Have Sharp, Intermittent Pain In Thigh. What Could Be The Cause?

Posted on Tue, 10 Sep 2013

Question: I have a sharp, stabbing intermitted pain that is located in my right upper inner thigh. The pain started this morning right after I woke up and was waking up before I got out of bed and has continued throughout the day. It does not hurt when I walk, move, stand or sit but every 2 -5 minutes the stabbing pain hits, only last a second or two but it has been constant all day. I work an office job so have been sitting most of the day and even As I write this I have felt it a couple of times.

Answered by Dr. K. Naga Ravi Prasad (5 days later)

Brief Answer:
I suspect HIP PATHOLOGY or MERAGIA PARESTHETICA

Detailed Answer:
Hi, thanks for writing to XXXXXXX

Based upon your description, the pain could be due to 3 possibilities -

(1) HIP JOINT PROBLEMS - Mostly present with pain in the front portion of upper thigh along with radiation into the knee on the inner aspect of thigh. But , any movement in the hip joint will make the pain worse (which is not in your case).
An xray of the hip joint will rule out a bony pathology and an MRI scan is necessary to establish any soft tissue pathology around the hip joint.

(2) ADDUCTOR STRAIN - Any sudden strain involving the adductor muscles around the groin will typically produce pain along the upper inner aspect of the thigh when they are subjected to stretch as in abduction of the leg (lifting the leg outwards from the body).

(3) MERALGIA PARETHETICA - Any pressure on the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve will cause sharp, burning or stabbing pain over the upper & outer aspect of thigh. EMG (electro myography) & Nerve condution studies are needed to establish the diagnosis.

So, a detailed clinical examination & appropriate investigations are necessary to arrive at a possible diagnosis.

Hope I have justified your query. Happy to help for any more clarifications.

Regards

Note: For further queries, consult a joint and bone specialist, an Orthopaedic surgeon. Book a Call now.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar