I have just turned 51 and I live a moderately active life. I’m certainly not a gym bunny, but I have three energetic dogs, so I get my steps in every day. For the past 20 years, I’ve had quite a sedentary job involving lots of auditing and training, but in the past couple of years, I’ve moved into education and can sometimes double my steps during work days.

I do enjoy swimming, but to be honest, after having this issue, I’ve been a bit concerned about going back to it-but I’ll explain why a bit later.

A couple of years ago, I started suffering from hip pain. Like many people, I foolishly ignored it, thinking it would eventually go away. The pain was a numbing ache-the kind where you just want your hip to “crack,” but it never did. I became really grumpy and generally down. I’ve suffered from depression in the past, but never due to pain that never went away.

My dog walks became shorter, I started walking with a limp, and was continuously rubbing my left hip. I stopped going on bike rides, and driving became uncomfortable, especially over long distances. Nothing made the pain go away.

It began affecting my family life. I had given up my career so I could be a proper mum to my daughter, and now I had turned back into this muttering, miserable person.

I finally booked a doctor’s appointment and, after two months, I saw their local osteopath, who was quite dismissive. They had me bending and stretching and then announced that I was fine and just needed to stretch it out. I thought, well, they’re a medical professional-maybe I’m just getting old and a bit overweight-but I was in constant, nagging pain. It felt like a waste of time. I thought, This is something I’ll have to live with now.

A couple of months later, I took my husband away for his 50th and my daughter for her 10th birthdays, and we had a weekend in Paris. We averaged 25,000 steps a day and even had to climb down the Eiffel Tower. But the pain overshadowed everything. I felt sick, miserable, and exhausted. Sitting was as painful as standing, and lying down was awful.

At one point, I even climbed onto my daughter’s climbing bars to hang upside down (knees hooked over a rung) just to stretch the joint. Thankfully my husband was there to help me down. The pain was unbearable-there was no relief at all-but I was desperate.

Still in great pain and feeling very depressed, I went back to the doctor. I was prescribed Naproxen and was booked in to see their osteopath again. I mentally punched the air when I was told they were away and that I’d be seen by a different osteopath instead. They also referred me for an X-ray while I waited.

I remember “Sam” looking at my X-rays-they were clear. He had me stretch, lie down, and move my legs in different ways. Then he said, “Have you ever heard of Greater Trochanteric Pain Syndrome?”

Do what now? Nope.

He showed me some diagrams, explained it, and referred me immediately for physiotherapy. He advised me to stay on painkillers.

The day my life began to change:
My first physio session with Jade - I just sat there in tears. I was so depressed, and the pain felt relentless. She emailed me a selection of exercises to do every day or every other day, along with a chart to tick off my progress. She also used a TENS machine on my hip during that session.

I actually had a TENS machine at home, so I continued using it alongside the exercises. Oh WOW-those exercises hurt. I’m not kidding. But I figured out a routine that helped and kept going.

At the next session, Jade had me demonstrate the exercises and was able to correct some of my technique. Then she used a massage gun on the area-what sweet relief that was. She showed me the model she used, and I was able to buy one at a reasonable price to use at home.

I kept doing the exercises, using the TENS machine and massage gun, and each time I saw her, my pain score went down and down.

I tried using a hot water bottle, which I will never use again-it inflamed it terribly. But I appreciate we're all different; what works for one doesn’t work for another. Cool packs worked for me.

After a few more sessions (we had them around every 3 weeks) -just before I moved out of the area-I had an ultrasound session too, which certainly “livened it up.” But overall, the TENS, massage, and exercises helped tremendously. They didn’t cure it completely-I still get the occasional painful day-but now I can manage it. I came off the painkillers after 4 sessions and will use Ibuprofen if needed but I am not one for tablets/pills.

At work, I can be seen doing a couple of exercises-like the swinging circle toe-point one, or a few chair squats-just to loosen things up.

I’ve just turned 51, moved to Devon, and I can now take daily barefoot walks on the beach with my dogs for over an hour at a time. I never dreamed I’d be able to do that this time last year.

I want to start swimming again, but I’m still nervous about slippery areas and whether my hip will fully support me. But I’ve booked a session-with my daughter-for next week.

Thanks to Jade, I’ve been able to rebuild me and be a mum again.

Miranda Sparkes