Woke in middle of the night with a shooting pain just below left hip on outside of my leg.can hardly walk this morning. have i pulled a muscle ?

May be : It might be a muscular pain, bursitis or nerve pain.

See your doctor: Problems like these can only be correctly handled by your doctor in person. He/she needs to listen to you, perform an examination and possibly run labs or other tests. That's the only way he/she can find out what's going on and what to do about it.

Muscle vs bursa: A common pain on the outside of the hip is trochanteric bursitis. It is an inflamed sac of fluid, and it responds well to local steroid injection. But treatment depends on how long it ha been there. Start with topical ice, rest, and anti-inflammatories (if your doctor allows this). A pulled muscle usually occurs from some physical act, which is less likely in your sleep.

See you physician: There are several things that might cause these symptoms; for example, si joint pain can be experienced in the hip and leg, s1 nerve root inflammation can do the same, a herniated disc might cause it and, of course, trochanteric bursitis. The good news is, each of these conditions is treatable once a diagnosis has been established. If you do have bursitis, i would add a daily stretching program.