← Return to Extreme/prolonged hip pain after hip cortisone injections

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@vtammyo
I have had hip bursitis several times. Cortisone shots gave a few weeks of relief, but then a couple of years later the bursitis came back. That time I got with my physiatrist who does sonar shockwave treatments. They fixed the bursitis. That same doctor told me after the shockwave sessions finished not to go back to physical therapy, but to walk every day. He recommended short, easy, comfortable walks and cautioned me that missing days due to a flare-up would be a bad outcome. He said steady, regular, and easy over months was the way to heal, and to go at my own pace, adding time and distance as I felt comfortable with it. Bless him, he was right. Also when I began walking I lucked onto a message here in MayoConnect about Esther Gokhale's posture exercises. I tried them and I still do it her way months later because her method reduces the stress on the joints. I walk and cycle several miles a week and have started back on therapy exercises and some leg machines at the gym twice a week. Mr. Bursitis tried to flare up again when I pushed forward too aggressively. I rested, stretched, and iced for several days, then went back to an easier workload and did fine. I am slowly and steadily getting better and have learned to progress a little slower with all of these activities so I don't hurt myself. I wish all of you in this discussion the best of luck chasing bursitis away!

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Replies to "@vtammyo I have had hip bursitis several times. Cortisone shots gave a few weeks of relief,..."

Question: Have you had an MRI of your hip? If not, insist the orthopedic doctor treating you orders an MRI. If he says no, go to a back surgeon and ask for an MRI. You may have a gluteus medius tear. I was treated for bursitis for two painful years and it was a back surgeon on first visit who ordered an MRI because he believed I had a tear. The MRI showed a full-thickness gluteus medius tear w/ fatty infiltration and atrophy! Living w/ this tear is painful and the Trendelenburg gate is tricky w/out the use of a walking cane. I met w/ a surgeon in Chicago who repairs gluteus medius/minimus transfers as well as a surgeon in Virginia and decided that a gluteus medius transfer is way too iffy and w/ a 50/50 chance of recovery after an extended rehabilitation with no assurance of success I chose not to follow thru with this surgical repair. Not until you have seen results/diagnosis from an MRI would I trust a doctor who insists on treating bursitis when treatments to date are not responding to your needs.