What causes sore hips?

Sounds like tendonitis or bursitis. Hip flexor strain? Stop running for a while, stretch, work on mobility.

Alan

Stopping running is what I don't want to do, unfortunately. But I thank you for your reply..

sore hips are typically and traditionally caused by repeated and incorrect sexual actions.

Couldn't it also be caused by tight piriformis muscles?

Is there a click or a deep clunk in your hip when you extend your leg sometimes? If so, it could be a hip joint instability, as you talk about the ball and socket movement. I had this, and it kept me out for 3 months, doesn't show up on mri and the only way to fix it is strenghten the holy jesus out of the glutes and rotator cuff muscles to help hold the femoral head in the socket.

Of course, there's plenty of other things it could be also, bursitis, femoral neck stress fx, a tear or strain in the rotator muscles, a groin issue. Explain your symptoms a bit more and google the heck out of hip pain to see if they match anything.

Take glucosamine. Keep running.

What exercises did you do? I'm experiencing clicking in the hip and MRI's nor x-rays are showing anything; very frustrating.

have you been doing and rehabilitative squat thrusts? This exercise has been proven to combat sore hips. Also brocoli juice is seen as an effective hip stabilizer and should be investigated.

Below is a link to an article which addresses the hip jint instability thing.

http://www.sportsinjurybulletin.com/archive/hip-exercises.htm

My problem was the second, and more severe, of the two types, whereby the femoral head is hypermobile in the socket and not sitting in place. This, a good physio who finally diagnosed it for me (after a negative mri which just showed some fluid in hip joint but nothing really), causes irritation of the soft tissue around the hip socket. Anti-inflam injection did little for me, although when i did get back running, taking prescribed anti-inflam tablets after a recurrence of it made a BIG difference, because it was an inflammatory response to the irritation that happened while i ran. The pain felt on the front of the hip joint, about an inch or inch and a half in from the hip bone, but felt deep. A good physio will be needed in your case, someone with PLENTY experience with runners, because, if it's what i had, it's a low-key injury in that there seems very little info on it on the net. The key is to strengthen the hip musculature, as my physio said to me, "you need to be as strong as f*** in the hips to stay healthy with all the running you do".

The exercises i was given:

1) External (or was it internal?) rotation. This one seemed key, and the most important. It is for strengthening the external hip rotators, which are the deep muscles in the hip which hold your femoral head in place. Lie on a bed on your right side, and say we're working your right hip, you keep left leg straight out, and bring rt leg to 90 degrees, so it overhangs from the bed. Oh wait, just remembered i have the video on link, so go to this: (yes, it's listed for golfers but he is apparently one of the leading rehab specialists). I do 3x10, with about 45 secs recovery, with a ankle weight on.

http://www.golfersmd.com/Experts/tabid/977/Default.aspx?VID=238

2)Side lying leg lift

http://www.golfersmd.com/Experts/tabid/977/Default.aspx?VID=237

You can use an ankle weight for this too, go up in about 2-3 seconds, and come back eccentrically slower, and make sure you can feel your glute (place your finger on it) instead of your tfl working.

3) Clam exercise for glutes (youtube it, and you can put a weight on your knee for added resistance.

4) Single-leg squats

5) 3-point balance (stand, tip toe off floor in front, then behind left, then behind right, returning to straight after each one, kinda like 1-leg squats but improves balance)

It takes 6 weeks to make a sizeable difference in strength with these, so try to do them 5-6 days a week for 6-8 weeks, adding weight weekly, and then cut back to 3 times a week to maintain the strength.

(PS-I'm a 21-year-old college 800 runner with no medical training at all, just too much injury experiece, so don't take any of above as gospel!)

Good luck, there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Sounds like ITBS, you probably need new/different shoes.

What are you doing when you experience hip pain? Does anything in particular set it off?

lots of things ...

start working on core strength, (planks) glute strength, and hip mobility. some of this can be helped with the addition of squats, done with good form and with only a bar or broomstick. the idea hip mobility/flexibility and strength. my guess is that you will have a difficult time trying to do squats correctly and will likely want to tip forward or that you can't do squats without your heels coming off of the ground.

had a similar condition, thought that maybe i had arthritis, the pain was so deep that it felt like the socket area. if it never improves, then that may be the case but likely it is tight muscles in that area, caused by a weak core

Procrastinator wrote:

What are you doing when you experience hip pain? Does anything in particular set it off?

Nothing out of the ordinary. Mostly easy mileage. This has sort of been a recurring problem for me. I usually take time off and it gets better, but then I lose fitness, and I'm getting older...(38), it is very hard to come back from time off. I'd rather train through somehow, if possible.

I do leg lifts periodically and bridging, which was taught to me by a physical therapist for other reasons, and I seem quite strong at these exercises.

It's possibly the shoes, but I've only been in this pair a month, and I can't imagine they've worn out that quickly. I'll switch to another pair and see if it makes a difference.