I've been going around in circles trying to find resolution for a condition that has persisted for some time. I am a male, early thirties, otherwise healthy. My chief complaint is that I experience a bilateral (equal on both sides) burning sensation in the general area of my groin, the inner thighs, buttocks, and the back of the legs approximately down to the knees. This burning occurs more or less at all times but is aggravated when the buttocks and legs are in contact with a surface -- e.g., when I am sitting in a chair, or laying down on my back. Sitting is much worse to the point that if I am not sitting on a cushion it gets unbearable after awhile. I have an "ice pack cushion" which can be cooled down in the fridge over night that I use to sit on. If I sit down on this, I more or less don't even notice the burning feeling. But, of course, I can't use that at all times. An example is a conference I had to attend where I was seated all day long, and the burning feeling in the back of my thighs just became unbearable by midday. If I were sitting and I stood up and, say, knelt down on my knees for 10-15 minutes, the burning feeling in the legs would more or less disappear. It generally feels "warm" in the immediate area of the groin at all times, but I think this may be due to the fact that the inner thighs are essentially in contact with that area, and thus "warming" it up constantly with no chance to "cool off" like the back of my legs would do if I were standing or kneeling.
I do not characterize the burning as necessarily "painful" in the sense that it does not cause acute pain. It is essentially just quite uncomfortable and gets worse and worse the longer that I sit down. It is bothersome because the skin gets very hot. I can't really compare it to anything and unfortunately can't describe it any better. It's not "sitting on a stove burner" hot, but it sometimes feels like it's getting into that neighborhood!
From reading about PN/E symptoms and the conditions in general, I do not have any sexual or urinary problems, or any issues with bowel control. Sitting on a donut cushion does not seem to help at all. Sitting on the toilet does seem to relieve the burning as near as I can tell, although since the toilet seat is generally cold, that may be part of it.
I have been diagnosed with pelvic floor dysfunction as the muscles in the area are significantly contracted to the point where they are extremely tight and are going into spasm. I also have general tightness in seemingly all other nearby muscles, such as the Piriformis, glute muscles, hamstrings, etc. This may have developed in part due to chronic sitting at work for very long periods of time and also weightlifting routines emphasizing squatting motions.
It seems at least possible that these tight and/or spastic muscles are the root cause of my issue. What I do not understand at this point is necessarily the "why"; that is, why would tightened muscles cause the overall burning feeling? And then it is a matter of how to loosen the muscles. Nothing has worked so far. I'm also worried about going down this road and possibly it not leading to a resolution, just because I've been sidetracked by previous diagnoses that were seemingly incorrect and led to many months of chasing after something that apparently could not have been the root cause at all.
If anyone has knowledge or experience with these specific issues that I have described, do you have any suggestions for what to investigate? Any help or input is appreciated very much. Thank you and good luck and best wishes to all!
