Hip Pain

mbrune

I've been riding for years, and every year once I start pushing power I get a pain in my hip. It is on the hip itself, right where the femur ends and joins the hip. Basically I can feel a pain right on top of that rounded end of the femur. Amazingly it doesn't really bother me much riding, but always hurts afterwards. Getting to the point where it hurts to walk around. When I stretch my hamstrings and hip I can feel it in that spot (same pain but stronger), but it never seems to loosen. Wondering if anyone has any ideas on how I can reduce the pain and avoid this problem in the future, stretches to do, etc. I've looked up stuff online, and though constantly stretching my hips does help, the pain always seems to make an appearance.

Thanks for any ideas. I realize I should visit a physician, but that's a spendy endeavor to have them tell me to take a few weeks off of the bike. Reallys strange thing is that I wasn't having trouble this winter (though I only rode 2-3 times per week so maybe less usage helped).

zefs

Have you had a bike fit? It could be related to saddle height as if the saddle is too low it can cause issues on that area. Do you notice the knee moving to the side on the upstroke? it's like it is trying to overlap because it doesn't extend as much as it should because of a low saddle.

kingrollo

have a google for hip bursitis.

Stretching will work - but its just not a quick fix.

Personally I would bite the bullet and pay £40 or so to see a good physio - I have had loads of issues over the years - apart from when the pain is acute I haven't been advised to stop cycling.

Alejandrosdog

see a good physio, bike fits can be excellent but on the whole the bike fit industry is full of pseudo experts and youll waste two or three hundred pounds

mbrune

zefs wrote:

Have you had a bike fit? It could be related to saddle height as if the saddle is too low it can cause issues on that area. Do you notice the knee moving to the side on the upstroke? it's like it is trying to overlap because it doesn't extend as much as it should because of a low saddle.

Thank you all for the responses, I'll ask a physician (have an appointment in a few weeks,) and stretch up until that moment see if I can get it to loosen. Funny thing about the bike fit. I did have one recently, he lowered my seat about 12mm and moved me forward. I've since raised it back up a few so now I'm only down about 7.5mm from where I was, but still a few mm forward. I think I was a bit too high as my calves were much more prone to cramping than ever before, but I do think he took me too far down. I also tend to ride with pointed toes rather than flat feet which puts me a little higher in the saddle. I think I was stretching a bit before, however.

The pain also seems to be a lingering ache, that is mostly exacerbated by lateral leg movements more so than linear ones.