hip only hurts when I stop running!

Hi,

I am experiencing some pain in the top of my left hip joint, following  a heavy trainiing schedule and a (brilliant) half marathon. I did rest after the race for six days but then got back into approx 30 miles a week. The pain goes away when I am running and I feel great, but an hour after I stop, the hip stiffens up and hurts when I stand and walk. I am resting now (i.e. didn't run this morning) but not sure if this is the right thing to do, or how long I should plan to rest for......have made appointment to see doc net Weds.

I would be grateful for any thoughts on the matter!

Hi Helen, I have something similar I suspect due to doing two marathons far too close together.  Go to a decent sports physio they should be able to help you.  Mine may be tendonitis of the hip bad enough to wake me up at night etc. not nice and been going on for weeks now.  Absolutely fine when I run but not when I dont.

Helen,

Hip pain can come from a number of pathologies:

1. Referred pain from nerve root irritation (L1)
2. Trochanteric Bursitis
3. Tendonitis like ileopsoas tendonitis
4. Stress fracture in runners
5. Labral tears that can then cause:
6. Osteoarthritis
7. Hernia
8. Varicose veins
9. rarer causes etc

Suggest you go to your GP with this list and he/she can think about these causes while taking a history, examining you and performing the relevant special investigations.

 Hope this helps...

John Hardy

Google: Orthopaedic Surgeon

I had an acetabular labrum tear - once I knew what it was I could manage it much better. It is *one* of the things where sitting for a long time can make it play up more! Took ages to get a diagnosis as for that you need an MRI with contrast dye (an MRA) which are £££, so I had to spend quite a bit of time seeing a fizz first. Eventually I got an anaesthetic injection into the hip joint and bingo! pain go! which confirmed that the problem was in the joint, and that was the key to getting referred for the MRA.

However the other people at the hospital were in terrible states so I couldn't really go complaining that the NHS was - OMG! - trying the cheaper option on me first....

Fido2Dogs,

Orthopaedics and Trauma Surgeons are finding that labral tears are a common cause of later onset hip osteoarthritis. I see it in patients referred for knee pain but the hip is the origin of the pain. Hip pathology is often referred as unlocalised knee pain.

The loose bit of the labral tear flips intermittently into the joint causing superior lateral degenerate change in the viscoelastic hyaline cartilage of the acetabulum and femoral head. It is like having a stone in your shoe. One of two thinks happen. Either the loose bit breaks off and the wear stops or it does not and the wear progresses to osteoarthritis. 

My wife had to stop running beacuse of her labral tear. She recently had a hip arthroscopy with Mr Anthony Ward in Bristol. The torn part of the labrum was removed and the painful click has gone but she is still nursing a sore hip.

John Hardy

Hi,

 I have had a really similar problem. I feel fine when I run but then when I stop I really struggle to lift my right leg due to pain in my hip i.e. I normally swing my leg onto our wall to strtch it out but I am lucky if I can lift it a few inches!!! Then the next day it hurts to stand, I struggle to get out of chairs etc.

An ultrasound scan has revealed ileopsoas tendinosis, which I have been told is basically tennis elbow in the hip! I am waiting for a sports physio apt to find out what to do but basically I understand that its R.I.C.E (ice four time a day) and physio. Unfortunately I have been told byteh consultant that there is a fairly long recovery time....

Get yourself a good sports physio!

Feathers