Question
Hello,

I am a 52 year old woman in excellent health (other than that condition mentioned below).

For over 2 years while training for 10K's and half marathons, I have had hip, lower back and pelvic floor pain (which I believe is pudendal neuralgia). I have recently had x-rays, an MRI and CT scan of my pelvis and hips. What I thought was just a tight psoas aggravating my hip and lower back has turned out to be hip arthritis and degenerative discs in my lumbar region.

Just this week an orthopedic hip surgeon has ordered a lumbar spine MRI. His choice of doctor next in line to handle my case is an anesthesiologist. Is that the proper doctor to review disc compression and possible nerve impingement? I want to be educated on what is going on with my spine and the nerve pain I am having all through my pelvic floor. What kind of doctor studies the spine and the connecting nerves. To me, this other doctor is assuming I will jump right into pain management through medication without fully understanding my options.

Thanks,
Kim

Answer
Hi, Kim,

About the "other doctor" -- yes, pain management is a branch of anaesthesiology -- which means covering up the problem while degeneration continues.

To understand disc degeneration and your options, read

Back Pain Terms | http://somatics.com/back_pain_terms.htm
End Chronic Back Pain | http://somatics.com/chronic_back_pain.htm

The hip joint pain follows from excessively tight muscles surrounding:  gluteals (maximus, medius, minimus), hip joint flexors, psoas, hamstrings.

Floor of the pelvis may be pudential neuralgia (a 100-dollar word for muscularly caused nerve compression) or it may be habituated contraction of the floor of the pelvis.  Either can be solved by ending habituted muscular tensions.

That's a start.  You may follow up after doing the readings.