Hip Injury - Hip Bursitis

[Simon Smith]

I notice there was a line of enquiry started on a hip injury before but it gave local addresses and names that for me in Japan have no meaning. Also I cannot find any sports injury doctors here.

I was wondering if anyone out there has some good advise on a hip injury I have. I finished a run last week and the next day my right hip was aching all day. I went for a little jog a few days later but it still feels sore when I run.  I suspect it is a Hip Bursitis injury as it is under the hip bone which is sore. It has been present during the last few weeks if  I think about it - I first noticed a soreness when I slept on my side at night. I have given it few days so far, but with a half marathon coming up in two weeks I am thinking about pulling out in case it leads to something really serious.  I am going with the Smart Training logic here, pull back as soon as you notice something is not right or be out for months.

If anyone can give advise on this I would be really grateful.

[milesdavis]

 8)I had the same symptoms over a year ago while training for a marathon. I ended up missing about 3 months of running until I was able to run without discomfort. The best thing to do is listen to your body. If that means missing a race, check it off your list and look for another one later. I did go to the doctor and was given an anti-flammitory to help relieve the pain, but it still took longer than I thought to recover.

[Simon Smith]

Thanks for replying.  Yes, rest is undoubtedly the best idea, along with some cross-training I think.
One book I have been reading has suggested a lighter shoe with less support to prevent the hard poundings
that some of the over-cushioned shoes cause.
Trree months sounds savage, I don't like the sound of that one, but if that is how long it will take then I am prepared to suck it up, cruel as it is. Is cycling likely to make it worse or am I  best to do some pool running?

[milesdavis]

Personally, pool workouts were the best for me the first few weeks. Then I did some light biking to mix it up. Listen to your body and be conservative at first.

[Simon Smith]

I concur with the bit about being conservative at first.  I took a week off and went for a jog the other day but the day after it feels slightly sore.  Fortunately, I have found a phsyiotherapist  in Japan  who specializes in hip injuries and I hope he will be able to help me get through this as painlessly as possible.  I told him of an achilles injury I had last year too and he wrote that:

"My guess is that your imbalanced running gait caused by the Achilles problem led to an imbalance or malalignment at the hip and pelvis.  Once pelvic asymmetric malalignment occurs, it does not go back in the correct place even if  the original Achilles problem is cured.  Running with malaligned hip and pelvis is at higher risk of chronic injury and will take a long time to be fixed or cured."

I have done a couple of water running sessions and I will maybe try some　work and I will let you know how the therapy goes.  I can't meet him until the end of the month unfortunately, but it feels good to have some help. Any other stories would be welcome.  All I can say is that strength training is probably essential if you want to avoid such injuries.I didn't do much in this department and I am thinking that it might have helped avoid this injury.

[Simon Smith]

I went to the sports therapist this week and he confirmed that I have a misaligned right hip. He has given me some exercised to realign my  hip after which he recommends that I do some strengthening exercises to prevent similar injuries occuring. He suggests that only after this can I run. I hope to report on some positive results.

[milesdavis]

 8)That is good news. Sounds like you are on the right path. I have a friend with a similar problem and he has been able to run several marathons with the correct excercising and therapy.

[Simon Smith]

Just a follow up to my case.  I am now back in training, having taken a month off.  I am supplementing my running with hip strengthening excercises and icing after runs. All seems to be good so far as I train for the Tokyo marathin in March.  I am running more conservatively than the summer in an attempt to avoid picking up any injuries from overtraining. I am going with the  Runner's World program which prescribes a 3-day running proramme with some cross-training as it allows for a bit of recovery.  When I finish the marathon without any injury I might be able to consider a more intensive programme with more running, but first I need a good base.
Thanks for your help.

[milesdavis]

 glad to hear it's working out for you. After sometime injury free I have now had a little set back with the hip again. So I will ease up rest and try and pick it up again in a week or two. I'm planning on running the Sedona ,Arizona Marathon in Feb.

[Simon Smith]

Still absolutely no problem with my hips even after increasing my mileage.  I have been doing hip exercises with a stretch rope and has helped a lot. That is the secret as far as I am concerned.