapy twice a week for two months.  It is so much better.  I urge you to try.  I certainly didn't think it would help since it was so painful, but it did!  Good luck!

Thank you Blindeyepug. I don't know if you noticed but I mentioned that I only have pain when I sit with the seat pressing against the back of my thighs. The pain is relieved by standing up or getting into a position where there is nothing pressing against the back of my thighs. I have no hip pain. I appreciate the suggestion though.