I was heading home from my ride this morning (new to the city). It rained during the ride, so the roads were already slick. I was going around a slight curve when my front tire contacted the trolley rails that intersect the road. Needless to say, I slipped out and slid a decent ways on my hip. Whatever. So my brick was disturbed. #worldender
I have a desk job, and it has been really sore all day. I didn’t get a chance to ice it (in court all day), but I’ve noticed that it’s not really “road rash” like I’ve had in the past, but it’s way more swollen that I remember cycling injuries ever being. The thing is, it’s super mushy and not “firm” like I have had in the past… what’s the deal? And would it be a terrible idea to run tomorrow?
Hematoma, most likely. Give it some time. Running OK but if it’s large it’ll feel like running with a small water balloon on your hip. Don’t ask me how I know…
Is an epsom salt bath a good idea tonight? Or waste of time?
Probably a waste of time, but definitely doesn’t hurt. Ice, NSAIDs. Time. As someone else said, could be a hetatoma. Regardless, doesn’t really matter and will resolve with time.
I would avoid epson salt bath for the hot water. You don’t want to add heat to an already inflamed area. Ice it and try to do some kind of movement to get the edema out…also search on google for rocktape edema application…it may help with the swelling.
So yeah, I came off my bike real hard in 2014.
I too have a soft tissue edema just on top of the area where my hip meets by butt.
It doesn’t hurt, but it’s like a third cheek that when I run, unless I’m in compression shorts, likes to bounce around.
It’s amazing really. 2 years and it hasn’t budged. I’ve lost weight and it just juts out more !
It just looks weird. If there was a way to get rid of it, I’m in. I tried massage, acupuncture…
I agree. It is probably a hematoma if it is soft, aka fluctuant. It’s basically a pocket of blood. Your body with reabsorb it. If a hematoma is big/non-resolving, then it should be drained to expedite healing. If you’re concerned, just go to an urgent care or ED.
Just watch out for any fevers, chills, warmth around site or worsening pain/tenderness of site. That’s when I would be concerned about an abscess (infected pocket of fluid), but that’s unlikely given how quickly it formed and it doesn’t sound like any skin broke open. I work in infectious disease and get consulted frequently to help determine if patient has hematoma vs abscess.
This. Definitely Ibuprofen. Same thing happened to me earlier this year on some wet leaves. Hurt MUCH WORSE the second day, and took a couple weeks before it got ok enough to run on.
Use tylenol if you need pain relief. If it’s a hematoma, NSAIDs will delay healing or possibly make it worse. NSAIDs increase risk of bleeding. In general I would avoid pain medication prior to exercise. Pain (from injury) with activity = back off.
Not sure about icing as that causes vasoconstriction. Warm pack might be better since you want to promote circulation.
Try to elevate the hip. Lay on your right if injury was to left.
I would get it checked out an also get an X-ray.
Could be cracked, broken, etc.- even if you can walk on it.
I fell on my hip many years ago- went to ER for X-rays- they said I was fine.
Still really painful 2 weeks later and I could barely walk.
I went to an ortho for an X-ray- I had an impacted fracture of the femoral neck. It had already started to heal.
Back in 2011 I fell and got hurt on my left hip on a ride.
Just like you, it hurt a lot and I was puzzled.
Kept training and raced (2 70.3, 1 IM, 3 sprint tris and countless hours of training…) always in pain and pain management mode. Physio budget exploded…
MRI a year later showed a broken femur, torn cartilage and major damage.
$30000 in medical fees later I cannot really run anymore and I now feel a lot of pain on the other side after too much compensation.
Repercussions were painful and widespread (knee pain, hip pain, muscle loss, lots of forced time off, morale badly affected…)
Get some imaging done asap. Don’t wait, don’t leave it to chance and if you are fine, you will ease up into it.
If there is something serious, you will take it easy and discuss therapy, surgery, protocols with your physician.
DON’T GET IMAGING DONE ASAP, but see a professional. An assessment from a professional is what’s needed first. Do you need imaging? Maybe. All the recommendations are based on individual experiences. Do you need US, CT, x-ray or MRI or none? Maybe. That’s why you need to see someone who is trained in assessing your situation and ordering the right test if needed. Fractures, joint damage, soft tissue damage have both similar and different presentations. Assessment is step one. A good physical assessment can rule out a lot and help guide which studies to order if needed.
You did well to clarify Hubcaps. He should talk to his physician then based on what he hears, he could make up his mind whether or not imaging is right for him.
I believed the “talking to your physician part” was clear in my message. Could he even get an appointment without seeing his physician first anyway?
I am a little surprised you did not comment on hot v. cold, NSAID, advil advice left before mine.
My intent was mostly for him to have it looked at and not leave it alone. Initial assessments were not enough on my end and I lost and wasted precious time to get the appointment and then get the results.
The damage might however not be clear with a routine exam and even x-rays are limited.
On my end, MRI showed the damage without any possible doubt in my case (and even then, you might be missing some details).
MRI with contrast might be even better.
Monitor this closely and keep us posted.
Good luck.
I had a really slow speed fall on wet roads during a race a couple of years ago and landed heavily on my hip which swelled up dramatically. To cut a very long story short it turned out to be a ruptured hip bursa and I had to have to fluid which should have been in the bursa aspirated.
It was extremely painful before the fluid was removed but with that removal the pain lessened as soon as the anaesthetic had worn off. It took a long time to get properly better though, a good six months or more, and my hip went from being extremely swollen to having a large dent in it!
If the swelling doesn’t got down as you’d expect get it checked out…