Has anyone had this type of hip flexor pain before?

I'm having trouble googling it but it's so specific I'm sure it must be an easily-diagnosable issue. Basically, if I'm standing straight up and raise my knee to a 90 degree angle with my hip, I feel a sharp pain in the tenden right below my hip joint. I'm thinking its my hip flexor. It's been bad for about 6 months but I've mostly ignored it, because with the exception of that specific movement it only hurts when I do a lot of hill climbing, or when I ride horses without stirrups. Last night I went to my first cross fit class though, and the v-lifts hurt since of course that is the exact movement that irritates it.

I wonder if there's PT at home I could do to treat it. It's been sticking around for a while. I tried a week of rest once or twice and that didn't fix it so I decided ignoring it was my best option....

Yes and was ultimately diagnosed with "gluteal amnesia" or "dumb butt syndrome." Essentially, my right glute was no longer firing properly and my hip flexor was overcompensating. Most of the exercises I did were designed to help me relearning gluteal engagement and to strengthen it, too.

Given how long you've been suffering from it, do yourself a favor and be evaluated by a sports medicine doc and/or a PT. Any number of things could be at issue. I waited far too long to be seen and could have avoided a lot of pain, discomfort and inactivity if I'd just started PT earlier. I also set the stage for other compensation issues with that side of my body, e.g., tendonitis where my glute meets my hamstring.

LOL! That's one of the best diagnoses I've heard. Sorry you went through it though!!

I am thinking I need to see a PT. It's pretty bad today, although that is undoubtedly due to crossfit. I am just so resistant to being told to rest this month.

I had something similar to this for a few months on my left hip. In my situation it was created by a right knee injury. I'd put more weight/pressure on the left side to give a break to my right knee. All this to say that at my last PT appointment (for my knee and elbow) I mentionned this to my therapist. She knew exactly what it was. She got me on my back, she did a few checks - like checking my hips alignment and then some "relaxing" exercises and then while keeping me talking, she pulled on that other side and a "crack" was felt and heard. Hubby sitting on a chair near table heard it too. She then applied some "shocks" to that area and since then I have been pain free. So it was something that got somehow misaligned in that hip due to "bad" posture. It's been 2 weeks since visit and the pain that was there for over 3 months....is barely noticeable now. I can climb stairs and do other things easier. But she said it will remain "fragile" for now and should see her again if it comes back. In the meantime, I have to think to bear the weight on both legs (the right knee is almost back to normal).

So it maybe something to have looked at. I thought it would go away on its own, taking Aleve, etc... it did and would not. A simple manipulation and a few exercises were needed to help that hip.

Good luck.

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Originally Posted by fallstoclimb

LOL! That's one of the best diagnoses I've heard. Sorry you went through it though!!

I am thinking I need to see a PT. It's pretty bad today, although that is undoubtedly due to crossfit. I am just so resistant to being told to rest this month.

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It could very well be that rest is not the Rx, but better to find out what's wrong than to keep doing what you're doing.

I second seeing a PT. I am currently being treated for patella femoral syndrome (knee pain from bad knee alignment - from some of the same issues - different manifestation). The last thing most PT's will do is bench you unless they really need to. I'm allowed to exercise - but am to avoid things that aggravate my knees. So - there's a lot I *can* do. Also - sometimes a short period of rest = less overall time for recovery. Something to think about!

having a lot of hip flexor and knee pain due to previous injuries I am a firm believer in foam rolling but then I know why I hurt and have done the PT. Get a diagnosis first but I'm here to say foam rolling and stretching are never bad things.

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Originally Posted by fallstoclimb

I'm having trouble googling it but it's so specific I'm sure it must be an easily-diagnosable issue. Basically, if I'm standing straight up and raise my knee to a 90 degree angle with my hip, I feel a sharp pain in the tenden right below my hip joint. I'm thinking its my hip flexor. It's been bad for about 6 months but I've mostly ignored it, because with the exception of that specific movement it only hurts when I do a lot of hill climbing, or when I ride horses without stirrups. Last night I went to my first cross fit class though, and the v-lifts hurt since of course that is the exact movement that irritates it.

