Stress fracture or strain? Pain in the hip

Hi there

I have had three stress fractures one in each foot and the last one in the lesser trochanter which results in pain in the hip and groin. They were all a bit different but had the following in common:

- Pain is worse in the morning.

First few steps after sitting down hurt like hell.

- Pain is very bad at beginning of run, but warms up nicely.

During the early stages, but this will change suddenly if it is a SF.

- Took one week completely off, almost no difference.

Indeed

- No pain when just sitting / lying there.

Again during the early stages yes, but this changes after a week or two after the pain is first noticed.

- Positive jump test (ie, lots of pain jumping on just one leg)

All my stress fractures hurt to the point of fear preventing the jump test.

- Pain when sitting in a chair and lifting the leg (ie, taking the foot off the ground, both hip and knee at 90 degree angles).

Yes I had that with the last one.

I experienced the following with the last one in my hip,standing on one leg (weight on the injured leg) for 30 seconds during the early stages felt okay but the moment the weight is taken off I experienced a pinching / stabbing pain in the stress fracture area. I caught this one early and it made a huge difference to the recovery time. I would suggest a bone scan if you can get it done quickly.

Stress Kills wrote:

- Positive jump test (ie, lots of pain jumping on just one leg)

All my stress fractures hurt to the point of fear preventing the jump test.

-

What I am trying to say is jumping hurt like hell and a voluntary jump became a huge challenge.

Thank you, "Stress Kills".

I suppose the one thing that is making me doubt that it is a stress fracture is the fact that it warms up so well. What I hear from many is that a stress fracture shouldn't warm up (ie, it should feel equally bad a few km into the run as at the beginning). For me, the pain is almost excruciating at the beginning (causing me to limp and wince a bit), but after 10k I feel close to normal/fine.

Any other thoughts? I can't get an MRI right now (recently moved and don't have health insurance sorted out yet). Hence, my request for diagnosis-by-letsrun.

A more specific question:

Has anyone had the experience of excruciating hip / upper thigh pain (upon waking up, standing up after sitting, and starting running) which warms up well (ie, can run fine after a few km)? And was it a stress fracture or something else?

Anybody else have this experience?

I am really not sure you have a stress fracture either. I recall the pain getting better during the middle part of the run and then getting worse towards the end, hurting even more after cooling down and during the day. This was during the very early stages, but after a few days I had pain all the time.

You have done all the hard work, I would advise taking it a day at a time and if things remain the same, do the race. Stop immediately should you experience any of the symptoms mentioned in my post, if not, hit it hard. If it is a stress fracture you are going to be out for at least 8-12 weeks anyway. having had one or two stress fractures makes it much easier to recognize the symptoms, in your case, without a bone scan the only way to find out is to run until it hurts too much. Sitting around for weeks waiting for it to get better won't do much for your mental state either.

Good luck!

yes. I ended up with a full femoral fracture just below the lesser trochanter because I kept running through it. First 1/2 mile or so was limping but then I'd be fine for the rest of the run. Until all of a sudden one day I wasn't. But the pain with lifting your leg (non impact) signals more psoas/rec fem issues to me. Perhaps even referred labral pain. Does it catch or lock at all?

Thanks for the response, femurs. It indeed does catch, but at the knee (where there is no pain). Bending the knee (such as when I ride a bike) causes the knee to pop (painlessly) with nearly every rotation (something which did not happen before the pain).

Update: 3 weeks of no running. Pain has improved significantly, but still hurts both to (a) left leg and (b) walk (walking with a limp).