The greater trochanter is the outside bony “bump” on the side of the femur where it fits into the hip joint. This is the area many powerful muscles insert that move the hip. There is a bursa, essentially a thin water balloon filled with oil that covers the outside of this bony bump. This bursa prevents friction from some of the muscles that rub against this bump. Bursitis is inflammation of this balloon and is locally painful over the hip joint. This is called greater trochanteric bursitis and probably what your GP meant to say.
Spondylitis is inflammation of the spine and your GP probably misunderstood the terminology mixing bursitis with spondylitis. See https://neckandback.com/conditions/greater-trochanteric-bursitis/.
Dr. Corenman
PLEASE REMEMBER, THIS FORUM IS MEANT TO PROVIDE GENERAL INFORMATION ON SPINE ANATOMY, CONDITIONS AND TREATMENTS. TO GET AN ACCURATE DIAGNOSIS, YOU MUST VISIT A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL IN PERSON.
Donald Corenman, MD, DC is a highly-regarded spine surgeon, considered an expert in the area of neck and back pain. Trained as both a Medical Doctor and Doctor of Chiropractic, Dr. Corenman earned academic appointments as Clinical Assistant Professor and Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and his research on spine surgery and rehabilitation has resulted in the publication of multiple peer-reviewed articles and two books.
