Welcome to the "Pain in the Butt" club! I'm no doctor
or physio. It doesn't sound like arthritis to me. Does
an anti-flammatory drug like aspirin reduce the pain
so you can sit? If so - maybe you have some
inflammation.

And pain from sitting or standing in one place is not
specific enough to make a Piriformis Syndrome
diagnosis. There is a simple manual exam a physio can
do to determine if you have a Piriformis problem.

Unfortunately, your kind of pain is extremely hard to
diagnose. Normal test results suggest to me the origin
of your problem is probably musclular. There is
probably a muscle imbalance problem somewhere in your
pelvis. Could be anything. Once something gets out of
whack, other muscles compensate & eventually you end
up with chronic pain somewhere. Falls frequently start
off a problem - like the tailbone is moved slightly
out of position, then "the dominoes start to fall".

Finding someone who can figure out the problem & treat
it is uncommon. Most of us go from one practioner to
another looking for relief. In my humble opinion, your
best bet is a physio with exceptional manual skills &
advanced training in manual work.

I'm really frustrated with the limited training &
treatment techniques most physios (PTs in the US)
have.

A starting point is to find a physio who has at least
10 yrs experience doing Myofascial Release Therapy &
has a good understanding of the biomechanics of the
pelvis.

I have been seeing a PT who uses the techniques of
Integrative Manual Therapy & other manual techniques.
And have finally found someone who can analyze &
slowly peel away the layers of complex pain. But it
only took 25 years to find her.

Anyway, Dr. Sharon (Weiselfish) Giammatteo developed
the IMT techniques. I think she taught seminars in
Germany. She might be able to recommend someone in
England. I don't know. You might be able to contact
her through some of the e-mail addresses found on
http://www.centerimt.com/education.asp
If you are interested in these techniques, see
http://www.centerimt.com/WhatisCenterimt.asp
There is a long description there. Scroll down to the
sections on Low Back and Hip Pain.

My therapist has not recommended any of the
nutritional supplements or psychological stuff
mentioned on the website. Which is great because I
think nutritional supplements is just a way for
practitioners to get patients to part with more money.

The "proof " in the pudding is the SKILL of the
therapist & the effectiveness of the techniques.

I hope this helps a little. Good luck in your search
for help. Mary

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