Hip Discomfort

[fallstoclimb]

I've been having some discomfort in my right hip, right at the joint....I wouldn't call it PAIN, but at times its been aching. There was never a sharp pain of initial injury, and I always have a tight hip so I'm not sure when this started....I've been decreasing biking time and upping gym time so I have no idea what caused it. I guess the gym is a good bet, but I vary the machines/workouts I do all the time.

The first time it really bothered me was one week ago, when I tried to do brisk walking on the treadmill and it hurt too much for me to do more than a slow walk. But then the next day I did some brisk walking outside without a problem, and the day after did some weights and recumbent bike just fine. Then on Saturday it bothered me a lot when I was cantering a horse, and then enough on a subsequent bike ride that I cancelled Sunday's bike ride.

I'm only 27 and am doing so much cross-training that I can't imagine this is an overuse injury. I did have IT band problems resulting in knee pain back when I used to run a few years ago but my hip has never bothered me other than being tight and popping, which doesn't slow me down. Has anyone had similar pain? I hate to stop all gym activity for a week (especially the week of two Thanksgiving dinners!), but that's my only idea for now.

(Although, if we're being honest I'm probably biking anyway on Thurs and Fri if the weather is passable!)

[jessmarimba]

When you mention IT band problems my first guess is hip bursitis. I have some IT band problems and they never manifest in the knee first for me, always the hip. Do you have a foam roller? Try rolling out the IT band and see if it helps the hip pain.

[fallstoclimb]

When you mention IT band problems my first guess is hip bursitis. I have some IT band problems and they never manifest in the knee first for me, always the hip. Do you have a foam roller? Try rolling out the IT band and see if it helps the hip pain.

I do have a roller. I was concerned it might make it worse (the past couple of months I've been doing a lot of the pigeon stretch in yoga for my tight hips and thought maybe I'd overstretched it), but since it aches just sitting in my office chair after taking yesterday off I think I will go ahead and try it....

[Sky King]

In addition to your foam roller, treat yourself to a decent massage if nothing else you well be relaxed

[indysteel]

I went through this last year. After months of pain, I finally went to the doct and to a PT. The diagnosis included mild arthritis in the hip joint (I'm in my early 40s), a bit of SI joint irritation, and what is affectionally called "dumb butt syndrom." My glutes had stopped firing normally and, as a result, other muscle groups had taken up the slack. I had also started to experience severe pain in my groin when I tried to open up my hip (like when sitting cross legged). I was never sure how or if they were all interelated. I went to PT for several months several times a week.

We focused on several things. I did a lot of exercises where I had to concentrate on engaging my glutes. For instance, I had to lay on my stomach and work on lifting my right leg by first engaging the glute. I also did a lot of bridge poses, clam shells and fire hydrant exercises. We also worked on getting more mobility in the joint. We started each session with the PT moving my leg around, sometimes in painful ways. I also did home exercises for this. Finally, we worked on a balance. I did a lot of stuff using the WiiFit.

In the end, 90% of my pain disappeared. It still took the better part of an additional year to get most of my mobility back. I can finally sit comfortably (well, for the most part) in a cross legged position.

If I were you, I'd get evaluated by a doc and, potentially see a PT. Don't do what I did and put it off. I suffered in pain far longer than I needed to.

[OakLeaf]

Knott has pointed out that particularly in women, hip pain often comes from lumbar discs. That was the case for me last year. You might could see a McKenzie physical therapist.