Pain in outside of hip/thigh when running harder

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foodgretful
foodgretful Posts: 3
in Fitness and Exercise
Every time I try to increase my mileage or speed in my runs, I get pretty bad pain in the outside of my hip and thigh and st the front, kind of where the joints meet I guess. Sorry I have a high pain tolerance and have a hard time describing pain. Sometimes I get pain above my knee with or instead of this pain, but its really not a knee issue. It feels like my whole leg is out of alignment or something. I get a little bit of tingling in my foot as well.
Any ideas on what this could be or what I could do to get some relief? I was told a year ago that my pelvis was stuck forward on that side and I wonder if its because of this? I really don't want to not run...its my sanity. It doesn't hurt more while actually running.

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  • dreams4sale
    dreams4sale Posts: 26
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    This was happening to me for a long time because of a backpacking injury and I started to do a lot of exercises to strengthen glutes specifically and the pain went away for good.
  • mjudd1990
    mjudd1990 Posts: 219 Member
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    Just some things that come to mind are: trochanteric bursitis, IT band issues, tendinitis, some sort of impingement/trapped nerve. Ice it and take an NSAID if it's hurting. Look into getting a foam roller and lacrosse ball so you can work loosening up the muscles. This will be esrpcially helpful if your IT band is to blame. Other than that just stretch your legs and hip flexors regularly.
  • PamazonDreams
    PamazonDreams Posts: 32 Member
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    Have you seen a physiotherapist?
  • meganjcallaghan
    meganjcallaghan Posts: 949 Member
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    the pelvis thing is quite common. mine is stuck up and back on the one side which has my hip sitting quite a bit higher on my right side and i am finding i have upper/outer thigh and hip pain when i do certain things. i haven't noticed it so much with running but there are certain things like squats or some yoga/pilates things that just kill it. sometimes i can hear it crunching on repetitive movements. i take that as a hint to stop it.
  • skhny
    skhny Posts: 41 Member
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    same thing happens if I try to jog. a running coach told me this type of pain in the front of the hip and thigh are caused by a weak lower back and weak core. I have been concentrating on strengthing those areas before I attempt jogging again.
  • willrun4bagels
    willrun4bagels Posts: 838 Member
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    Sounds like ITBS to me, I've been treated for it in the past. Google ITBS and read a few articles on the symptoms expressed by others and see if that sounds like what you are experiencing. I took it easy for 6-8 weeks after I started having the pain and gradually eased back into running and have not experienced it since. Foam rolling also helped. I saw one doctor that wanted to just give me cortisone shots and send me on my way, but I opted not to take anything and would ice the outside of my hip when it was painful and took Advil as needed.

    ETA: I also didn't have that much pain while running, it was always in the hours after the run that it would begin. One of the doctors I saw explained (if I remember this correctly) that while you're running, the iliotibial band rubs back and forth against part of your pelvis that protrudes out (like a bone spur but not really, it's the way your pelvis is shaped). So during the run, the band is agitated, but not that painful, and it's in the recovery time after the run is over that it begins to get inflamed and painful.
  • srammels
    srammels Posts: 4 Member
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    Outside of leg, hip and knee sure sounds like ITBS to me, as well. I am dealing with it right now and want to advise you to please, please, please take this seriously! I was training for a half and have been sidelined for 2 months, am seeing a physical therapist 3x a week, chiro 2x a week and am stretching/rolling for probably another 30-60 minutes every day.

    Advice - Don't run through the pain. Stretch, foam roll, ice. Start working on glute and core strength. Do lateral movements. Running is all forward motion and the lateral muscles sometimes fall behind. Leg lifts, resistance bands, hip bridges, squats. See a doctor before it gets too bad. Good luck!
  • foodgretful
    foodgretful Posts: 3
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    Thanks everyone. This is pretty bad news. Been dealing with it for over a year, comes and goes. One day my lower back gave out. I went to a physiotherapist then and she said about my pelvis being rotated forward. Its been since then.
    I have degenerative discs in my lumbar so makes sense. I have forearm intersection syndrome in my left arm so can't do anything that weight bares on my arm right now either.
    I cannot afford Physio for this as I am also dealing with my arm being a work place injury and affecting my work life. My body is really a piece of junk to me for some reason...my soft tissues just suck.
    It seems like if I stay off it until the pain subsides, I can run but not the mileage and intensity I feel like I'm at now. As soon as I up it I have issues after and just walking hurts for a week.
    The pain at my knee is above it and I can tell its not an actual knee injury, although wearing a soft brace has provided some relief in the past.
    The pain at my hip and thigh is most noticeable when I lift my leg st my thigh.
  • foodgretful
    foodgretful Posts: 3
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    Wanted to let you all know you helped a lot! I started doing it band stretches, lower back stretches and strengthening and the pain has gone while still running (though less for now). Thanks :)
  • Lofteren
    Lofteren Posts: 960 Member
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    This could be ITBS, meralgia peristhetica, piriformis syndrome, one of many types of arthritis, complex regional pain syndrome or about a bajillion other things. If it's a real problem for you then go see a physician and get a proper diagnosis.

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