Does anyone have any suggestions or have a similar problems as this? I think it is either
1. Tendonitis where the tendon connects to the ham string and sit bones
or
2. A problem with the sacroiliac joint

Cguy, to me it soudns like either tendonities or a nerve infection/inflammation. I am not a doctor, but I hve had sicatic nerve problems and your porblem sounds similar even though it may not be your sciatic nerve.

The symptoms seemed to be similar, except that my pain was more toward the back of my leg starting in the middle of my cheek and going all the way down to my toes. Sometimes very painful, esp. When I slept at night.

I also used herbs (helps a bit) meassage with herbs, helps more, but it always came back until I found this little "chiroprator in the bottle" over the internet. Its a mixture of herbs in form of essential oil that are allegedly highly charged. May that as it be, after 15 month of using it (yes a long time, but I did not use it all the time only when I could not stand the pain anymore), I finally got over whatever it was that kept inflaming my nerve. This year I only had a couple of bouts. I just a couple of drops of it and within literally minutes the pain disappeard.

Hope you find something like that too.

If you'd like to know what I use, send me a pm and i'll share. I don't want to sound like a salewoman here, but it really helped. I don't want to be without it.

One other thing that helps me is walking backwards for about 5-10 minutes a couple of times a day. It seemed to relieve some of the pressure.

Try it, may it is for you as well.

Again good luck and I do feel with you.

Thanks for your reply and others for kind and helpful emails. I have tried some herbs before from a couple of different chinese medicine practitioners. Ironically, I have found the most relief recently by sitting on a heating pad in my car during commutes. Also, I have been walking and taking yoga to stretch out the buttocks and hamstring area. I still can't quite figure out what the problem is (neither can my docs) but i'm making some slow progress. I still get an aching pain around the "sit bones" when I sit and a rashy feeling in that area. Its been over two years now and when I look back to the time that I couldn't sit without extreme discomfort to today where I can sit with moderate discomfort, I think my body is healing itself gradually. Not sure if i'll ever be 100% pain free when sitting. This is difficult for me since I have never had a medical condition before and have always thought myself as a healthy person.

Thanks for the replies and if anyone else has additional thoughts, please let me know.

Thanks.

I appreciate your feedback. I don't think it is the sciatic nerve because the pain I feel when I sit is primarily situated around the sit bones themselves. More and more, I think the problem is where the sit bones connect to the hamstrings. This is a depressing thought, but as a chronic sufferer, and with the lack of diagnosis and thousands of dollars spent, I am becomming convinced I will just live with this for the rest of my life.

Inflammation of the bursa that separates the gluteus maximus muscle of the buttocks from the underlying bony prominence of the bone that we sit on, the ischial tuberosity. Ischial bursitis is a form of bursitis that is usually caused by prolonged sitting on hard surfaces that press against the bones of the bottom or mid-buttocks.


Cotisone shot sometime helps.

Acupucture helps.


Jun song
edit

wow, I have exactly what you are describing. Gets worse as the day goes on for me also. No one in 2 years has been able to figure it out. The only "cure" i've found is not sitting. I sit in front of a computer all day so it's mighty difficult. Squishy, mushy chairs are the worst as they push up in there and really cause some heavy duty pain.

I don't have much to contribute unless you'd like the long, long list of things that have been discounted. :)

~telengard

I would be interested in what has not worked for you.

well, over the past 2 years it's gone from unbearable to moderate. If I watch where I sit and how long I can make it through a day ok. Firm and hard seats are much better for me than soft squishy ones. I was in a car accident and have had problems w/ my si joint.

The burning across the upper thigh/buttocks near the sit bones seems to be a different issues.

3 rounds of pt focusing on stretching hamstrings, itb, abs, you name it did now help. Ultrasound hasn't. Massages help a little but it doesn't last. Ice seems to help a little also. I've pretty much run out of ideas. Every Dr. I've been to is baffled that it's not any of the usual things like sciatica/disks/etc.

So far not sitting or sitting on a very firm surface are the only things that are tolerable. I've also found after drinking wine the pain is less. :)

~brian

Hi, I am new to this forum. I am 50 and have had back and joint problems all my life. Even had ruptured disk and surgery for it over 10 years ago, now have two more disks rupturing; but have learned to live with those symptoms even when they really flare up. Also have arthritis in neck, fingers, ? Elsewhere. But, about 5 months ago I had the most excrutiating pain and burning "on the butt bone" area. I was at a total loss as to what this could be. A physical therapist told me it was most likely ischial tuberosity bursitis initial flare-up. Well it subsided a bit, but it is a daily painful problem. I also sit at computer all day. I have a relaxobak cushion at work, but it really doesn't help. I also have super strength motrin that doesn't touch that particular pain. I was told I could have steroids, but am very hesitant to do that just yet. I had spinal injections before surgery and they only helped for a matter of weeks!!

