Mysterious hip pain

Hi, posting here in the hope that someone may have experienced similar in the past & be able to shed some light (please forgive all the detail)

I went to a chiro last week (as I'd also had a bit of tightness in lumbar region) & they diagnosed an issue with my pelvis alignment, that's now been corrected & I have another follow up treatment tomorrow...however the pain directly on my hip joint is concerning me, hence why I'm posting here as the chiro couldn't really explain the hip pain.

Bit of background:- had a v mild, dull pain in R hip for 2-3 weeks after a run. It seemed to appear out of the blue - I dont remember twisting/straining anything at any point & my training remained consistent for a 10k. I had no actual pain during running or walking. Early september I went on hols, did plenty of walking & by the end pain got a little more persistent, but would disappear approx 5 mins into a run or walk (I presume when everything was 'warmed up'). Again mild on the pain scale. (I should have rested at this point, but had hopes I could compete in a local 10k race I'd entered, hence my stubborness)

The past 2 weeks hip has got worse & started to hurt immediately into a run (I've now stopped running totally). It doesnt hurt to rotate the hip in any direction, only on weight bearing. No clicking/snapping in the joint, but I can feel pain when pressing the boney part of the hip. It seems to ease as the day goes on (always worse 1st thing in morning or from getting up after sitting down for long periods). Also feel mild pain when lying on the hip at night.

Have done plenty of reading into causes of hip pain & nothing seems to match my symptoms. I dont think the pain is bad enough to be bursitis & my mileage was never high enough for it to be an overuse injury. (25m per week average) Any ideas as to what this could be?? .

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

 

Comments

  • Sounds very similar to what I've got. I continued to run on it for 2 weeks hoping it would go away but reached the point where I was limping the next morning. Like you it eased up a lot by the end if the day. Went to physio Tuesday gone and was told it was nothing serious and I've probably agravated a muscle through not stretching. Now on my 8th day of rest and its easing up a bit. Out of all the Internet research I've done hip strain seems to be the closest thing described, although at its peak it felt like something more painful than a strain.

    Got 2 ultras approaching so could do without it!
  • I don't think you've got 2 things wrong with you....you've got a single cause with multiple symptoms.

    Your back isn't tight, but too mobile....even though it feels tight!

    The tightness is muscle stiffness protecting your unstable lumbar spine....that refers pain into your hip. The more you fiddle with your pelvic alignment, then more mobile you'll become, the stiffer the back (muscles, not joints), the greater the hip pain.

    If your chiro can't work it out, then he's only treating your symptoms, not cause.

  • Hi both, thank you for your responses.

    Andy - I hope your injury cleared up & you are ok for those 2 ultra's.

    SP  - Thanks. I do need to pay more attention to stretching & am having a sports massage tomorrow which should help.

    I did some ITB stretches last night & my R side ITB felt very tight - I had a burning pain in my hip (same side that hurts). I'm going to rest for a few days & focus on regular stretching.

     

  • RMcDRMcD ✭✭✭

    Could be tendinopathy (see pages on lateral hip pain/gluteus medius tendinopathy on link) http://www.noc.nhs.uk/ourservices/gptraining/documents/Tendinopathy.pdf

    I had this for a bit, and took a sports doctor to accurately diagnose (physio I was using was completely wrong as it had nothing to do with the hip joint, even though pain was being referred there).

  • RMcD - Thanks. Think that's hit the nail on the head. I know it's hard to diagnose over the Internet, but that does precisely match my symptoms. Will see how it goes later. Bad timing with the start of the cross country season, but such is life.

    Thanks again for the replies.

  • Have a look for hip impingement - that what I'm struggling with at the mo and symptoms sound similar.

  • PipesPipes ✭✭✭

    kerrance - come and join us on the hip impingement thread and share your story! Sorry to hear you are struggling. 

    Life's Too Short - I saw this thread but was hesitant to post on it as it's so difficult to say what's wrong with the hip. My problem was misdiagnosed numerous times (by doctors and physios) before the MRI confirmed impingement and labral tears.  There are many more common complaints than this, so I hope that you find out the cause of your problem and are able to sort it out with focused exercises, rather than surgery.

  • Thanks both..Kerrance - I can still rotate the hip ok without pain, it just seems to be when running, so I'm hoping it's not hip impingement, although I wont rule that out if hip still hurts next week. I hope your condition improves soon. Have you had to lay off running for a while & were you doing quite high mileage beforehand?

     I'm hoping my hip pain is caused by tight muscles and IT band - had a massage last night & it feels much better, (not 100% but better). I guess time will tell.

    Pipes - your quite right, I've decided not to go back to chiro and will wait and see if massage & stretching does the trick. Sorry to hear of your misdiagnoses in the past - sounds very frustrating.

  • Had to stop running completely for 6 weeks so plans to run the cardiff HM are out of the window. Was allowed to do a 30 minute run this week and ran pain free but have suffered a bit since - seing a brilliant physio who has faith that if i strengthen everything up and undo the damage I should be ok. I hope so as planning to do my first marathon in April ! Good luck ' Lifes to short' and ' pipes' see you on the other side !

  • hi having the same problem look up a condition called RUPTURE OF THE RECTUS FEMORIS TENDON this is what i think i have image

  • Thanks JB for your post - hope your tendon heals soon - it sounds painful!

    The pain/ache I'm experiencing is nearer the back of the hip joint, but I'd say it is quite mild now. I've been stretching regularly & doing self massage with a tennis ball, which seems to be helping. I never found out the exact cause of the pain, It was probably a collection of things including tight piriformis, glutes and quads, which were affecting how I ran.

    Am easing back into it slowly...up to 5 miles now & only v mild pain when I stop running (none at all when running anymore) image Before I read this forum I hadn't realised how common hip / groin pain was in runners. Strangely enough when I had a weeks total rest from exercise I felt worse. Gentle exercise seems to be the key, along with regular stretching & a gradual return to running (on grass initially). Hope this helps anyone else who has experienced similar.

  • Hi, quick update - hope this may help others who've experienced similar hip pain.

    Went to see the Osteo on Friday & after a thorough consultation was told I had v tight back muscles, but the main culprit was the Quadratus Lumborum (QL) muscle which attaches into the top of the hip (around the iliac crest). Apparently this can refer pain to the hip, in the exact spot i felt it. It all seems to make sense & would explain why icing my hip & dosing up on ibuprofen had no effect.

    Looking back it all happened after a week spent on a very lousy mattress (holiday) where my back was probably not supported properly...so I guess my back muscles tightened to support my spine.

    Am self massaging & stretching twice daily & being cautious for the next few weeks (no running on concrete for a while). Have an occy health assessment in work next week as I do tend to spend long peroids at my desk too.

    So if you experience hip pain, I wouldn't rule out referred pain from a back muscle as a possible cause.

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