There is sometimes locking & popping without pain, but it's really bad when there is pain too.

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Earlyriser, I don't think the problem is adhesions. The doctor pointed out what has seemed logical to me all along: that the locking is a mechanical problem, and that rules out things like bursitis and (I'm guessing) adhesions. The doctor I saw said that the arthroscopic surgery done to treat labral tears of the hip is still very new, and that if I could manage on NSAID's that would be best. That's exactly how I feel, but I'm a little frustrated that more is not known about this problem. I'm wondering why I should even bother with the MRI's if I'm not going to do anything different. I guess it would be wise to have a definitive diagnosis, if only to rule out more serious conditions.

Meanwhile, I've had another attack of severe pain in my left hip that started just as the pain was almost completely gone. Lying in bed, I began pushing the area with my fingers and thumb to see if I could feel anything. It greatly diminished the pain; leading me to believe that this particular pain was muscular, resulting from the stress of the preceding weeks. I am sooo ready for all of this to go away!

On the positive side, my insurance plan has pre-approved both MRI's and the hospital where my doctor wants them done. Now I just have to find a morning or afternoon when I can do it.

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I can only relate a recent event for myself. And I use a chiropractor too. What he found yesterday was a multitude of trigger points and had the massage therapist really work on them. When you mentioned about pushing at the painful area with some relief I thought of trigger points. Sometimes several conditions can occur at the same time.

That's exactly what I think is going on. The initial problem is most likely a labral tear (or two, one in each hip), and when the medication is lifted, the reaction to the pain is what causes more pain.

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