I'm not sure if it matters what "physique" your body type is, but i'm 5'4", always relatively thin at 120 pounds, have kind of loose floppy skin type especially the past few years, and no "fat" left on my butt lately.

It is the most stressful, painful, and embarrassing thing I have ever had to deal with health wise. I have always been very active when not sitting at my job (not an athlete); just always on the move. I wish I had some advice to give, but am also at wits end dealing with doctors and therapy, etc. Exercises are very slow to help as given the fact that I am now sitting 40 hours a week (literally; no break but for bathroom, lunch; not getting up all day) how can one figure enough "recuperation time" with either exercise, rest, meds, to compensate for all that sit time in a given week??

I have found that a wheelbarrow innertube has a perfect size opening to relieve pressure on the ischial busa. Use it for everything you sit on to lessen pain. I used to do a lot of hamstring stretching exercises which I should never have stopped doing, but my massage therapist (get a good one) will start me back on them after I get the ok from a sports clinic. Hope the innertube idea helps!

Are you guys still around? I have something similar. Never thought it was sciatic nerve. Mine stays in the butt.

For a long time, I thought it was piriformis syndrome. Then I thought pudendal nerve. Now i'm thinking ischial bursitis. Got mri in 97, went to several neuro's, ortho's, chiro's, masseuses, and one acupuncturist.....To no avail. The last masssage therapist found it, pressed on it, and it was way worse for 4 months.
The last ortho told me to just be glad I can walk!!
Hunh?
Yeah, look doc, I know that there are people worse off than me, but that could be said for probably 99% of the patients you see, so why would I pay you $250 to tell me I should be happy with what i've got???

I rode bicycles 4 days a week, 100-250 miles each week for 16 years. Rode through the discomfort for nine years, then gave it up for varying periods, then finally gave it up completely about two years ago. It's worse than ever, and is now on both sides instead of just one.

I agree about the inner tube. I used my mom's toilet seat raiser in the car,which is a very uncomfortable place for me. The riser didn't help. But I always thought that a toilet seat type bike saddle would have been the best.

I take ibuprofen for 1-2 days a month when I have menstrual cramps. I have never noticed any relief from the butt pain when I take it, so I see no reason to be on daily anti-inflamm's and screw up my intestines.

The physical therapy seems like a long, drawn out and ineffective solution.
I'm not one of those women who says i'm active when I really mean "involved in many non-physical things". I'm not just busy. I was jogging 3x/week, and riding 4 days a week when this started. And i've been working out with weights in gyms for the last 20 years. Physical therapy is my whole life. Why should I pay someone to have me do more of what I already do?

My wife shares many of the symptoms described by cguy and has done for almost the last two years since having a hysterectomy. I was wondering if any body here had any advice that they could give us or tell us where to go for more information?

Thanks,

gavin

Well, I was just diagnosed with a sacral nerve (s1) compression from a bulging disk. I have numbness in part of my foot, leg weakness and it feels like my calf muscle has a pull. I asked my doc if this could also be related to my butt pain and he said most likely not, but it can't be ruled out.

Appreciate your reply cguy. We thought that we may have been too late, given the orginal date of your posting.

My wife doesn't seem to have any problems with her lower spine from her surgery. She has pain at the top of her inner thighs, beneath the crease of her buttocks and localized to an area near her ischael tuberosities. Just under the arch of bone like you she experiences pain/pressure/prickly/rashy burning in these areas plus occasionally a pulling sensation.

What research lead you to believe that your problem is related to the muscles and tendons that connect to the ischael tuberosities to the hamstrings? Would you have any online or journal references that you could point us to?

We're not sure if its tendonitis or bursitis in that area. Could the ligaments that pass from the ischial tuberosities up to the sacrum be involved? Is that a possible source for your own leg and butt pain?

Many thanks,

gavin

Just following up my last posting for this topic. I hope I didn't scare away cguy with too many questions. It's just that after two years of various treatments and (mis)diagnoses we're getting to the end of our tether. We would very much appreciate any information you could give us no matter how much you were able to give us about the cause of your buttock and thigh pain. Or your experiences with treatment.

Has anyone else experinced chronic pain/pressure/prickly/rashy burning in the inner thighs and lower buttocks? We'd be very keen to hear from you.

