New Runner - hip issues

ReadyToBeMeAt160
ReadyToBeMeAt160 Posts: 149 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi all -
I'm working my way through the C25K. I'm currently on week 7 (15 minutes of continuous "running" - although for me right now "running" = 4.5mph).

Either way I've noticed a lot of hip pain after running - especially today. I mentioned it at my yearly physical and had an x-ray done. It doesn't seem to be skeletal which is good but its still a pain in the *kitten*.

I was hoping more experienced runners out there might have some advice?

Replies

  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
    Let's think about issues that don't take an MRI to figure out.

    What are you doing to warm up and cool down that addresses your back, hips, glutes, hamstrings, and IT bands? It could be something as simple as ineffective warm up and cool down leading to the musculature around your hips not reacting well to the run. A good warmup, cool down, stretching, massaging plan does wonders in mitigating and preventing injury.

    Have somebody take a look at your running form. How you move and align your body for impact can alter where that impact effects in your body and biomechanics aren't always easy to self diagnose.

    What is the terrain like where you run? Is it level? Up and down hill? Sloped sideways? It goes back to body position during running and your musculature's readiness to deal with it.

    That's just keeping it simple. Here are a couple links with even more things it could be.

    http://www.runnersworld.com/tag/hips

    http://www.runnersworld.com/tag/itbs-iliotibial-band-syndrome
  • LoosingMyLast15
    LoosingMyLast15 Posts: 1,457 Member
    Hi all -
    I'm working my way through the C25K. I'm currently on week 7 (15 minutes of continuous "running" - although for me right now "running" = 4.5mph).

    Either way I've noticed a lot of hip pain after running - especially today. I mentioned it at my yearly physical and had an x-ray done. It doesn't seem to be skeletal which is good but its still a pain in the *kitten*.

    I was hoping more experienced runners out there might have some advice?

    make sure you're doing dynamic stretches before. leg swings (front/back, side/side), lunges, bent leg swings out to the side. these will help warm up your muscles.
  • elleloch
    elleloch Posts: 739 Member
    Could be as simple as you're running in the wrong shoes.
  • ReadyToBeMeAt160
    ReadyToBeMeAt160 Posts: 149 Member
    my stretching routine could definitely improve. Write now i do:

    Calf Stretches - the lunge type (http://www.strengthtrainingblog.com/images/calf-stretch-stiff-leg-muscles.gif) and a reaching to the sky type where my arms are up and i raise and lower myself - 10 reps
    a real deep forward bend
    foot grab (http://www.concept2.com.au/app_cmslib/media/lib/0705/m9228_v1_stretch5.jpg)

    I also do some arm stretches - more to just get my energy flowing than for anything else though

    and I'd LOVE for someone to check out my running form but have no idea where to go to do that?

    are there any quick glance runner stretching sheets i could use?
  • ReadyToBeMeAt160
    ReadyToBeMeAt160 Posts: 149 Member
    Could be as simple as you're running in the wrong shoes.

    well i did have someone at Pacers watch me run and tell me what kind of shoes to get. so hopefully they're right
  • sfbaumgarten
    sfbaumgarten Posts: 912 Member
    Stretch stretch stretch!
  • JCM1969
    JCM1969 Posts: 141 Member
    Google stretches for piriformis syndrome...
  • JTick
    JTick Posts: 2,131 Member
    Could be as simple as you're running in the wrong shoes.

    well i did have someone at Pacers watch me run and tell me what kind of shoes to get. so hopefully they're right
    That's great that you were evaluated for your gait, but even the expert salesmen can get it wrong sometimes. Maybe they could suggest a different shoe for you to try.

    Also, foam rolling your IT band might help. It connects all the way from your hip to your knee, so can be responsible for pain on either end there.
  • fast_eddie_72
    fast_eddie_72 Posts: 719 Member
    I'm training for my fifth half marathon right now. When I did the first one, I got really bad hip pain. So much so I finally went to the doctor. He said it was bursitis. Hurt like hell. So when they did the xray, they didn't offer any other suggestion about what it could be? I don't want to offer too much advice. I'm sure not a doctor and have no idea what is wrong with you and don't want to tell you something that can hurt. Always good to listen to your body. So I'll just share my experience.

