Training & Nutrition - Hip pain from standing and walking?

Do any of you experience a lot of hip pain from standing and walking? I stand (and walk around a bit) a lot in my new job, and my hips are killing me! I suspect it has something to do with my IT band.

Odd thing though, I worked at a job where I stood a lot for a year and a half until last April, and never had this much pain. Maybe it has something to do with my footwear. Then, I wore comfortable running shoes. Now I wear relatively comfortable dress shoes.

Unfortunately it also hurts some when I ride.

If you do experience a lot of hip pain, what do you do? Stretching helps a bit ......

Do any of you experience a lot of hip pain from standing and walking? I stand (and walk around a bit) a lot in my new job, and my hips are killing me! I suspect it has something to do with my IT band.

Odd thing though, I worked at a job where I stood a lot for a year and a half until last April, and never had this much pain. Maybe it has something to do with my footwear. Then, I wore comfortable running shoes. Now I wear relatively comfortable dress shoes.

Unfortunately it also hurts some when I ride.

If you do experience a lot of hip pain, what do you do? Stretching helps a bit ......

I did last year. Went to the Dr, had mri's, x-rays and that stuff. They told me not to ride, that I has a stress fracture. Well after the mri he changed his mind and said there was nothing wrong. Well I beg to differ cause I was in a lot of pain. Could'nt stand for more then 20 minutes. Riding was actually the only relief I could get. Of course an hour after the ride the pain was back, and worse. Stretching helped a bit. But I finally got an xray of my lower back. Low and behold I had a slipped disc. A few visits to the chiro and Ive been fine since. Pain is gone and now I go to the gym twice a week to do a little maintenace work on the abs and low back muscles.

How much are you riding? I have two rods in my back, L3-L5 and I have constent lower back pain. I started riding on regular basis, three time a week. At first 5 miles/trip, then 10 miles/trip and then 15 miles/per trip. Back felt great until one day I could barely move, excruciating pain in lower back and left hip. I went to an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in the spine. Diagnosis, bursitis of the hip. The following link will give you some insight about the condition.

http://orthopedics.about.com/cs/hipsurgery/a/hipbursitis.htm

Hope this helps
Flick

Hate to say it, but maybe a visit to the doc is called for. A friend had something like this. Turned out he'd kind of worn out some cartilage on the edges of his hip sockets. I wouldn't just take ibuprofen . . .

How much are you riding? I have two rods in my back, L3-L5 and I have constent lower back pain. I started riding on regular basis, three time a week. At first 5 miles/trip, then 10 miles/trip and then 15 miles/per trip. Back felt great until one day I could barely move, excruciating pain in lower back and left hip. I went to an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in the spine. Diagnosis, bursitis of the hip. The following link will give you some insight about the condition.

http://orthopedics.about.com/cs/hipsurgery/a/hipbursitis.htm

Hope this helps
Flick

I'm hardly riding at all compared with what I do in the summer. In the summer, I'm regularly logging 300+ kms a week, now I'm lucky to do 30 kms a week.

The riding doesn't hurt too much ... the walking does. I can hardly climb stairs anymore. The pain is mainly in my right hip, but also my left, and it radiates around everywhere.

I'm currently standing and walking 5-10 hours a day, 6 days a week ... and I've been doing this for about 6 weeks now.

Machka
What a drag. I've been dealing with something similar in my left hip for the past two months.
It started about a week after I threw my right shoulder out during the last outdoor lake swim
of the season. I did a challenging (hills) run with my really sore shoulder and came home with
a really sore hip.

Happy to report that things have really improved in the past three weeks with the following
self therapy:
1] Tennis ball on the wall with my shoulder blade 4-5x/day. I try to hit the trigger points ag-
gressively along the blade and finish with gentle stretching.
2) McKenzie method 4-5x/day. If you're a man-think missionary style, propped up on the elbows.
3) Stretching the hip 4-5x/day. In my case I find a set of stairs and put the right foot on
the third step then gently stretch the left leg straight with foot, flat on the floor (toes always
pointed straight)
4) Quad/hip strengthening 4-5x/day. Sit against a wall as if in a chair (no chair though) and
hold until you start to feel pain in the affected hip then stop; I try to do several sets. This is
a hard one but don't be surprised if it gets ALOT easier after a week...and makes you a stronger
cyclist.
5) Tennis ball on the wall on the hip.....
The McKenzie method seems to help me the most, especially when combined with 'but tensing'.
I think in my case the sore shoulder caused enough of an imbalance to injure to opposite hip
when I stressed it. Cycling (I'm a daily cyclist anyway) has helped this 'running' injury!
Currently running about half the kms I used to, but feeling stronger thanks to some tough
therapy. Keep yer chin up.
Tom.

