I’ve been dealing with a hip flexor for the past few months and while it’s not getting worse, it’s not getting better. I’ve got 19 weeks until my first 70.3 and really can’t afford to take an extended period of time off.
It starts to aggravate me after about 3 miles of running and then seems to be worse when I’m running inclines (up). It has now began to bother me a little while on the trainer (after about 45 minutes)
I’m taking glucosimine. chondrointin & MSM, as well as a script for Celebrex. I’ve seen one Doc but I don’t get the sense he’s treated alot of these, not does he see many triathletes as patients.
I live in Novi, MI so if anyone has any tri friendly doc they could refer me to that would be great.
I’ve been dealing with a hip flexor for the past few months and while it’s not getting worse, it’s not getting better. I’ve got 19 weeks until my first 70.3 and really can’t afford to take an extended period of time off.
It starts to aggravate me after about 3 miles of running and then seems to be worse when I’m running inclines (up). It has now began to bother me a little while on the trainer (after about 45 minutes)
I’m taking glucosimine. chondrointin & MSM, as well as a script for Celebrex. I’ve seen one Doc but I don’t get the sense he’s treated alot of these, not does he see many triathletes as patients.
I live in Novi, MI so if anyone has any tri friendly doc they could refer me to that would be great.
Any other advice is also welcome.
Thanks.
How do you know it’s a hip flexor? Glucosamine, etc. won’t help if it is, since glucosamine, etc. allegedly help OA of the joints (exception, spinal joints), not muscle strains. Is your primary diagnosis hip osteoarthritis?
Why are you still running inclines if that makes it worse? Sounds like you need a rest from the offending activities and also a valid diagnosis.
Hip Flexor issues can be very frustrating. I’d see a good PT and get good exercises and stretches to work on the issue. I’ve been dealing with that issue for a couple of years on the bike. When I do my exercises regularly, it tends to minimizes that pain.
Thanks for the reply. I know it’s muscular by the type and location of the pain. The Doc I saw didn’t suggest it was anything other than that.
I’m not running inclines but when running outdoors, I can’t always run a perfectly flat surface.
Does it hurt to stretch it? Are your glutes strong? How did the problem develop?
Hip Flexor issues can be very frustrating. I’d see a good PT and get good exercises and stretches to work on the issue. I’ve been dealing with that issue for a couple of years on the bike. When I do my exercises regularly, it tends to minimizes that pain.
I second the physical therapist suggestion. Ask your doctor for a referral. It could be a number of things like muscle imbalances, overpronation, a weak core, and blahblahblah. A physical therapist should be able to analyze and give you exercises to do so you can keep training.
In addition to physical therapy, I also saw an active release technique (ART) therapist for my tight hip flexors. He was able to stretch the muscles so that I could bike, run, and complete my PT without pain. A combination of PT, stretching on my own, and ART sessions is working well for keeping me training and pain free. I notice that when I slack on one, the pain starts to come back.
Hip flexor issues are much more common in cyclists than in runners. Rest (from the activity that caused it since most overuse injuries in triathletes are simply training errors) then possible PT would be best.
If weak, Frank may actually be right in that Power Cranks will most definitely strengthen them (but not right now!)
Oh, and stop that glucosamine/chondroitin for this (or any other non joint related issue)! It is not a magic skeletal pain pill and is only effective in about 50% of people who take for legitimate diagnoses anyway like RA, OA, etc.
Hip flexor issues are much more common in cyclists than in runners. Rest (from the activity that caused it since most overuse injuries in triathletes are simply training errors) then possible PT would be best.
If weak, Frank may actually be right in that Power Cranks will most definitely strengthen them (but not right now!)
Oh, and stop that glucosamine/chondroitin for this (or any other non joint related issue)! It is not a magic skeletal pain pill and is only effective in about 50% of people who take for legitimate diagnoses anyway like RA, OA, etc.
I disagree with your assessment as to what the PowerCranks would do for this person (addressing just the HF injury issue). Unless used specifically for this purpose (few do) the PC’s will not make the HF’s “stronger”. What they will do is ensure they have better aerobic capability (better blood flow means quicker healing) and that they are balanced. Further, the repeated stressing will ensure that the tendon and muscle insertions are capable of the stresses of running and cycling. The PC’s simply do on their own what a lot of PT programs will try to do to solve this issue.
