lower back pain radiating to hip and knee

Dear Lori,
The big question is whether the pain in your hip and knee is coming from your back, or do you have separate hip and knee issues.

Scenario 1
You have early degenerative change in the knee; this is consistent with the feeling that the it's beginning to 'lock up', and with a BMI 29.6 you are on the verge of obesity. Banish the word 'diet' from your vocabulary, and learn the meaning of 'glycemic index'. It's the only way to simply and permanently lose weight. You need to do this anyway, as middle age spread is associated with a host of far more serious diseases than knee arthritis. Talk a brisk walk every lunch time.

Scenario 2
You have either early hip arthritis, or a number of conditions such as an impingement syndrome, dysplasia or meralgia paresthetica, trochanteric bursitis to mention a few. Do you have a family history of hip disease? Every morning before getting out of bed, pull your knee to the chest and then gently rotate it. Do these hurt in the groin? Is it painful in the lotus position? A careful and thorough examination is needed up front. Sleep with a pillow between your knees.

Scenario 3
You have a sacroiliac joint condition; it is intimately tied up with the lower back and the hip, with a chicken and egg scenario; fixations in the SIJ can certainly cause buttock, side of hip, and groin pain radiating towards the knee.

Scenario 4
The most serious is that you have a femoral nerve impingement, radiating from the lower back and down the leg towards the knee and inner lower leg. It's a condition that chiropractors are intimately involved with every day, I treated three yesterday, but every one is potentially difficult and serious; more surgery lurks if your chiropractor isn't successful. It means a serious commitment to lower back exercises every morning before getting out of bed, less sitting and bending, no vacuum cleaner and moving beds and making the time to go for chiropractic care; you have to slow down and you may need to stop for a few weeks; but less than if you go for surgery.

The bigger picture, Lori, is that you have to start taking your body seriously; making time for it; if you don't look after yourself, you won't be able to help others. You need to start eating healthily, avoid fast foods, and getting a lot more exercise. The alternative is too ghastly to contemplate; I won't spell it out as I think you know what I mean.

Start with our lower back exercises EVERY morning before getting out of bed, take a short walk every day, and look to include at least eight coloured foods in your diet daily.

Using the site search function at Chiropractic Help you can get a lot more information about the various terms used above.

It's not that difficult; our eggs Florentine that we enjoy for breakfast every morning has three or four; half way there.

Good luck, I hope this contributes. Do it!

Dr Barrie Lewis