New runner with Hip pain~ Help

mistyember

Any suggestions for hip flexor pain? I am new-ish to running. Working through couch to 5k but the last couple of runs (about a week apart due to a vacation and wanting to rest after the pain started), I have had some right hip pain, in buttocks and shooting into my groin, to the point that I have to slow to a walk, and even then I hurt. It sucks because I was just getting to the point where I can run a full 3 miles without much walking at all. I am assuming it is my hip flexor, and have been stretching, and am now icing following any exercise, but I dont want to have to stop!!!!! Please help!

BeachGingerOnTheRocks

That sounds like bursitis. Ibuprofen will help with it. You might need to ease up for a couple of days to let the inflammation go down a little.

I get it all the time, not just from running.

wolfgate

Possibly ITBS, centered in the hip as well. The iliotibial band runs from on the outside of the leg from the hip to the knee. It passes over a bursa in the knee for certain, and IIRC one in the hip. Hip flexor pain tends to be high on the front of the hip/thigh. ITBS pain, which in the hip is often a duller spreading pain, can start in the buttocks and work it's way around.

So everything below is purely speculative that it is ITBS as I obviously can't tell from here. But nothing below will hurt to do anyways and will help with prevention even if it is not.

Several things can cause ITBS. One of those is wearing shoes that either allow you to over-pronate or cause you to supinate. Over pronation simply means your foot rolls in to far as your body passes over it Supination is it doesn't roll in far enough. Were you fitted for shoes at a running specialty store that analyzed your gait? If not that is the first place I would start as the wrong shoes can contribute to a whole laundry list of running problems.

Weak glutes can contribute. Lying side leg raises is a classic strengthener for that as well.

A tight ITB can contribute. You can google ITB stretches and get a couple.

Overtraining can contribute, but if you're doing C25K it is likely something else and not simply overtraining.

Having said all that, it if is ITBS or associated bursitis, you need to the let acute inflammation die down. Ibuprofen and time off is the best way. Don't worry, if you take a week or two off to heal, and you work on strengthening, stretching and shoes during that time, in a few weeks you'll be ahead of where you would have been if you didn't heal up.

thebuz

You can give the following a try. I am training for a 10K run in April and I started to get very sore hips after an hour of resting after runs. I have been doing these exercises which focus on hips/glutes etc to strengthen those areas and it has made a big difference for me. I was at the point I could barely stand up without support after my runs. Now it's down to a dull ache. For me personally it was definitely muscle imbalance and this has helped.

Relieve Hip Pain from Running with 10 Minute Exercise Routine

Very simple exercises can cure hip pain from running. This depends on why running has caused your hip pain in the first place. Hip pain from running can develop from different mechanisms. I'm a certified personal trainer, and I cured my hip pain, that was caused by running, with a 10-minute exercise program.
I'm not saying these exercises will cure the hip pain in every runner. However, these gentle exercises certainly won't harm you in any way, either. It will help if I tell you where my hip pain was located.

If you look at muscle anatomy you will see that a muscle called the tensor fasciae latae connects to the pelvis bone. A muscle called the iliacus also connects to the pelvic bone. Where these connections are, is where my pain was.

The pain was not relieved with decreased running frequency, slower running, or taking time off from running.

But it most certainly did respond to the following exercises, and work both sides, even though only one hip has pain:

Hip extension on all fours. On all fours, extend one leg back behind you, lifting it high so that foot goes well above butt height, but keep the leg fairly straight (not perfectly straight, but almost straight).

Hold it there for a solid second, then bring back to past original position so that knee is ahead of the support knee, then extend the leg back behind you again. Do 8 repetitions each side. Then repeat again at any time during the session.

Hip abduction on all fours. Picture a male dog lifting a leg to relieve itself. Lift your thigh out to the side so that the thigh is parallel with floor, leg bent at knee at 90 degrees. Your thigh should be perpendicular to your trunk. Hold for one second, then return to start. Do 8 reps each side.

Lie on back, legs straight. Pull one knee towards chest so that you feel a stretch in the opposite hip area, where the leg merges into the pelvis. Hold 30 seconds. Switch legs. Do two sets each leg.

Standing external hip rotation. Place hands on something for balance and stand straight. Lift one knee in front of yourself like a high march. Then bring knee out to the side, so that thigh is perpendicular to trunk.

Leg is bent at 90 degrees the entire time. Bring back to original high march position. Do not set foot down; keep rotating knee outward, then back inward. Do 8 sets each side -- twice.

Standing hip rotation. Stand with feet shoulder width apart, hands on hips. Rotate hips five times in one direction, then in the other direction. The motion is similar to that of doing the hula hoop, except it is much slower, to get a good stretch all the way around.

Standing hip extension. Place hands on something for support. Stand straight. Lift one knee up and extend leg out behind you. It's okay to lean forward to allow this motion. This exercise is similar to "hip extension on all fours." Do 8 reps each leg.

It will take 8-10 minutes to complete these exercises. Do them once or twice a day (I did mine once a day).

I began doing these exercises for a few days before I decided to resume running, and noticed that the hip pain afterwards wasn't as bad as it had been. I wondered if I had finally come upon a solution to my hip pain.

After every running session, I performed these exercises. And sure enough, there were immediate results in the ensuing days. On non-running days, you still must do these exercises. Don't do them before running; do them after running. I regained my running speed free of pain.

This problem may have been caused by stiff soft tissue in the hip; fast running speeds brought on my hip pain, and eventually even slow speeds would bring it on. The exercises loosened everything up and improved blood circulation. I never iced my hip, by the way.


Published by Jillita Horton