hip joint hurts when running (Read 2332 times)

Anyone have a similar problem or have any ideas about this one? Sometime around the middle of last week my R hip started hurting while I was running. I didn't pay too much attention to it so I can't say exactly when it started, but I know I ran at least two days after it started hurting. It hurts when my right foot hits the ground - sharp, knife-like pains that don't seem to radiate anywhere. It also hurts when I walk vigorously - again, just on impact. If I walk gently avoiding impact, it doesn't hurt. It doesn't hurt to move it through its complete range of motion. It doesn't hurt just sitting around doing nothing, or even standing. It doesn't hurt when I poke and prod on it. But I can't jog to my car across the parking lot without it killing me! Relavent factors: 1) I may have had the wrong kind of shoes. Oops. I overpronate. 2) Shoes were getting old and I think I felt the R one go "flat" not too long ago... 3) L knee surgery apx 2 years ago left me with a slight limp, more pronounced when I'm tired. 4) Very tight hip flexors. 5) Old back injury started hurting shortly before my hip did. Probably part of a cascade reaction. 6) It was 2 1/2 weeks after I transitioned from 4 days/wk running to 5 days/wk. 7) I've been increasing my milage steadily for the past two months - not drastically, around 10%/wk. 8) I've been running since last Sept, have been running between 16-20 MPW for the past few months, and am overweight. The last few months have been almost exclusively aerobic, heart-rate-monitored running at around an 18 minute mile pace - a VERY easy jog. 9) Most of the time I run on concrete because that's the safe surface that's most convenient. When I'm not on concrete, I'm on trails. Okay... I've been good and not gone running for five days now, have been taking 400 mg ibuprofin 2x/day, and I'm still not better! It disturbs me that I can tell no change in the way it hurts or how much after resting for five days. I am not sure how to proceed from here. I am starting to consider seeing if I can get in to see the orthopaedist who worked on my knee back-when. For now I'm going to have to see about cross-training on something WITHOUT IMPACT - perhaps I'll give our apartment complex's elliptical trainer a try.

Yup, what that smart Cheesehead said... Man, Janell, that stinks. I'd also be frustrated and concered if that many days of resting showed no marked improvement. k

Yes, check your shoes. Go see somebody who is a true running shoe specialist. Yes, go see a doc. No, it probably ain't a broken femoral head. Your #4 is key, this is likely a tendonitis or an injury to a muscle, like the psoas. It may also be trochanteric bursitis. If it were a broken femur, you would likely feel that instead in your tush or behind your knee. Anyhow, the orthopedist will be able to figure this out. If you have a true sports med orthopedist around, that is even better.

Trent, do you think that if I exercise in ways that doesn't make it hurt I'll be okay in terms of not aggravating anything any further? I'm getting really bored...

This may be a reasonable indicator that you are not making things worse. It is still reasonable to get it checked out so that you can start doing things that may directly address the problem, including specific stretches, physical tx/massage, medications, steroids, etc.

Vincent -No, I don't have two pairs, but that would be a good idea. Hmm... Maybe I'll go shoe shopping (again!) soon. I'd sure hate to have them BOTH wear out at the same time, though... But the GOOD news is that a few more days of resting (traveling, waiting for that durn doctor's appt, etc) seems to have cleared up the acute problem! Since I was no longer hurting when walking, I tried a very short, gentle jog on some grass - no pain there either! Yay! Now for the source of the problem... a bit trickier! I'm going on the assumption that the hip/back specialist I have an appointment with knows very little about running, training, and such, and instead spends most of his time treating falls and sprains and slipped disks and the like... I feel I'll need to figure out where to start back and how much I really CAN do without his help. Psychologically I want to run about 5x/wk. I'm wondering if (temporarily!) I drop it down to 1 mile runs ... which would be 5 miles/wk... would that work? I don't know - new ways to experiment. It's less than a third of the milage I was doing, but the same frequency. Argh! I just hate not knowing concretely what I can do! Mentally I'm sure I'd do better with 5 days of 1 mile than 3 days of 2 miles... But physically? I don't know which is more stressful. Probably (unfortunately!) the 5 just because of the built in rest-days a 3x/wk schedule would have. Thoughts on that, anyone? Right now I'm trying to convince myself that cross-training would be okay to substitute in for a few running days. There is rebellion in the ranks, though! I can hear the muttering... Intellectually I know it's a good idea. But for some reason I'm having trouble convincing myself to make a switch... We runners sure are strange creatures!

I plead the fifth!

Oh. My. Gosh!!! I can't believe I forgot this!!! I was in our little cardio room at my apartment complex, doing a bike ride, when I had a little flash-back to the last time I used the treadmill. The last time I used the tread-mill I had a little accident... For some reason I was feeling so good I was just kinda closing my eyes, peeping them open every once in a while to stay on course. Bad idea, I know, but it was just that kind of day. Suddenly, my left foot hit the side of the track and slid forward and then my left one did some quick move to keep me upright and moving. I almost fell, and sorta-did the splits, but didn't quite. BECAUSE I WAS RUNNING WITH MY EYES CLOSED LIKE A DURN FOOL!!! When I remembered this today, I went back and looked at my log to see just when that tread-mill oopsie had occurred. Guess what? It happened THE DAY BEFORE my hip started hurting!!! OMG! I can't BELIEVE I totally forgot about this! And that's SUCH a simpler explanation than anything else I've come up with! I am SO TOTALLY embarrassed! I may have to start paying more attention to things like falling down if they're going to affect my running! Well, guys, thanks for your support and feedback. I'm going to go find a convenient hole to pull over my head now - I'm really embarrassed! The good news is I'm still feeling much better and am ready to start SLOWLY coming back up to speed. But I think I'll run with my eyes OPEN from here on out...

Yeah, it makes me feel a lot more comfortable about starting back up running. But I'm still going to play it safe. I think 10 minute jogs is a good place for me to start back at...