Expert: Lawrence Gold - 7/1/2009

Question
I have had pain in my outer thigh for about the past year, although my doctor had me x-rayed he could find nothing wrong.  It gets really bad after sitting I am currently taking difene for relief.

Answer
Hello, Mia.

Pain in the outer thigh could be from a tight Ilio-Tibial Band, which comes from a tight muscle around the hip joint, the tensor fascia lata, which pulls on the IT band when it tenses.  It's a muscle involved in walking.  The gluteus medius muscle may also be involved.

An x-ray of the thigh wouldn't show that because the tight muscle is in the hip joint area, not in the thigh (assuming your doctor was looking for a muscular contraction).

The best solution to the problem I know of is to free the muscle from its tension by retraining it.  The best method I know of for that purpose is Hanna somatic education.  The list of practitioners exists at hannasomatics.com/practitioners.

My article on unequal leg length, at somatics.com/page4.htm, explains more.  I think my self-help program, Free Your Psoas, may help you, if no practitioner exists nearby.  (see somatics.com/page7.htm)

best,
Lawrence Gold