hip pain

[FreudianSlip]

Hi everyone,

I'm hoping someone can give me some advice on hip pain I've been having. I have recently gotten back into cycling after a long break, and I may have jumped in too quickly. After a few weeks of short rides (13–15 miles) and time on my indoor trainer, I've done 50-mile rides the past couple of Saturdays. I felt fine after the first Saturday, but during last Saturday's ride, I developed pain in my right hip. It was a sharp ache when I was on the bike and now it has subsided into a general dull ache.

I saw a PT about this years ago: basically I have weak glutes and other muscles overcompensate to "fix" that imbalance. The overcompensation causes those other muscles (my hip) to fatigue and get sore. I'm doing the strengthening exercises that PT recommended, but I'm unable to see her or another PT at this time (subpar insurance).

My questions: I obviously overdid it, and that's causing the pain to flare up. But do I need to wait until the pain is gone before I can go back out on my bicycle? I'm supposed to do a 60-mile ride with friends this weekend, and I'd really like to go. But if I do, am I in danger of actually injuring myself? I can handle the ache if my biggest risk is causing more pain; I just don't want to injure myself and be off the bicycle for weeks/months.

My apologies for the length of the post! Many thanks to anyone who can provide advice :)

[ny biker]

Well I am not in the medical profession at all, but here's my $.02 -- with subpar insurance, I would not want to risk making the problem worse to the point of really needing a doctor and expensive tests and PT. I would wait and give the strengthening exercises a chance to do their thing.

I don't think you necessarily should stay off the bike completely, but you have other options besides waiting until the pain is gone or doing a 60-mile ride this weekend. If I were you, and the pain continues to subside over the next few days, I would consider doing a shorter ride this weekend, like maybe 20 miles or so. If that feels okay, increase the distance gradually after that.

Also it would help if you can ride at least once during the week to avoid overuse injuries during long weekend rides.

Good luck!!

[FreudianSlip]

Hi ny biker,

You're absolutely right: I do have options between the two extremes (not riding and doing the 60-mile ride), and your approach is probably the smartest thing I can do. I guess there was a small part of me hoping someone would tell me, "No, you'll be fine! Do the long ride you want to do!" :o

Despite being disappointed at missing the big ride, a short ride is certainly better than no ride at all. Thank you for your input!

[azfiddle]

I second that- I've had a series of hip pain/imbalance problems (not for over a year now, thank goodness) but I do recommend keeping up with the exercises you know about and just do short easy spins until things get better.

I know it's miserable missing out on fun rides but it's what's best.

[FreudianSlip]

Thanks, azfiddle! It's good to hear from someone who's suffered something similar. It's also good to receive the sound and sensible advice of wise people. Having people to talk sense into me and remind me it's okay to slow down is very helpful. Cheers!

[FreudianSlip]

I'm going to behave myself and rehab my hip correctly, but does anyone know if I do risk injury by pushing myself too hard? I guess I'm trying to determine how slowly I should go at this point and how much I'll be risking if I don't take it carefully enough.

[azfiddle]

Pushing yourself too hard on the exercises or riding?

Your body will tell you if you are pushing too hard on the bike.
What I found frustrating in my PT experience was that my problems got worse before they got better. My first go-around started in earl April 2010 and I wasn't really "better" until after July. Showed up in my IT band originally but was diagnosed as being caused by my hip being out of alignment. But then I had things hurting in muscles attaching to the hip. The PT included stretching and strengthening. I did short easy flat rides after a while. By July I was back to riding pretty normally- rode Mt. St. Helens on a trip to the northwest.

[FreudianSlip]

Pushing yourself too hard on the exercises or riding?

Your body will tell you if you are pushing too hard on the bike.
What I found frustrating in my PT experience was that my problems got worse before they got better. My first go-around started in earl April 2010 and I wasn't really "better" until after July. Showed up in my IT band originally but was diagnosed as being caused by my hip being out of alignment. But then I had things hurting in muscles attaching to the hip. The PT included stretching and strengthening. I did short easy flat rides after a while. By July I was back to riding pretty normally- rode Mt. St. Helens on a trip to the northwest.

I worry about possible injury if I push myself too hard on the bike. I'll admit that one of my biggest problems is ignoring signs when I shouldn't. For example, if pain flares up in the middle of a ride, my first instinct is to push through it, not stop riding. Similarly, even though my hip is still aching, I want to go out this weekend. I'm not going to do the challenging 60-mile ride with friends, but I still need to convince myself that short and easy is perfectly acceptable. I need to learn to listen to my body more.

That was my experience with PT too, azfiddle. It seemed to get worse before it got better, which is not helping my current impatience (lol). Your story should help keep things in perspective for me though: if I behave myself and work on healing and strengthening properly, this should only be a short setback. Thank you for that reminder!

[azfiddle]

Feel free to PM me if you want to talk more about the kinds of exercises you're doing and what I was given, etc.

Sharon

[alb_photog]

I don't have much to add- but that I sympathize. I started biking bc of hip pain from running- and biking did help. 9 months later they find a label tear on top of my hip tendinitis. Hip pain sucks.