Hip pain in middle of the night; dull ache that wakes me up. What could it be?

Hi Sweetangie,
I will assume you were the "anonymous commenter" above. If you are experiencing back and now hip pains and you think there is no association to your pregnancy, I would certainly make a doctor's appointment as soon as possible.

As with any pain issue, it may start in one place and end up hurting several other places. For example, if your ankle hurts and you favor one leg over the other when walking, this can cause knee, hip, back issues, etc. I would certainly get a check up about your pain since you have been dealing with it for some time.

Keep us posted on what the doctor tells you.
Good luck, Missie

well i have been to the doctor lots about my back, but its not that serious enuff to do anything for it, and no I have not talked with my doctor about this hip pain. I am thinking at my next doctors appt. I should talk with her about it, just in case cause it may be a serious problem from the other comments I have read on this site

Hi Anonymous,
Have you been to a doctor? What did the doctor tell you?

Thank you for the additional information.
Missie

I am only 31 years old, I am pregnant, but I know this is not from being pregnant, as I had this pain way before I got pregnant. I have the same hip pain, at night or when ever I am lying down. Its both hips, I change sides only to be woken up again with pain in my hip, my other side I changed to sleep on. I do have back problems, and possibly a pinched nerve somewhere. But I am at my wits end in trying to get any sleep at night. I have not had a good nights sleep in over four years. Any suggestions about what this could possibly be, would help, thank you

Hi,

I'm male, but suffer from this and found this thread through Google. I found earlier in the thread some references to Youtube videos by DrGeorge. I found one in particular that worked immediately for me. First, I watched the DrGeorge video that determined sciatia or piriformis. After determining mine is piriformis, I found this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFtUgS69rPk&feature=related and found relief with these two simple stretches. m

I too am 36 nearly 37. I have had this pain for quite a few months but today it is really really bad where even my knee feels numb and i am so tired. If i rub my hand on my right hip i can feel a burning pain. i am at the doctors tomorrow but i do not hold my breath as they are not always good with diagnosis.

I am not overwieght and have recently lost 1 stone (I had the problems before the weight loss too)

At least its nice to know i am not alone.

I'm a 36 year old woman. I am looking online after another poor night's sleep. I run, I do weight-training, but I also sit at a desk all day. I'm not overweight and I've had two kids, but they are 11 and 14. My hips ache all day but not bad enough for me to notice until I try to go to sleep.
There are several factors I have found. One is that if I keep my office chair high enough for my wrists to comfortably type, my legs dangle. I'm 5'6", so it's not like I'm short. I found an empty box to put my feet on and I feel some relief right now from having my knees up higher. I am using my firm meditation cushion as a lumbar support right now. It's making me sit straighter. I also am starting to use my yoga strap to keep my shoulders back. I don't wear the strap all day but it's a gentle reminder when I notice myself slouching. A co-worker showed me how to use the strap to keep my shoulders straight. She learned this method after she was hurt by a chiropractor. (I think chiropractors are great- but just like anyone else, there are not so good ones out there.) I wish I could explain how to wrap the strap because it really helps.
I think my sitting is making my problem worse, but I don't think it's the cause. I also think I need a new mattress, but again I doubt it's the root cause. One of my favorite aspects of weight-lifting is paying attention to my muscles and joints as I move the weights. Over the years I have learned to isolate sensations in my body but this achiness is hard to describe. I think I may have overstretched a few weeks ago. I think I'm either out of alignment or have bursitis. I certainly hope it's nothing more, but after reading this column I am considering calling a doctor, but I don't have money for this right now. :(
Good luck everyone and I hope you find a good night's sleep!

Thank you to the previous "anon" posters, as this information is truly helpful in guiding women towards possible solutions and diagnoses to discuss with their doctors.

Take care,
Alison Beaver
EmpowHER Moderator

I had the same problem. I have dealt with pain in my left hip and leg. I have not had a full nights rest in years. Last week I had a hysterectomy due to uncontrollable pelvic pain and bleeding as a result of endometriosis. As soon as I woke up from surgery, I felt relief in my hip. My doctor said that the endometriosis was very bad on my left side and the cause of my hip pain. Wish I had known this sooner.

I get this same pain, and I am a runner as well as yoga enthusiast. It is likely that your hips are out of alignment, or that you overpronate on one or both of your feet. I over pronate on my right foot, and I over compensate for it...it's a chain reaction. I have found that stretching my Quadratus lumborum greatly helps. google it, and you will see that it's a trigger muscle for the one that is aching in your hip. I wake up with this dull ache 2 to 3 times a week. I keep a tennis ball next to my bed, and just leaning against that in my hip socket seems to relieve that ache and I fall back to sleep. I take no painkillers, as regular stretching has done wonders. If you do yoga, these poses work wonders: triangle pose (for the quadratus loumborum and deep hip muscles, side angle pose, pigeon pose, lotus pose, and if you are not very experienced, childs pose and happy baby pose are easy and helpful. good luck!