Expert: Dr. J. Shawn Leatherman - 3/28/2007

Question
About a month and a half ago I had sharp pains in my groin area.  It started on the left leg where my leg meets my torso.  It quickly moved to the right side.  Now I am experiencing pain deep in my buttock and my hip joint.  The pain comes and goes.  It is on both sides.  When I stand straight and bend my upper torso to see something behind me.  I feel a deep pain in the groin.  This pain is more of the aching pain and sometimes deep sharp pains.  Very weird.  My GP who is a Internal medicine specialists has run a Rheumatoid factor panel as well as a Complete metabolic panel.  Everything was normal except my T4 was low. To note, I have Hashimoto's thyroid.  They have switched my meds from Armour to Synthroid.  I just had them rechecked and all is in the normal range.  Do you have any insight?  Thank you kindly for taking the time to answer.

Answer
Dear Steven,

I am not surprised that all of the tests came out normal other than the thyroid panel, and Hashimoto's is not a big deal and is easily controlled with synthroid or nutritional changes.

It is obvious to me that your problem is functional because it only causes you problems with movement.  there also may be a structural component, but this can only be evaluated with x-rays and I assume that your GP didn't take any,  I also assume that he did not perform a a functional examination of the hip and low back. Am I correct?

Anyway, you need to have the lower potion of the spine and the hips analyzed with functional orthopedic tests which will help to determine what anatomical tissues are the source of the problem.  The types of pain you are experiencing are commonly referred from the structures in the low back and sacroiliac joints (pelvic joints).  You probably also have functional imbalances in the muscle system that attaches to the pelvis to include the low back, buttock and thigh muscles.  These areas all need to be evaluated for tightness, spasm, adhesions, etc...  Often when the imbalances are corrected, the pain quickly resolves and does not come back.

I would suggest that you have a chiropractic physician analyze the above structures with a physical examination.  Check out a few local offices with phone calls to find a doctor that you feel comfortable with, or ask family and friends for a referral to a doctor they have gotten good results with. You should see improvements in your pain and function in about 4-6 visits, and you should be taught stretching exercise for home care in the least...maybe active rehab in the office which would probably be better.

Good luck Steven.

Respectfully,
Dr. J. Shawn Leatherman
www.suncoasthealthcare.net