Hip Pain from running
March 12, 2024
I’ve been looking through your previous posts and Guru responses on hip pain but none of them exactly match the issue I’ve got.
I’m a 40 year old regular runner (typically 30km per week) and since the start of this year I’ve been gradually increasing my overall mileage and length of runs so that I’m now doing around 50-55km per week, as training for the London marathon. Just over a week ago I developed pain in my left hip after a week with a heavier load than normal – couple of runs where I pushed a bit harder (had generally been moving slower as I increased the mileage). This included a parkrun where I was leaping across big puddles rather than getting my feet wet and it was after the parkrun that the pain began. I first noticed that it hurt to lift my leg to work the clutch when driving and when I tried to run again it was painful to run, leaving me limping to walk afterwards. Mostly the pain is a niggle whilst walking and you can hear my hip clicking to walk upstairs / a bit of a grinding sound when moving it around and it feels like it’s right in by the joint / groin area.
Does this sound like something that simply needs to be rested or more specific physio needed? And is it something likely to be improved enough to run the marathon in 6 weeks?!
Thanks!
Julia
March 12, 2024
Don’t panic – plenty of time!
Have you tried taking any anti inflammatories? If you can and haven’t then do start taking 400mgs x3 a day for the next 3 days after food.
What is really common, 6 weeks out, is that your body is starting to run right at the limit of failure and all it needs is a simple nudge (load/duration/sudden jolt) to fail – and I think this is very much what has happened. All your signs & symptoms are probably compensatory and incidental to excessive loading.
Rest is a wonderful healer, especially with the anti inflams, and whilst taking a 3/5 day break is hard mentally, the physical benefit will be outstanding. By all means you can hop into the pool to swim or have a buzz on a static bike to keep your CV status intact.
Hope this helps
The Guru