I suffered with hip flexor issues for 5 months last year. I practically lived in the physical therapists office. That helped, but I didn’t get relief until I ordered a “Trigger Point” hip kit. I’m not endorsing their product nor do I work for them, but I tell you what, I credit that with getting me through the hip flexor issue. Within three weeks of using the trigger point kit, my hip flexor days were gone. I still use it daily and haven’t had a problem since - knock on wood. I began my Ironman training with some pretty serious flexor issues, and I could not afford to take time off - and other than the physical therapist visits, the only change I made was buying and using the trigger point. By the way, the physical therapist that I used now incorporates trigger point into their visits for many of their patients. Google “trigger point therapy” or either tp-therapy.com.
Strength is just a word (as in more blood flow at a physiological level will …) Don’t need much to turn a crank. Mitochondrial density in the muscle is not what most people are typically thinking of when training.
Nevermind, just realized I DON’T want to go here …
Strength is just a word (as in more blood flow at a physiological level will …) Don’t need much to turn a crank. Mitochondrial density in the muscle is not what most people are typically thinking of when training.
Nevermind, just realized I DON’T want to go here …
I accept that strength is sometimes used in this way. The better marathon runner is frequently described as stronger when all they have is better aerobic capacity. I tend to think of strength as representing force capability and not aerobic capacity. But, unless one is specifying that is the kind of “strength” one is talking about then it can be misconstrued or misinterpreted. Glad you clarified that.
I lost an entire season to similar “hip flexor” type symptoms…several docs and PT’s, finally a DO suggested it was secondary to ITBS (even tho that usually manifests as knee pain can also cause nagging hip and mid glute pain/ inflammation)…
ART,ART, ART, (trigger point and foam rollers!)…also rest as possible. After painfully finishing my IM that year I was able to work it out spd-walking on a treadmill (4.5 NO incline) and foamrolling/ stretching 20-30min afterwards3-4/wk in the offseason. hasnt been back and I pray it never is, was real tough to shake off.
My hip flexors flared up in 2004. Had to cut the training right back. using a few anti-inflamatories but only minimally. It would flare up badly with running. It seemed to invovle the sciatic nerve a little bit also, but minimally.
Went through a few diagnoses and talked to a few physios.
The best was a physio 13months ago at a training camp. he had me lie down and used his body weight to give my hip muscles a very good 30sec plus stretch. he did it on both legs and after that I never felt any problems again. i think it was just lucky timing as I was building the mileage for an ironman 8 weeks later. i think the mileage was actually strengthening it(was mainly cycling and very little running).
It is now a year later and i have the occasional weakness in this same hip, but it shows up more when i am physically and mentallt exhausted. Anyway am back to as fit as I ever was with 5 days to an iron-disatnce event.
Did one day specifically on the glutes about a week ago and know the muscles were targeted well as had a very sore butt afterwards.
also over the last couple of years i do a few extra stretches of this area and strengthening exercises like lunges and squats. The best advice has come from a couple of guys who have made doing ironman races their life. Both will be lining up this Saturday with me.
The physio guy was Andrew and he is based in Lytleton, Chch. Those full-on stretches seemed like a miracle to me, but really were just part of the solution.
I had the same problem, i went to a P.T., chiropractor and then I talked to a personal trainer who showed me a couple of great stretch’s that started giving me relief. I started stretching alot, before and after a workout and last I started doing a leg workout twice a week and the problem went away. I didn’t think I needed a leg workout because i was running and biking so much but it really helped. Best of luck,
I am a scientist and I studied glucose signaling. The likelihood that glucosamine does anything for you is very minimal. But science doesn’t know everything so go for it just in case.
I think you need to stretch more, better, or smarter (or a combination of these.) I had some big problems with my hip flexors and changing my stretching routine pretty much solved my problems. A PT should be helpful to show you the proper stretches. I think it would be pretty funny if you tried to get someone to massage you–might want to try one of those places with the happy endings instead of a PT (ha ha). But in all seriousness, I think if you do those weird stretches where you face/hold onto a post in front of you and swing your leg laterally back and forth in front of you, that should solve a lot of your problems. There is also the sitting stretch for your groin area; the one where you pull your leg up behind you; and so on.
I agree a PT referral would be in order. I am a PT up in Northern Michigan and I know a guy down there. His company is called Orthosport Physcial Therapy and his name is Veli Sippila. He has a significnat manual therapy background and does a lot with Sportsmedicine and athletics. That is who I would see if i had a nagging problem. If you can’t find him, PM me and I’ll find his number for you. Good luck.
+2 or +3 or +4 on ART. It helped me for my hip flexor issue, as well as ITBS. The cause of my hip flexor was tight quads which I worked on at home as well with foam roller.