Burning Upper Thigh

@dcdusek Hello and welcome to Connect. You have been through a lot and it must be difficult to recover from serious injuries. Could you share more details of what surgical treatments you have had and what your doctors thought were the issues? What were the other injuries you had aside from the burn on your skin? What did your doctors miss and what were the misdiagnoses? I'm wondering if the burn is related to the pain at all since you healed and the pain came later. Have your doctors done any imaging to look for entrapped nerves? Do you think you have a misalignment in your body that might be throwing things off? A physical therapist may be able to figure that out.

My other injuries were fractured pelvis, comminuted fracture to sacrum, three various fractures in lumbar spine, three fractured ribs and fracture in tail bone and pubic bone. Since I had healed 100% and then pain started one year after, the first few doctors I went to didn't even consider that it could be from the accident. They tried several things with one spine doctor doing two major surgery, promising me that it would cure my pain. I repeatedly asked if it could be from the accident and the first several doctors wouldn't even look at the scar because they said it was healed. I was also diagnosed with Proximal Hamstring Tendinopathy and I rehabbed almost three months for that. The PT figured out that I was misdiagnosed since there was no improvement and I kept getting worse. I finally saw a doctor who actually looked at the scar and felt that it was an issue. I had two discectomies as well as 13 steroid injections in various places but nothing helped. I am supposed to be getting an MRN within the next several weeks. I don't think misalignment has anything to do with it. The scar tissue that is atrophied is in my upper inner thigh and underwear crease line and that is where my intense burning pain is.

Are you familiar with EMG testing? I just recieved some very disappointing news. A neurologist ordered it for me and I'm told no one does this test anymore. 3 facilities were checked. 1 used to but what, they found no need for it now? Makes no sense that a Neurologist would order it not knowing himself of this. I feel extremely disappointed and let down.

@dcdusek Thanks for your response. It is possible that scar tissue is the issue from both the skin on the inner thigh and the prior surgeries. That will create scar tissue in the fascia which is a connective tissue network that permeates everything in your body. Are you describing scar tissue that might appear indented when you say it has atrophied?

If all of the fascial scar tissue is too tight, it pulls and creates pain. You might be interested in our Myofascial Release discussion. If you read through the first pages, there are lots of links with information. Other patients have joined the discussion in later pages. There is a provider search on the myofascialrelease.com website. MFR can treat and loosen scar tissue. Finding an expert in the John Barnes techniques is essential.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/myofascial-release-therapy-mfr-for-treating-compression-and-pain/
Does this sound like it may be able to help?

@bluej I understand the disappointment. These tests are common, but there can be staff changes and doctors leave and seek other positions elsewhere, so who knows the reason. Yes, I have had EMG testing a few times. You should be able to find this with a neurologist at a major hospital. I don't know why they said no one does this test. You may have to be referred elsewhere. Mayo does this, and it was one of the tests I had before I saw a spine surgeon there. Usually the EMG is done in conjunction with a nerve conduction test which measures the speed of electric impulses from shocks applied at the right place to activate the nerve. The EMG is where they place a needle into a muscle which is connected as an electrode and they ask you to move your muscle. They measure how much of an electric signal was received by the muscle. That also makes a graph and some static noise as it picks up the electricity.

Perhaps you can ask your doctor where else you can go for the test. Sometimes there are also independent neurology groups that do this testing in their offices. You could also call your insurance and ask for neurologists who are in network for your plan.

Thank you
I will reach out to my Insurance company as well. The test is specific for Perineal and perianal. perhaps that is another reason.

Yes, I had that test. It showed no abnormalities. But the doctor explained that it only looks at the five main nerves.

It’s unfortunately past that. The scar tissue is very deep and I did have therapy but it didn’t help at all. I also spoke with several doctors about it but it’s most likely a damaged nerves hi hi decompression will probably not help.

@dcdusek I wanted to make sure that you understand that myofascial release can work where other PT has failed. The reason is because it is a gentle shearing force and you just wait for the fascia to respond on it's own. This prevents the body from bracing against it as can happen when too much force is applied. The fascia has to reorganize itself. With a more extensive issue, it may take a lot of sessions to resolve an issue. When it releases and you can get back to more normal motion and body ergonomics, it can relieve pressure on nerves. Some doctors embrace this as mine does to help with my thoracic outlet syndrome, and some don't know about it. In med school, they learn on cadavers and don't see living fascia unless they are in surgery, but the focus there is on the procedure itself which is why they don't think about it. You wouldn't know if MFR could help unless you tried it. Here is a video that shows how the fascia reorganizes itself in living tissue. What resonates with me is that your pain started a year after healing from your injuries. If you had nerve damage from the injuries, wouldn't it have started back then at the beginning?

Thank you for the link. I'll watch it today. I did email my pelvic floor PT asking her about myofascial release and she thought it might be something good to try after my next appts with doctors I am working with. My PT actually did do massaging as the first treatment plan and nothing worked at that time. But, I will definitely look into this. I will leave no stones unturned. Thanks for taking the time to reach out.