Hello, all. I mostly lurk here and use the search function but can't find what I am looking for. Looking for some advice on continuing to run with hip arthritis. I have been running for 5-6 years and never get a decent base built up due to injuries. Probably a lot of too much too soon but I am getting smarter about training properly lol. Got me into triathlon though! The biggest problem I have had is recurrent groin pain after about 5-6 months of running. It starts with one sided low back pain and tightness in the side of the hip. I also get increased clicking in clunking in the affected hip. Eventually I get sharp groin pain and have to quit running for 6-8 weeks to let the inflammation go down. This has happened several times on the right side and once on the left side.
I have seen several physical therapists who all felt this was coming from my hip joint. One sport med doc thought it was hip flexor strain after the x rays came back clear. I finally has an mri done last year and it came back saying that I have mild arthritis in both hips. I had contrast injected in the left hip for the mri and it did not show a labrum tear. I ended up taking 6 months off of running the second half of last year due to multiple injuries.
When I started back up this year, I tried several supportive things for my hip. Running only 3x per week (never 2 days in a row), supplement with aqua jogging, running in Hokas, deep tissue massage once a month, daily foam rolling and stretching, hip and core strength training. Despite all this my hip problem is returning after the usual 5-6 months of running. Quite honestly I think this is nuts for arthritis that is so mild it wasn't seen on x ray. I never actually got to discuss the mri finding with my doc as he did not have the results when I went for the follow up. I plan on scheduling an appointment on Monday.
What I am interested in from the knowledgeable folks here is does my level of pain make sense with the mri findings and what else can I do to continue running? I wonder if taking a few weeks off now would help instead of waiting for the sharp pain that takes a few months to clear up. Also would taking an nsaid daily help prevent getting to the point where I have to quit running. Also, I am 39 years old. Can't wait to see what else is waiting for me as I age. Thanks for reading!
I have seen several physical therapists who all felt this was coming from my hip joint. One sport med doc thought it was hip flexor strain after the x rays came back clear. I finally has an mri done last year and it came back saying that I have mild arthritis in both hips. I had contrast injected in the left hip for the mri and it did not show a labrum tear. I ended up taking 6 months off of running the second half of last year due to multiple injuries.
When I started back up this year, I tried several supportive things for my hip. Running only 3x per week (never 2 days in a row), supplement with aqua jogging, running in Hokas, deep tissue massage once a month, daily foam rolling and stretching, hip and core strength training. Despite all this my hip problem is returning after the usual 5-6 months of running. Quite honestly I think this is nuts for arthritis that is so mild it wasn't seen on x ray. I never actually got to discuss the mri finding with my doc as he did not have the results when I went for the follow up. I plan on scheduling an appointment on Monday.
What I am interested in from the knowledgeable folks here is does my level of pain make sense with the mri findings and what else can I do to continue running? I wonder if taking a few weeks off now would help instead of waiting for the sharp pain that takes a few months to clear up. Also would taking an nsaid daily help prevent getting to the point where I have to quit running. Also, I am 39 years old. Can't wait to see what else is waiting for me as I age. Thanks for reading!
Last edited by:
desertchica: Jul 27, 14 16:36