Suggest Treatment For Back Pain In An Elderly Person After An Injury

Posted on Sat, 30 Jan 2016

Question: Hi. My wife is having pain in her Rt. Lower back, rear, upper thigh and groin. Symptoms much like sciatica, but with "popping" or "catching" in the hip joint. She has not suffered any recent injury and is not a runner or play any sports. She is very active. She is 60 years of age. The pain varies from moderate to severe and seems to worsen with activity.

Answered by Dr. Albana Sejdini (41 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Osteoarthrosis of hip joint/internal abdominal organs issues to rule out...

Detailed Answer:
Hi,

I am sorry for the painful situation your wife is going through.

From what you are reporting, the pain she is having in her right lower back, near upper thigh and groin with "popping" and "catching" in the hip joint are indicative for possible sciatica. However, apart x-ray of the hip, I'd recommend to run MRI of the vertebral spine to evaluate the changes there.

Please take note that osteoarthrosis of the hip joint is commonly appearing in patients with the same age as your wife. However, an accurate diagnosis should be made to confirm it.

Another possible causes include those related to internal organs; that's why I recommend to run an abdominal ultrasound.

For the moment, until you see an orthopedist, and in order to ease her pain, I advise to:
- ask her to take some rest
- apply heating pads locally
- take OTC pain killers to reduce the pain (e.g. ibuprofen, naproxen)

Wish fast recovery!
Dr.Albana

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