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Severe bilateral hip pain, long after a right hip resurfacing
In 2020 I had a right hip resurfacing at HSS, which was necessary due to “wear and tear” and the loss of cartilage. Prior to the surgery I had significant pain in the right hip flexor, primarily when siting down or standing in one place, this pain was eliminated by the surgery for about 2-3 years. From 2020 to 2023, I was in relatively good shape and when I had pain in right hip flexor, I was able to correct it through physical therapy. At the end of 2023/ beginning of 2024 I was no longer able to correct the pain through PT and began seeing healthcare professionals for help. In 2025, I began to experience the same pain in the left hip too. Today, I have bilateral pain in the hip flexor area and as the pain worseness throughout the day, it expands around the side of the hip into the indentation of the glute muscle. The pain starts off at a 3 when I wake up and is at an 8-9 by the time it gets to 3-5pm at night. Generally everyday after 5pm , I have to lay down, in pain for the rest of the day. I’ve been to numerous hip specialists, spine surgeons, physical therapists, chiropractors, physiatrists and pain management doctors. My imaging (MRI/ Bone spec/ xray/ ultrasound) has ruled out any structural problems, referred pain from the back, any impingent, degradation of the hardware and chromium/ cobalt blood level issues. I’ve had cortisone shots, hyaluronic shots, nerve blocks and a RFA (radio frequency ablation) on the right hip. None of these healthcare providers or procedures were of any help.
Does anyone have a similar problem they’ve been able to correct?
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Are you a man or woman? How old are you? By hip flexor do you mean outside of hip joint or more in the glute? Hip flexor is not really a specific area. I have both hips resurfaced for 16 on right and 9 years on left. I have been running hard for 15 years without any hip issues. Recently, I have experienced what I believe to be SI joint hyper mobility. I am also in no pain when waking up. I get about 100 steps before that joint starts aching. It also causes outside glute pain. The problem with SI joint dysfunction is it is very tough to diagnose. An xray or mri will show some degeneration, but usually nothing specific. It’s a shame the resurfacing didn’t give you many years of activity like mine did. I really felt like my hips were normal when sprinting, jumping, sliding, and diving when playing baseball for the past 15 years. I do believe that running as much as I did with metal on metal hips caused more impact on my lower back and pelvis.
Take a look at your SI joints to see if it makes sense to explain your symptoms. Good luck!
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3 ReactionsI suggest trying a couple good MFR therapists and seeing if you can get realigned and get a diagnosis for where and how your pain is originating. I’ve had both of my hips replace and then I had to have fusion in L3 four and five. It didn’t entirely take away my pain because part of my pain comes from a dysfunctional tailbone and they won’t do surgery on the tailbone. Periodically I will have pain in my sacral joints. I do have arthritis and degenerative disc disease. One thought which occurred to me when reading your very good assessment. (I have gone through all those procedures and surgeries and rehab.) was something as simple as getting fitted for orthotics and good shoe inserts. Even the slightest misalignment and offset of your pelvis, can cause your body to try and adjust itself an AutoCorrect for misalignment. The MFR therapist is a fantastic way to figure out where the problem is.
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2 Reactions@closer0043 if you have metal on metal implants and have begun to experience pain, has anyone suggested measuring the chromium and cobalt levels in your blood? As they wearMoM implants can deteriorate. Heavy metal levels can cause symptoms.
I had shots in both of my SI joints, which relieved the pain for more than a year. It's back now with a vengeance, so I may need a redo. I've had both my hips replaced. The left hip is my problem child.
@sueinmn Hey Sue, thanks for the suggestion. Since I have 2 metal hips and a partial knee, I was also concerned about high cobalt and chromium levels. I got tested in January of 2024. My chromium was 2.0 mcg/l and normal was below 1.3, and my cobalt was 2.4 where normal is below 1.9. Slightly high but not too bad considering the amount of metal in my body. I decided to switch my vitamins to a brand that doesn’t have any chromium which is not that easy to find. That didn’t help much so I looked up a supplement called NAC. I started taking it every day with dinner. My next test was almost in the normal range. I waited another year to get tested again, and on 7/15/26 my chromium was at 0.1 and my cobalt was down to 1.0!!! Even my doctor was amazed at how much it worked. My levels got so low that I stopped taking the NAC. I figure to keep monitoring once a year and resume it if needed.
Having said all that, I realize that if someone has an allergy to metal or a poorly placed implant, a revision will probably be your only option.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352344120300601
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1 Reaction@sueinmn Oh and I forgot to mention that my resurfaced hips are still perfect according to xrays from my hip surgeon Dr Della Valle at Rush in Chicago. He gave me my athletic life back at only 42, and again at 49.
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2 Reactions@closer0043
Hi...I'm a 58 yr old male. I do mean the hip flexor, as in soft tissue. It's most painful when sitting down and best when lying down. As the gets progressively worse during the day, the pain migrates around the side of my hip and into the indentation in the glute.
My SI joints were checked and came out clean. What do you think?
@closer0043
I am a 58 year old male. Yes, I do mean hip flexor, as in soft tissue, The pain generally gets considerably worse as the day goes on. The pain is most pronounced when sitting and best when lying down. The pain begins in the hip flexor and it gets worse, it migrates around the side of my hip into the indentation in the glute. At this point, I feel severe pain throughout the entire hip.
I did get my SI Joints checked out, but I was told they were clean....
Any further help? Pain has been very severe. I'll take any help I can get.
@loriesco
By chance, do you have any recommendations in NYC?
@sueinmn
yes, I've had them checked and they were both around 2.5. I'm told the danger zone is 7 for MOM hip resurfacing. What do you think?