Many thanks,

gavin

I've had this same pain for over 10 years now. It started on my right side and lately i've een noticing on the left side too. My pain is directly on the inside of the ischael tuberosity bone. One pt I had diagnozed it as bursitis and recommended ice and stretching. I've done a lot of gardening and bending over really tweaks this condition. I also did some running, walking, hiking and rock climbing - all which really work that hamstring area. The pain feels similar to pushing a finger into the flesh. There is numbness and I change sitting positions often, trying to get some relief. I have had two cortisone shots which gave me about two weeks free of any pain. Lately i've noticed that sitting is getting more painful. Ibuprophin has helped some, sitting on ice packs and stretching gives limited relief. I've been to pt and a top spine doctor. Your stories are all familiar to me. One pt therapist had me doing exercises which just made the inflamation worse. Xrays don't show anything and I am scheduled for an mri saturday. The wheelbarrow inner tube sounds interesting as just today I was trying to figure out how to sit at the computer without sitting directly on the ischael tuberosity area. I also have a bulging disc and am curious how the two areas might be related. Hopefully my pain in the butt doc will come up with an answer.

Flowergirl1965 thanks for replying. That sounds terrible and so familiar, and to suffer chronic pain for over 10 years as well. It takes a real toll and impacts on enjoying any kind of normal life. Did you have any trauma or surgery prior to the pain occuring?

A couple of physiatrists gave up on my wife after a string of treatments. The last referred her to a spine physio who this week "diagnosed" her to have si (sacroiliac) joint instability through lax ligaments between her sacrum and pelvis. That this could be a possible cause of her pelvic floor spasming, overtight thigh/hamstring mucles and butt pain. It's similiar to what cguy described for his condition. The physio recommended some home exercises and that my wife should wear a si belt. In addition, she recommended a course of prolotheraphy at their practice. The injections may help tighten and heal her si ligaments. But we're not convince of the effective of this. It's not mainstream medicine and the few studies that have been done are inconclusive. Have you had any experience of this? It could be that lower back problems and butt/leg pain are related where the ligaments don't stabilize the pelvis and the adjacent muscles try to compensate for this.

Let us know how you get on with your pain in the butt doc. Hopefully a fresh prespective for you. We'd be interested to hear of what you learn from them.

I have been reading about the dontigny technique for the correction of a partial dislocation of the si joint. Not sure if it would be of use to my wife, but will research further (http://www.Kalindra.Com for his faq and a couple of pdf documents on the technique).

His home program document has an interesting diagram of how he would use a cushion to decrease weight on the ischael tuberosities (its) while sitting. You place a small cushion under the upper thighs, back to and under the its. This takes the weight off of them and rotates the pelvis to the rear, increasing self-bracing. Could be worth trying.

So three years later, I think I may have finally figured out what my problem is. I developed numbness in my foot and my sit pain got worse. I just had an mri of my back and it looks like the first sacral nerve root may be my problem, not pne. Here's the mri result. I always thought this problem was in my pelvis somewhere.....

I'm talking to my doc about this....

If anyone has had a similar experience with the first sacral nerve root, please let me know.

Thanks.


Mr: lumbar spine

clinical history: sciatica right lower extremity for 3-1/2 weeks.
Rule out herniated disk,

technique: sagittal tl spin density and t2 scans obtained of the
lumbosacral spine. Axial tl and t2 images cover levels l3 to sl.

Findings: no comparison.
L1-2, l2-3/ l3-4: negative.

L4-5: early disk degeneration. Small central bulge or protrusion
with focal increased t2 signal, consistent with an annular tear. This
slightly effaces the ventral thecal sac though there is no significant
mass effect. The central canal and neural foramina are normal.

L5-s1: disk degeneration with mild disk bulging. Small broad-based
central disk herniation focally more prominent along the right
paracentral disk margin, where the disk herniation contacts and
effaces the perineural fats surrounding the proximal right sl nerve
root, which is mildly displaced. Request correlation regarding right
sl radiculopathy. While the left sl nerve root contacts the posterior
border of the disk, there is no mass effect. The neural foramina are
normal. This level is otherwise negative.

The lumbar vertebrae and facets align normally. No compression
fracture or pars defect. The conus appears normal.

Impression:

1. Mild disk bulging l5-s1 with a small broad-based central disk herniation focally more prominent along the right paracentral margin.
Here, the disk contacts the right sl nerve root which is mildly displaced and there is obscuration of the perineural fat. Request correlation regarding right sl radiculopathy.

2. Small central disk bulge or protrusion at l4-5 with an annular tear. No significant mass effect.

3. Otherwise, negative.