*Stop running anytime you have pain. With this issue, pain begins before any damage occurs (our bodies are that smart!), so I have never had any injury to my labrum or hip cartridge because I have not run through pain.
*Stop sleeping on your side, which sounds so simple yet is challenging if you love your side sleeping like I do! I have changed to a back sleeper, although occasionally if I wake up a little before my alarm I'll give myself the treat of sleeping on my side for an hour or less.
*Start working on your proprioception by learning to stand on one leg with your eyes closed. I can stand on one leg all day with my eyes open, but when I first started working on this just a couple of seconds with my eyes closed was game over. I am now up to about 30 seconds on my weak side and 60 seconds on my strong side on good trials, but I want to get more predictably consistent.
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| Single leg balance! |
*Start doing traction with a band to "pull" your femur bone away from your pelvis. This is kind of hard to explain, but see photo below and feel free to comment with questions. Lateral hip distraction with a band has also been helpful, and you can easily find videos of how to do it online.
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| Traction |
*Strengthen your psoas and adductor muscles, as well as the internal and external rotators of your hips. Learning exercises to isolate these areas seemed to be a game changer for me.
*Hit single leg strength, balance exercises, and core work hard - I was already doing these but I think we can all do better on extras like this! The more running-specific the better.
*Stop yoga. I think yoga was helping my hip in the short-term but hurting it in the long run (same with stretching my hip flexors aggressively). My yoga time seems to be better spent on strength training, which is unfortunate since I like yoga better.
*Use a standing desk - I was already doing this often but have been more vigilant about it.
*Stop holding tight to running goals (this is a nicer way of saying "give up"). The first time I got over this hurdle I'd acquiesced that I would not be able to really run again & I was training for a century bike ride. This time I gave up real quick & decided I'd train to ride my ElliptiGO 100 miles. It sounds counter-intuitive, but I really do think that giving up was helpful to me on this journey. This may not be the case for everyone though!
I doubt my story with this issue is over, but I am thrilled about how much I have learned about it and that I am currently running (after just 2.5 weeks off this time) - researching it was seriously my part-time job for about 10 days! I hope that my work can help someone else who feels hopeless about having weird hip bones.
*Hit single leg strength, balance exercises, and core work hard - I was already doing these but I think we can all do better on extras like this! The more running-specific the better.
*Stop yoga. I think yoga was helping my hip in the short-term but hurting it in the long run (same with stretching my hip flexors aggressively). My yoga time seems to be better spent on strength training, which is unfortunate since I like yoga better.
*Use a standing desk - I was already doing this often but have been more vigilant about it.
*Stop holding tight to running goals (this is a nicer way of saying "give up"). The first time I got over this hurdle I'd acquiesced that I would not be able to really run again & I was training for a century bike ride. This time I gave up real quick & decided I'd train to ride my ElliptiGO 100 miles. It sounds counter-intuitive, but I really do think that giving up was helpful to me on this journey. This may not be the case for everyone though!
I doubt my story with this issue is over, but I am thrilled about how much I have learned about it and that I am currently running (after just 2.5 weeks off this time) - researching it was seriously my part-time job for about 10 days! I hope that my work can help someone else who feels hopeless about having weird hip bones.
Ok, so...I had bilateral FAI surgery and labral repair. And it was absolutely the best decision I've ever made. From what I've read, my case was MUCH more severe than yours (mine was linked to scoliosis and was cam and pincer), but I guess my advice would be - do not be afraid of surgery if it comes down to that. Every single PR I've run has been after the surgeries. I went from daily pain with simple tasks to almost always pain free (I'll have an occasional little flare, but never anything serious).
ReplyDeleteA lot of your advice is spot-on: traction is great; yoga is bad! I really think yoga can damage the hip joint. Plus, I always prioritize strength over flexibility: one protects the joint, the other strains it.
It definitely sounds like yours was much worse than mine! I'm glad you have had such a great outcome from surgery. I hope that I do not get to that point, but if I do I'll be doing all of the research first! I think you are 1000% correct about prioritizing strength over flexibility - I am learning how much strength helps. I like yoga a lot more than lifting, but I love running enough to lift. :-) Hope you keep chasing those PRs!
DeleteI'm so glad you've found some things that work and hope this will keep the issue at bay for you from now on! My PT had me doing single leg balancing to help with my glute and hamstring. I've gotten so much better at it. I'll have to try doing it with my eyes closed!
ReplyDeleteIt is SO much harder for me with my eyes closed! I have really learned that balance work is an often neglected but very important part of supplementary training for runners. I was already doing almost all single leg lifting, which helps with balance, but with my eyes open of course. :-)
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