Hip Pain and Cycling - Need some advice

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I pulled my outer hip muscle by roller skating a couple months ago. I didn't fall- that day I began practicing crossover turns where you swing the front leg over the other leg as you turn. I didn't hurt much that day but the next mroning i was practically a cripple. Apparently I pulled the muscle and also the bursa cushion pad then got inflamed and the pain was excrutiating. My strain was that I could not bend my leg at the hip at ALL- could not sit or tie my shoe or anything....very bad.
It took 3 weeks to heal. Cycling was totally out of the question. I couldn't even raise my leg up from a standing position more than 2 inches off the floor for 2 whole weeks!

I think you should rest your hip except for easy slow walking. Personally, I would not even try those stretches Mimi suggests for a while yet either. You don't want to aggravate your hip joint while it has been strained/pulled by your twisting golf swing movements. If it gets inflamed it will become much worse.
Gentle walking can be good, but don't overdue! Drinking protein powder helped me heal faster.
I now know that it is not a good idea to do a new body movement excessively at first- you must let your body get used to a new movement.
Our hip joints are easily damaged.

I find that alternating biking with fitness walking is the best thing for my hip joints. When i only bike, my hips start getting achy in the morning. Brisk walking keeps them healthier because when walking your leg goes way BACK, straightening your hip joint out all the way. When biking, your hip joint never gets totally straightened out. Even just schlepping/walking around the office doesn't quite do it- has to be a brisk walk of several miles to give me the benefits.

just my 2 cents.

[mimitabby]

just my 2 cents.

my two cents was probably only worth 1 cent. I wouldn't have even mentioned it except that as I ride more regularly, this seems to be a recurring theme in my life... MUST stretch.

[Zen]

There are lots of things going on at the hip joint. Lots.
It's difficult to diagnose from here.
See a sports medicine specialist, a physiatrist, or a good PT.

[sundial]

There are lots of things going on at the hip joint. Lots.
It's difficult to diagnose from here.
See a sports medicine specialist, a physiatrist, or a good PT.

+1. It would really be in your best interest to see your family physician or orthopedist for an evaluation. If you have joint deterioration, now is the time to begin treating it.

[KathiCville]

I'm no expert, but I'm wondering if you might have a tight IT band (iliotibial band)? I've been dealing with a bit of outer hip and lower back pain the past couple of months---definitely cycling-related. My BF, who cycles and is also trained in massage, pinpointed an overtight IT band as the main culprit. (Combined with generally tight quads.)

So, I'm doing gentle, but long-held stretches (while reading a book, for example) to encourage the IT band to loosen up. The stretches are making a huge difference! If you're curious, poke around here on TE a bit and elsewhere online to find good hip stretches, including the pigeon pose that mimitabby mentions in her post. (IFJane also demo'd one for me at a recent charity ride.)

I'd give your hip a few days rest and then give some gentle stretching a try........Ease into it; pushing too hard might make the tightness or pain worse before it gets better.

Good luck! I hope whatever it is clears up soon so you can get back on the bike!

[SalsaMTB]

Let me start by saying I'm not a doctor, so I'm just telling you what worked for me with my pain....

I just went through this recently. For me, I played 3 hours of volleyball (which I hadn't played in about 8 years) and I think the lateral movement + jumping caused severe pain in my right hip area. I couldn't walk well, I definitely couldn't get up without support from my arms, I had to sit to put on my pants. I tried riding, and if I applied any forced greater than a light spin, it felt like something was just tearing in the area. It was PAINFUL!

The things I found helped significantly.....

1) Professional massage. I was dealing with this pain for 5 days and decided to get a massage. I told the lady what my concern was and she new exactly how to stretch and massage the area. I honestly felt immediate results. The lady I went to deals a lot with athletes, so if you can find someone like that, I would HIGHLY recommend. I never knew a massage could help so much until I went with an issue.

2) Foam roller. These things are amazing! Someone on my team recommended it, so I tried it. It hurt a lot when I started, but I was careful and massaged it slowly and applied only enough pressure I could tolerate. It definitely helped. You can get them at most large sporting good stores. It's a long solid round shaped foam thing that you roll on.

[KathiCville]

SalsaMTB....Did the massage therapist who helped you mention IT band? 'Cause it sounds like her approach to massaging and stretching your hip is pretty much what my BF recommended to me to cure my hip ache. (See post above yours.) BF has been massaging the area for me for the past month, and then I've been doing stretches on my own.

The foam roller gizmo in your post caught my eye, too! A friend of my BF purchased a similar gadget recently and has been shouting from rooftops about the good it's done for stretching out his tight IT band. In fact, he says it's almost addictive once you get past the initial pain using it, LOL! I'm planning to nab one for myself........