Ask a doctor on the topic of General medicine

Pain in the left hip radiating down to the knee causing fear of thrombosis.

February 23, 2015 | 15,00 EUR | answered by Dr. med. Ralf Berg

Dear Sir or Madam,

Since yesterday morning, I have been experiencing a sharp pain in my left hip when walking briskly. The pain radiates slightly above the thigh towards the knee and stops around the knee area. The pain goes away after approximately 500m of walking and occurred three times yesterday and once today so far. I do not always experience it while walking (more so when I walk very briskly) and have no issues while sitting or standing, or during the rest of my walking.

I was slightly ill the week before last (without fever) and rested a bit, but was never bedridden for a whole day. In between, I always try to move my feet and legs as I am quite fearful of developing a thrombosis.

I had a very long train journey to Austria (about 10 hours) but moved at least 15-20 minutes every 3 hours, and tried to briefly stand up and regularly wiggle my legs. Since Friday, I have been relatively active again, walking around 15,000 steps a day (about 8-10 km). However, I have had very restless nights recently and I think I may have slept in an awkward position last night.

Could the pain be due to a pelvic vein thrombosis? I should also mention that I am in my mid-twenties, stopped taking the pill in January, am of normal weight, and consume very little alcohol but drink 1.5-2 liters of fluids per day.

I hope you can help me further.

Best regards.

Dr. med. Ralf Berg

Good day,

the likelihood that this is a thrombosis is low. Your lifestyle, movement, and discontinuation of the pill almost give thrombosis no chance. The pain is most likely coming from soft tissue/connective tissue or tendons that are tense or overloaded. It is also indicative that the symptoms disappear when you have "warmed up." With thrombosis, it is usually the opposite - the symptoms worsen or persist.

Additionally, pelvic vein thromboses are "large" thromboses that do not develop from just a few days of bed rest. This takes time. In conclusion, based on your description, you do not need to worry about a thrombosis.

If you are still concerned, you can ask your doctor to do a quick D-dimer test (costs around 15 euros) which will be completed in 10 minutes. If there is an existing pelvic thrombosis, it should be positive. There are also blood tests available (more expensive), but health insurance will only cover them if there is a concrete indication.