...and one last thing. Weird looking cwx compression tights worn while sleeping are worth
their weight in gold! The 'anti embolism' stockings are great for recovery imho.;)
Tom

Machka,

I went to your website and reviewed your history of long distance cycling. Impressive! Your should be in excellent shape, however we are not getting any younger and with the aging process at work, as you get older we become more prone to body aches and pain. Please understand that I am by no means qualified to diagnose your condition. I just want to provide some insight on my condition and how it was diagnosed.

Quoted from the Mayo Clinic Health letter dated Sept. 1997

"Bursitis of the hip can result from a traumatic injury to your hip, but more often it's caused by repeated physical activity. Over use of the muscles in your hip can strain them, along with attached tendons and tissues. Muscles and tendons may not move smoothly over a bursa, causing it to inflame and swell. Excessive or prolonged pressure on yours, such as standing for a long time, can also lead to bursitis. In addition, bursitis can result from abnormal hip mechanics due to arthritis, a difference in the length of your legs or back problems. The main symptom of trochanteric bursitis is a chronic, aching pain in the outer portion of the hip. Sometimes, the pain may extend into your buttocks or radiate down the outside of your leg. Rolling over or lying on the affected side usually makes the pain worse. Climbing stairs, standing for long periods of time, and in some cases, even walking may worsen the pain. Sitting too long in a soft chair can also produce produce pain. Left untreated trochanteric bursitis can last for months and may fluctuate in severity."

My doctor was able to diagnose my bursitis immediately because I could pin point the exact location of the source of pain. When he pressed those points with his thumbs with significant pressure, I nearly fell to my knees from the pain. If it was a pinched nerve from a disc I would not have been able to pin point the origin of pain.

As others have said before, it is important to see a doctor, one that specializes in back pain. My family doctor did not diagnose my bursitis, he thought I had another bulging disc. Don't be afraid of the diagnosis even if it is a pinched nerve. Using a cold pack and anti-inflammatory drugs can do wonders for both bursitis or a pinched nerve. Stretching exercises for the back and hamstrings are also recommended.

Hope this information is useful.
Flick

I don't know if you have suffered any hip trauma lately, however I am dealing with the same thing right now. I fractured my left hip back in 1998 while in the military. The military doctors were quick to diagnose bursitis. After multiple x-rays, MRI's and bone scans, they found that it was in fact a fracture. It was not diagnosed until 6 months after the initial break. I decided to not let the military doctors do anything because the one I was dealing with just did not impress me enough to open me up and do whatever. I have suffered from hip since and recently was diagnosed with Avascular Necrosis (same thing Floyd had) and am currently in the process of looking into a Birmingham Hip Resurfacing. I have a guy that I work with that just had the BHR done and he did not have any trauma that he recalled. His doctor said that it could have happened back when he was young and not even realize that trauma was caused. Hope this helps some.

I don't know if you have suffered any hip trauma lately, however I am dealing with the same thing right now. I fractured my left hip back in 1998 while in the military. The military doctors were quick to diagnose bursitis. After multiple x-rays, MRI's and bone scans, they found that it was in fact a fracture. It was not diagnosed until 6 months after the initial break. I decided to not let the military doctors do anything because the one I was dealing with just did not impress me enough to open me up and do whatever. I have suffered from hip since and recently was diagnosed with Avascular Necrosis (same thing Floyd had) and am currently in the process of looking into a Birmingham Hip Resurfacing. I have a guy that I work with that just had the BHR done and he did not have any trauma that he recalled. His doctor said that it could have happened back when he was young and not even realize that trauma was caused. Hope this helps some.


I crashed last April, and among other injuries, landed heavily (and first) on my left hip. My shoulder was the second contant point and that resulted in a separated shoulder, and my head was the third contact point which resulted in a broken helmet, being knocked out, and a concussion.

My left hip HURT for weeks. I saw two different Drs about it, but they both just brushed me off and told me I had a bit of a bruise. Yes, I did have "a bit" of a bruise .... from high on my hip all the way down to the knee. After several weeks, the pain subsided, so I never pursued the matter or had X-Rays or anything.

Both hips are bothering me, but the pain point is more isolated and specific in the left one than the right.

I crashed last April, and among other injuries, landed heavily (and first) on my left hip. My shoulder was the second contant point and that resulted in a separated shoulder, and my head was the third contact point which resulted in a broken helmet, being knocked out, and a concussion.

My left hip HURT for weeks. I saw two different Drs about it, but they both just brushed me off and told me I had a bit of a bruise. Yes, I did have "a bit" of a bruise .... from high on my hip all the way down to the knee. After several weeks, the pain subsided, so I never pursued the matter or had X-Rays or anything.

Both hips are bothering me, but the pain point is more isolated and specific in the left one than the right.

You have one of the most developed cycling distance capabilities of anyone I have ever read of or known (Jan Heine is another), but the muscular patterns in walking and standing are different from those in cycling. Maybe there's a sort of cross-training that would help?

Beyond that, I feel for you!

Road Fan