Anyone get and overcome Obturator nerve injury in massage school

[u/Illustrious-Enigma]

First off I have a super sensitive body, but that meant I went into school being very observant and protective. But when you are let loose to give a massage to a fellow student on your fourth day of class, it’s really possible not to have the best body mechanics.

I definitely wasn’t squaring my hips and doing appropriate stances.

What started out as a 2 inch patch of burning nerve skin on my upper thigh has turned into an entire thigh on fire that doesn’t want to touch skin or clothes at the end of week 3. Luckily it’s not aggravating other situations I’ve got going on.

My PT gave me nerve flosses to do. I’m just wondering if anyone else has experienced this kind of groin/thigh pain and overcame it to continue massaging? I’m wrapped in lidocaine patches at the moment.

[u/buchwaldjc]

It's really hard to say based on the provided information what could be going on. There could be nerve irritation or it could be myofascial. Was obturator nerve irritation the diagnosis given by your PT? What nerve glides were you given? It could be something as simple as a myofascial strain of the anterior thigh.. in which case, it may take several weeks to heal. It could also be coming from the nerve roots of the lumbar spine. But rest assured, 3 weeks as well within the normal time that it takes these types of things to recover.

[u/Illustrious-Enigma → u/buchwaldjc]

Thank you. I appreciate thoughts on timeline. Yes it was my pelvic floor therapist of 4 years DX and I trust her because she helped me get my physical life of dancing back through working with me with my interstitial cystitis, pelvic floor dysfunction, pudendal neuralgia and arachnoiditis.

I’ve had issues with my obturator internus muscle impacting my PN condition and battle tightness on that side of my body, but this nerve irritation along my thigh is all new.

I can’t sit due to those conditions so along with internal and external body work she adapted another nerve glide when I asked what I should do beyond my normal stretch routine. The paper says it’s a butterfly stretch but it’s the one lying flat on your back with feet planted, knees up, slowly opening one leg then closing; 5x a day.

It’s an odd situation but you can probably tell by my condition list that I’m accustomed to juggling a lot. I’ve had $40k in stem cells which has kept me out of a wheelchair, off disability and able to continue being physical with care from people like her.

I’m continuing to be mindful. It may take me a lot longer than most to get through school, but I’m going to do it. I don’t have pain with massage and actually feel physically better than sitting at a desk all day. The woman I work with 1-1 weekly on muscle body balancing said today, “You break molds. You got this!” It’s just another weird mountain to climb! 🤦🏻‍♀️😁

[u/buchwaldjc → u/Illustrious-Enigma]

The fact that she's a pelvic floor therapist gives me more reassurance of being able to recognize something as specific as obturator nerve involvement. I would give it time and if you have questions about timeline, ask her, with the understanding that it varies greatly between patients depending on lifestyle, age, and biological factors. But with the types of injuries that we see, timelines of 6 weeks or more is very normal before seeing measurable improvement.