3 Reasons Why You Are Getting Hip Pain When Running

You’ve just dusted the first 1km of your run and you start to feel the outside of you hip aching slightly. with each stride you notice the intensity building, but you choose to ignore and and “run it off”. By the your 3rd km you start to notice that you are limping slightly, each stride getting worse than the previous. “Keep going, you’re nearly at 5km” you say to yourself. By the last 1km of your run, the pain has now progressed into a deep burning sensation at the outside of your hip, you hobble over that 5km mark, pat yourself on the back, shower and get on with the rest of your day. The day passes with that residual aching feeling always in the background, you get into bed that night and you toss and turn all night, all because if you lie on that side for more than 10 minutes, that burning sensation starts to come back… the run was worth it right?

Absolutely not, yes working through a little discomfort can be ok, but so much that it disturbs your sleep? Definitely not. If this sounds like you, you need to take a close look at what you’re doing.

Pain at the outside of your hip can be linked to various structures such as your gluteal tendons or trochanteric bursa, plus some more. It’s a relatively common complaint that can be really disruptive to your daily life if it’s left too long.

Heres 3 things to look at that you could change immediately to see if they help alleviate some of the symptoms…

  • Running Volume - doing too much too soon is where most people are guilty. Have you ramped up your running volume over the last few weeks and started to get pain? If the answer is yes, take it back a few notches, progress more slowly and see if this helps the symptoms become more manageable

  • Running the “Tight Rope” - do you ever feel your knees brush together or notice that your foot strike is as though your running along a tightrope? If so, this can place more load through the structures at the outside of your hip, eventually this overload can lead to pain. Thinking about running with some “air between the knees” can help manage this

  • Hip Drop - you’ll likely need to film yourself from behind for this one. If you notice that your pelvis on the side that the foot is hitting the ground, is shooting way out to the side as you make contact with the ground, you have whats called Trendelenburg Sign. This again puts more force through the outside of the hip and can lead to symptoms developing. The cue above can also help rectify this.

Need more help getting on top of your hip pain? Call 01563262123 or email info@aristosphysiotherapy.co.uk to find out how our team can help keep you on the roads and trails!

Ryan Barr