Osteitis Pubis: Anyone dealt with it?

I dealt with it for quite some time. I saw a number of doctors for a hernia, but they all indicated that I didn't have a hernia of any sort. Again, it presented with symptoms as a typical inguinal hernia would. I was baffled and continued to run, although less miles than normal and no intensity. I ran for 4 weeks like this, until I was later diagnosed with a sacral stress fracture.

My research also revealed that I should have stopped running and let it (OP) heal. I don't know if it had anything to do with my subsequent stress fracture. My advice, take a bit of down time and, the biggest thing, get rid of the inflammation.

mine started as groin tightness that didn't go away with rest. did therapy for a strain. didn't help, only got worse. MRI showed inflammation in the pubic symphasis.

The pain eventually moved deeper into the groin and then into my tailbone. An injection in the Orthopedist's office felt great for a few days. An injection under fluoroscope by the pain management guy was good for a few months.

When it started to return, i saw a new dr. who sent me to a manual therapist. She quickly saw muscle imbalance and a tilted pelvis. The manipulations and hip/core work helped very quickly.

Been ok for about 2 years. I believe it was soccer more than running that aggravated it for me. Search for "tilted pelvis" and "si joint dysfunction" That's what's applicable to my situation.

My impression is that hip/pelvic pain is very hard to diagnose

I took 6 or 8 weeks off, with tons of ibuprofen the first two weeks or so. Have still felt minor tweaks with that hip ever since (a year ago) but have been able to train/race normally.

I took 5 months off for a stress fracture in the inferior pubic ramus and returned to running very,very gradually and the only cross training I could do for the first 3 months was swimming with a pool buoy.... How did you only take 6 weeks off?

I have had it on and off for a couple years. It was very severe pain at first and seems to get worse when I take time off but it has never seriously hindered my training.

Sorry, that was for osteitis pubis only. I never had a stress fracture.

I had it years ago. I couldn't run for 5 months with out pain. The best thing I found is to do exercises to stregthen the inner thigh. GEt a foam roller between your knees and squeeze hard for awhile & repeat. I still do it on my back and hips up.

Thanks for all of the info, I think it will be really helpful. The long story is this:

I began having pain in the groin area at the beginning of April 2009. Thinking it was a muscle problem or something not too serious, I decided to run through it since it was my senior season. After the outdoor season was over I took two weeks off, and when i began running again, it hurt just as badly as before. So I went to the doctor, but didn't get an MRI, but ended up taking 6 weeks off of running. not knowing i had a stress fracture, I would still jump rope for 15-20 minutes a day, which i don't think helped.

When i tried to begin running again, the pain was still there, so I got an MRI in August and found out about the stress fracture in my inferior pubic ramus. I again took 6 weeks off of all activity other than walking.

In October I tried running again, and it felt better for a couple of days, but I could still tell something was wrong with my groin area. I took a couple more weeks off, and after that, just decided to try running consistently to see if the pain was psychological or would eventually go away.

Anyways, i have been running off and on since november, but have never actually felt healthy when running. The last 5 weeks or so I have been very gradually building miles up, starting with 1-2 miles per day and have worked my way up to 6 at the most. But i still felt the pain. I finally got an MRI the other day and was told I have OP. I guess based upon the responses, I may need to take some time off and get into it more gradually.

Thanks again for the replies, guys.

bump

OP can be continually caused by the muscles around it (mainly adductor and hip flexor) being too tight and pulling on the bone. I'd make sure those are stretched out. Also they had me strengthening the opposite muscle groups, on the outside of my hip.