I wonder if there's PT at home I could do to treat it. It's been sticking around for a while. I tried a week of rest once or twice and that didn't fix it so I decided ignoring it was my best option....

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I have read the other responses here and I will +3 (2? I lost count) PT. You are definitely showing signs of a muscle imbalance that needs to be addressed. It could even be "dumb butt syndrome", it's kind of an epidemic really.

Thanks for the replies everyone. I will definitely follow up with at least one PT session. Hopefully I can continue with it beyond that at home on my own...

I'd second the suggestion of going to a sports med doctor - and I would suggest doing that before jumping into PT. I had very similar presentation (pain on the upstroke of the pedal when the hip is bent 90 degrees or more as you describe) - I had low level on and off pain for 10+ years, increasing in frequency and intensity over the last year to where I really couldn't cycle anymore. Turned out to be femoral acetabular impingement (basically a big bone spur leading to a large hole in the femur and a torn labrum) and I had surgery in July. I'm on the road to recovery and the hip honestly felt better the day after surgery than the day before.

So, anyway, I hope yours is simply a muscle imbalance, but it wouldn't hurt to get get really checked and get an x-ray because if I had tried to heal my issue with PT alone, I would have done a lot more damage to the hip joint and the femur.

Look up: anterior femoral glide syndrome

I felt like the clouds had parted and the sun finally shown through when I discovered this.

-- gnat!

OMG !! This possibly explains the pain that I had last July for about a month. The first week was no fun .. sharp pain where the leg /torso connect making it difficult and painful to raise/move my left leg especially in the morning the first week. Biking actually helped. I thought it was related to the back surgery/issues .. maybe not. I am fine now.

http://singaporepersonaltrainer.blog...alk-rehab.html

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Originally Posted by maillotpois

I'd second the suggestion of going to a sports med doctor - and I would suggest doing that before jumping into PT. I had very similar presentation (pain on the upstroke of the pedal when the hip is bent 90 degrees or more as you describe) - I had low level on and off pain for 10+ years, increasing in frequency and intensity over the last year to where I really couldn't cycle anymore. Turned out to be femoral acetabular impingement (basically a big bone spur leading to a large hole in the femur and a torn labrum) and I had surgery in July. I'm on the road to recovery and the hip honestly felt better the day after surgery than the day before.

So, anyway, I hope yours is simply a muscle imbalance, but it wouldn't hurt to get get really checked and get an x-ray because if I had tried to heal my issue with PT alone, I would have done a lot more damage to the hip joint and the femur.

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Going to a Sports Med Doc is never a bad choice. Having said that, in general unless the issue is severe with significant bone defects (as was the case with maillotpois) you will usually be sent for conservative PT treatment first. Unless you get a really sh!tty PT, they shouldn't make it worse. If the PT doesn't work, then it's back to the doc to discuss other options.

I've seen a lot of people with this type of injury, I'd say that more than half of them manage really well without surgery. Of the surgery clients I've seen, about half of those do extremely well. Of the ones that are left you'll occasionally see one that is actually worse after the surgery than they were before and usually that's because they ignored some serious precautions after the surgery because they wanted to get back to cycling too early.

So yes, you want to explore the treatment for all your muscle imbalances, weaknesses etc before jumping in to surgery but sometimes it's inevitable and when it is, surgery is often a glorious relief.

Try the couch fleoxr stretch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZX1QMTdAC4 this is an OMG for me, I am one unstretched human being.

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Originally Posted by Skippyak

Try the couch fleoxr stretch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZX1QMTdAC4 this is an OMG for me, I am one unstretched human being.

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OMG, I want to hate this video so much because the guy is such a... I want to say douche but that might not be the right word for this forum. But I have to say that it's a good stretch and good advice, if you can get past the douchiness of it all.