Squats, pain in hip

MinnesotaManimal

Im getting some pretty intense pain in my left hip, just infront of the joint when I am in the bottom half of the squat movment. same pain I get if I try to do weighted decline ab work after a 20-30 minute jog, but worse. I stopped the ab work a month ago I just mentioned it because it was similar pain.

I can do body weight squat pain free, bar can tell its there, and by the time Im up to my working weight ( 145 today) it hurts like hell. and leaves me limping the rest of the day. Ive tried wider stance, narrower, different toe angle, no change in pain. its been getting worse the heavier I lift for about 2 weeks, don't recall the pain during squats before that time.

are there some stretches or other excercises that I should do to overcome this? or just grind my teeth and push through the pain?

alyssamiller77

You definitely shouldn't push through the pain. Your body is telling you that something's wrong, you need to listen. Does it feel like it's a pain in the muscles surrounding your hip or does the pain feel like it's in the joint itself. If it feels like muscle pain, my recommendation would be to back off and not stress those muscles for a week. Then come back into your squat routine slowly, starting with about half the weight you're currently doing with high reps. After a week of that then get back into full lifting. However, even then make sure you're doing a warm-up set before you start doing "heavy" sets. For my warm-up set, I usually go with half of the weight that I'll be using for my heavy sets and do high reps. Gives your muscles and joints a chance to loosen up and prepare for some hard work.

All that said, if the pain feels like it's in your joint, then I would recommend getting it checked out. Ignoring joint problems can lead to far more serious issues down the road.

tgh1914

Same here! Although yours sounds more intense; I'm not limping. I'm only squatting like once or twice a week now; trying to let things heal more.

Interested in responses.

EricMurano

See a physio! They'll know what's wrong straight away! They'll either be able to fix you then and there, give you exercises to do as homework or tell you to not to squats again.

TrainingWithTonya

It sounds like a hip flexor issue, especially since it was also instigated after a run. The hip flexor (technically the iliopsoas muscle) is used for any movement that brings the knee closer to the chest. Usually, it is a stabilizer muscle for squats, but if you damaged it then it will be really painful even as a stabilizer. I'd have it checked by a doctor and start a rehab program and skip the squats and running until it has healed.

MinnesotaManimal

Thanks for the input folks, I stopped checking back on this post after 2 days of no activity, quite supprised to see several comments now! I injured my lower back moving logs while making firewood, so I am off squats for a weeks or so anyways. But I found that by sitting on the floor with one leg straight at a time, I can press my elbow very hard into what ever muscle or connective tissue is there on the inside of the leg near the hip, its as tight as a banjo string, but if I lean into it and stretch it good a few times a day, it hurts much less during squats.

musclebuilder

Thanks for the input folks, I stopped checking back on this post after 2 days of no activity, quite supprised to see several comments now! I injured my lower back moving logs while making firewood, so I am off squats for a weeks or so anyways. But I found that by sitting on the floor with one leg straight at a time, I can press my elbow very hard into what ever muscle or connective tissue is there on the inside of the leg near the hip, its as tight as a banjo string, but if I lean into it and stretch it good a few times a day, it hurts much less during squats.

nicksolomon, you should look into investing in a foam roller for what is called self-myofascial release..It allows for soft tissue work..Its kind of like giving yourself a massage, breakdown of soft tissue adhesions and scar tissue ect..You can get them for $10-$20 bucks so they are cheap. Its like stretching/training in that you need to have a routine and stick with it to see the benefits. Roll your gluteus maximus and medius, Tensor Fascia Latae, adducters, quads, hamstrings, hip flexors, calves..Everything..Inside, outside, front, back. You can obviously do the upper body as well. There are endless vids available on line that show you how to roll effectively as well as rolling routines to follow. It is not easy and there is discomfort, especially in the beginning. At first when I would do it I would acually begin to sweat. I know people who teared up at the beginning. But as a friend I know says "it hurts so good" And I think that says it pretty well. Also have a good stretching routine as you already see it seems to be helping.

MinnesotaManimal

got a foam roller, It is painfull, hope it helps, will use it in conjunction with other stretching. I can tell already it will be nice to use when I get back into running this spring.