Ten days ago I posted to celebrate having at last run a 5k in less than 40 minutes which (for a snail like me) was very happy making. The following day I woke with a very sore hip which my running daughter thought might be a problem with the IT band. So I carefully did lots of stretching of IT band and hamstrings and after a week it was lots better. So on Saturday I went out for just a couple of slow k. Again it was fine at the time but a bit sore after. Again stretching has eased it and now it's just a niggle.
I'd really like to get back to running 4 or 5k on Thursday. I'm stretching and doing my usual yoga and Pilates and what I can feel is a slight discomfort in the hip. My other half thinks I should continue with the stretching stuff and have another week or so off running. How on earth do I judge what the best course of action is? I really don't want to injure myself but neither do I want to take a break unless I must! Any thoughts very gratefully received!
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Gwenllian1
Graduate10
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It is so difficult to know, we all want to get back out there as soon as possible. I am always guilty of that I know after an injury. Maybe decide on the day?, you can always shorten the run if you find you are in any discomfort.
Thanks for taking the time to reply! Yes I could either aim to do a short run or cut it short, thanks for the idea. It would be easier to judge if the hip was sore at the time rather than afterwards!!
I'm certainly not an experienced runner, but I do get various niggles from time and, when I'm concerned I'm not on top form, I choose a route consisting of more laps so I can stop off at a point where I feel I've had enough rather than find myself in pain too far from home.
I've been living with hip/groin pain for a few years, physio never really helped it, weirdly, taking up running and regular stretching has made it better. Sitting still hurts and I find the more mobile I can get it the better. Hope you find your solution I may just be making longer term problems for myself.
Have you looked at the adrienne yoga you tunes. She does mini sessions for particular areas key her name, yaga and area you are interested in. Hips/groin/lower back are really connected making root of injury difficult to find.
I'm the same in terms of a longstanding knee issue which has been hugely improved by running! The hip thing is something new. I'll look at adrienne myself. Sounds interesting!
I’m finding as long as I run flat knees are fine, slowly slowly introducing slopes, it’s the down slopes that goes for knees. What an old crock I am! Doctor and physio would have me sitting doing jigsaws but you don’t get the same high on completing
I think resting and stretching might be the best. if it persists, seeing a running specialist physio might be good as maybe there is something you are doing when running which is making this happen.
I'm getting the sense that perhaps I should stick with the stretching and yoga for now. If that doesn't work perhaps I should find a physio. I've heard of a very good one near me although I don't know if she specialises in running injuries. Thanks for your advice. It is a real help!
sorry ... cant really give any sound advice, other than whats already been said. Stretch and rest is good. Hope it eases soon . Do you use any rolers? I find they can help
Rest and _lots_ of stretching. If it feels OK try a shorter run, just 20 mins or so and see if it plays up after that. Unfortunately when we aggravate these things it can take a while for them to settle/adjust completely.
As above... there’s no way of knowing without having the pain ourselves... if it doesn’t settle a physio may be needed.
In general regular flexibility and strengthening work is good... as are consolidation weeks from time to time, and even cutback weeks. When injured though, it’s best not to start anything unless you know that it’s safe to do so.
Some injuries need a little exercising and some need a lot of resting so it can be trial and error without help from the physio side.
I think that was my concern : whether I should be gently running or totally stopping! I've decided to have this week off completely with lots of stretching and yoga. If it seems better I'll try a very short gentle run. If it's much the same I'll try and see the physio who has been recommended.
If I take a break after injury I start again gradually. If it feels worse I cut back or stop. If it persists try a sports physio to make sure your diagnosis is right.
Thank you so much for your thoughts. More stretching and yoga and ill make my mind up on Thursday. Am also investigating a therapist who specialises in sports injuries, especially running!
Hello! I've not posted for ages but your post sounds so much like me I thought I'd comment! I have been having ongoing hip problems for months...aggrevated even more by a particularly fast run that pushed me over the edge. Same as you maybe?! I do plenty of pre run exercises and post run stretching. In the end I had to take a few weeks off as I was struggling to walk. When I re-started it was short and slow and built up. I've done a full routine of hip related exercises twice a day for 2 months. But still in pain when walking. I'm running 5K slowly twice a week which doesn't hurt but in between I can get very stiff. This is pain over the front of my left hip and sometimes feels like a tight band around the top of my thigh. Anyway I came to the conclusion that fast pace doesn't work for me and also I've just been reading about cadence and think that I may have caused my problems with overstriding so that is something for me to read more about and analyse! That would explain why it won't go away because I've still been walking/running in that way. In the meantime I finally got round to seeing the doctor this week and am going for an x ray on Tuesday. She said I can carry on running and that any exercise is good! (YEYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!). She said the x-ray will show if there is any degenerative joint issue and if not maybe physio will be the key.
Anyway I'm feeling pretty positive with all of this. Just before it all went wrong I'd done 12km to celebrate 12 months since I started! While I'm very relieved to still be able to run at all and 5km is enough to give me the buzz I'd like to hope I'll be back to longer distances again soon.
Hope this is helpful and hope that you can sort it out too!
Really hope you can get to the bottom of what is going on. That sounds very frustrating. I'm so loving the way running makes me feel that the idea of not being able to is really depressing. Will be interested to hear about your progress. Fingers crossed for you!
I used to have a similar problem with my IT band in the hip bursa area (love handles 😏)...the amount of times I decided early in the day it wasn't sensible to run then it seemed ok-ish by the evening.
So I'd go, with the view that I could stop and walk if needed.
Eventually with strength exercises and the running it seemed to ease off and not had any hip discomfort for a couple of months 🤞
Hope yours sorts itself out soon too, I'm sure you'll make the right decision on the day...good luck 👍
That sounds so like my discomfort, that exact place. I did a yoga class the other day after which it felt much better. At the moment I am thinking of having a go on Sunday when with luck it wont be raining so hard. I will bail out early if it doesn't feel right and try and get an appointment with the physio next week! Thanks for sharing your experience. I am hoping mine will be similar!
You're welcome...something else someone advised me was to make sure I wasn't over striding. I equated running with long strides so I think I was. Taking shorter steps may also help.
I find running and stretching helps but it might be worth including more walking into your plan as that will help build up stamina if running is causing issues.
I got very bad & back pain after trying to run a bit too fast.. I simply did some other low impact exercises, to replace the running, and tried to walk 5k, quickly, each day.
After 2 weeks my hip felt ok, so I ran again - seems ok so far.
Listen to your body, if you try running again and there's still a bit of pain then rest some more.
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