    My doctor told me it was okay to run with the bursitis, and it would get better. He gave me a prescription for 400mg Naproxen. Turns out, that's two Aleve. It really did help. I'd take it half an hour or so before I ran and things got better. I finished my training and by the time the event came around it wasn't bothering me at all.

    It's REALLY hard to tell, and you should try to do some more research about what YOU are feeling. Try to figure out if it's a joint thing or a muscle thing. Sounds like you've eliminated a bone thing (though they often miss stress fractures, but not likely to be causing you a hip problem). If it's a muscle thing, a non impact alternative works really well. I had a calf issue recently and just moved to the elliptical for my "runs" for a couple of weeks. You can't do all your training on an elliptical because you need the impact to prepare for the event. But if you have access to one, and you don't get the pain when you use it, might try it for a while to give your body a chance to heal.

    If it's a joint thing, I'd keep an eye on it. If it seems to be getting worse, I wouldn't push it. Let it heal for a bit.
  • knra_grl
    knra_grl Posts: 1,566 Member
    Thanks for posting this OP - I have isssues with my hips sometimes also:

    https://www.google.ca/search?q=hip+flexor+stretch&rlz=1C1TGIB_enCA526CA526&espv=210&es_sm=122&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=WgHsUoOSCciA2gXz2IC4Bg&ved=0CCoQsAQ&biw=1920&bih=971

    http://www.fitbodyhq.com/fitness/12-great-stretches-for-tight-hip-flexors/

    http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/fitness/exercises/4-ways-to-stretch-your-hip-flexor.html#b

    http://www.mayoclinic.org/stretching/SLS-20076840?s=1
  • LoosingMyLast15
    LoosingMyLast15 Posts: 1,457 Member
    my stretching routine could definitely improve. Write now i do:

    Calf Stretches - the lunge type (http://www.strengthtrainingblog.com/images/calf-stretch-stiff-leg-muscles.gif) and a reaching to the sky type where my arms are up and i raise and lower myself - 10 reps
    a real deep forward bend
    foot grab (http://www.concept2.com.au/app_cmslib/media/lib/0705/m9228_v1_stretch5.jpg)

    I also do some arm stretches - more to just get my energy flowing than for anything else though

    and I'd LOVE for someone to check out my running form but have no idea where to go to do that?

    are there any quick glance runner stretching sheets i could use?

    i do these before i run - they call them dynamic stretches. i would add a few to your other stretching.

    http://www.runnersworld.com/stretching/a-dynamic-routine
  • ReadyToBeMeAt160
    ReadyToBeMeAt160 Posts: 149 Member
    wow, thanks for the feedback guys! looks like ill definitely be adding in some more stretches, seeing if things improve and then taking it from there.

    running seems so natural for people that its weird to me that we have to be so careful about form, stretching, etc.
  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
    wow, thanks for the feedback guys! looks like ill definitely be adding in some more stretches, seeing if things improve and then taking it from there.

    running seems so natural for people that its weird to me that we have to be so careful about form, stretching, etc.

    There is more to successful running without injury than lacing up the shoes, touching your toes a couple times, and pounding the pavement. That natural appearance is the result of warming up, cooling down, stretching, massaging/rolling, learning good form, etc so people can run regularly without hurting. Preparing your body to exercise and enabling recovery afterwards is as important as the exercise itself.
  • ReadyToBeMeAt160
    ReadyToBeMeAt160 Posts: 149 Member
    Added on some stretches and did them after my workout for the first time yesterday too. I know I should have been all along but I wasn't.

    Also, i did a few stretches in the sauna before hand - i think that definitely helped loosen my muscles up :)
  • Samstan101
    Samstan101 Posts: 699 Member
    I'm a relatively new runner (started with C25K in April) and was getting some aches and pains in my hips and top of my hamstrings/bottom of my glutes. I now make sure I stretch after runs. I found these useful: http://www.fitbodyhq.com/fitness/12-great-stretches-for-tight-hip-flexors/
  • ReadyToBeMeAt160
    ReadyToBeMeAt160 Posts: 149 Member
    Pigeon is one of my favorite poses. I may just need to make a habit of getting sauna time and a yoga class before each run :)

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