I'm currently getting physical therapy for what they are describing as an impingement of some kind. I had mri's done, there was a ridge of bone on the femoral head of my right leg. After running any amount of distance, or (weirdly) sitting for longer than 30 minutes or so, I have pain and stiffness in that hip joint. Riding doesn't seem to aggravate the problem all that much. Is there something that I might have done on the bike to add to this problem?

Can you clarify? You said that cycling doesn't appear to bother your hip much. But -- this is where I get confused -- then you ask if there is something you might have done on the bike to add to the problem. If you are asking whether you might be, unknowingly, causing more damage to the hip by cycling, I recommend that you seek an appropriate professional expert for guidance on that.

Btw, I have a worn out left hip, and riding and racing tend to be pain free for me (not so true for other activities).

They called it femeroacetabular impingement. I'm not sure what it means, but he seems to think it can be made better with physical therapy. The reason I am questioning my cycling activities is that this problem didn't crop up until after I started putting in alot of miles on the bike. Running always hurt before, but now it well, you know hurts alot, in the same place every time. I worry that maybe this was cause by poor bike fit or maybe the wrong saddle choice.

"femeroacetabular impingement. I'm not sure what it means"

Google is your friend, so can be wikipedia and in particular so is your doctor, who can explain what your problem is, the ramifications of this condition, and what you need to do to get better.

I was diagnosed with femoroacetabular impingement in 2007 or so, had surgery to correct it in 2008, and I've been pain free since then. Do some internet research and check out the yahoo FAI group. No one really knows what causes FAI, but more than likely there are both genetic and environmental causes. There's probably nothing you did on the bike to cause it; you would have gotten it anyway.

Who is "he" that told you physical therapy would help? A physician? I think you owe it to yourself to get a second opinion, by an orthopedist if possible, even better would be a physician that specializes in the hip, which may not be possible depending on your location. I can tell you that physical therapy made my pain worse and I'm absolutely 100% satisfied with the outcome of my surgery.

Feel free to PM me if you want to talk about it some more (or here but I think the topic will quickly lose relevance to this forum). I'm always happy to talk about my experiences.

Mark

Good luck.

OK so apparently I don't have enough posts to send a PM. But I guess if you have any more questions, you can send me your email address and I can reply that way.