hip flexor strain vs. femoral neck stress fracture

The doctor told me to just stick to aqua jogging and dont use the bike. He said a bike is pressure therefor I cant use it. It is not in the neck Its just high up on the femur. What do you guys think I can do? .....

To be honest I wouldn't cross train at all until you are pretty much pain free and off the crutches. If you are riding a stationary bike with little resistance this is probably better than aqua jogging, but again I would wait til you are off crutches. Aqua jogging doesn't involve impact but the resistance caused by the water still puts force on the femur and could delay your healing time.

You want to be very conservative at first and let the fracture heal. Missing a couple weeks of cross training isn't really going to be that big of a deal in the scheme of things. When you start back running you'll want to take ti very slow and make sure you identify the cause of the stress fracture and correct it to avoid getting another one. Once the fracture is healed you'll want to put alot of time into strength and flexibility in that injured leg, that will help to support the bone when you start running again.

Anyway good luck, it's a frustrating injury but if you take it slow you will be back and running better than ever before you know it.

Yay good news for me. After a month of running in pain, a x-ray, a bone scan and a MRI they have determined i have a stress reaction in my femoral neck.

I have a hip stress fracture. Told 6 weeks on crutches; then 2 more weeks (but slowly start increasing weight on leg, which ended up hurting); now told 4 more weeks on crutches and no weightbearing (that'll make 12 weeks total on crutches, if I get lucky and don't get told to keep using them). Told not to do ANYthing else, and I don't.

Has anyone ever heard of a FNSF NOT healing?

I've been reading and hearing more about vitamin D supplementation of late, for many health issues, not just bone health, where of course it is very vital. Apparently most people are deficient due to wearing sunscreen and being indoors, and this deficiency could be a factor in the development of stress fractures and osteoporesis. It gets worse the older you get too. see

http://www.uvadvantage.org/portals/0/pres/

Also, people may have gluten sensitivity and not realize it. Gluten sensitivity can reduce absorption of nutrients including minerals, and bone density will suffer. I read about a woman who went gluten free and her Dr was very surprised when her bone density increased instead of her osteoporesis worsening.

For those who have had a FNSS, was the pain when running always in the same spot, or did it travel and move around? Also, would the pain let up at all during the run, especially longer runs?

I actually had both at the same time. An undiagnosed fnsf caused hip flexor problems. mri eventually found the fracture, did 6 weeks of crutches, fracture refused to close, had 3 four inch screws inserted into my hip. now im going to PT to fix the hip flexor.

I know this is an old thread, but it seems to be the most informative I've found on this stuff. Any help that you guys can offer would be great.

I've been dealing with a sharp pain on the outside of my left upper thigh, basically in the hip socket where the femur is, and some pain in my left groin since running at Boston last month. Despite the pain, I raced two weeks later, because the pain would go away once I warmed up. For the first five to ten minutes of a run, though, the pain would be sharp every time my left foot strike the ground. I don't know if its from the impact or from the motion.

So, I took five days off and ran yesterday. Went out for about an hour and felt a lot better, though not great. I tried to go this morning, too, but the pain was back at the pre-rest level.

Any advice? Insight? Thanks.

I remember two tests that would indicate a possible stress fracture:

First, the hop test. Can you hop on you left leg? When I had the FNSF it was nearly impossible. The pain was intense. I could barely get a few cm off of the ground and after one landing I gave up.

Second, the fulcrum test. Sit on a chair or bench and place your fist under your left leg. Now, take your other hand and apply force to your left knee. You can move your fist, the fulcrum, along different points under the leg. I could find an exact spot where the pain was unbearable.

If it means anything, my stress fracture pain was most intense at the beginning of the run, then it would feel better, and by the end of a 45-60 min run it would be so intense that I'd have to stop and limp.

If you haven't gotten checked out, I recommend going to see a doctor. You are most likely going to need to get an MRI. You don't want to mess with a FNSF, all kinds of nasty things can happen, like messing up blood supply to the hip joint, necrosis on the femoral head, and just a really hard injury to heal. When you think about it, you are putting forces on your femur even when at rest, standing, sitting at a table or desk, etc.

Wow! This is truly the best forum I have found. Bookmarked for sure.

I have pain on my upper quad, very close to the hip. Hip flexor maybe.

I have been training for an Ironman and this pain came about the day after my last long run of 21 miles before my taper week. I went to the doc and he said it could be a hip flexor or bursitis. I still have some pain, and the Ironman is next weekend 8 days away. I have been going to an ART therapist, but has helped little. I can swim and bike with some pain, I am planning on trying to run this Sunday and see what happens.

Any sign to detain a fracture vs a sprain?

Wow! This is truly the best forum I have found. Bookmarked for sure.

I have pain on my upper quad, very close to the hip. Hip flexor maybe.

I have been training for an Ironman and this pain came about the day after my last long run of 21 miles before my taper week. I went to the doc and he said it could be a hip flexor or bursitis. I still have some pain, and the Ironman is next weekend 8 days away. I have been going to an ART therapist, but has helped little. I can swim and bike with some pain, I am planning on trying to run this Sunday and see what happens.

Any sign to detain a fracture vs a sprain?

I had a femoral head stress fracture that I had been running on for several weeks before an MR Arthogram was performed. Mine hurt, but I was able to run with some compensating. It finally got so bad I couldn't do that or any other x-cise. Needless to say, i rested for several weeks and then gradually got on the bike and then started to add t-mill miles slowly. Once recovered, never had any issues again. Return slowly...remember you're in it for the long run. Good luck and get an MR Arthogram soon.

about 4 weeks ago, I started having weakness and pain in right thigh. I thought it was a strained hip flexor or its tendon. I had paresthesias(nerve sensations)around hip and down leg, so I went to a spine doc. He ordered prednisone and PT.

Went to PT for the 1st visit; I was put through some movements, none of which elicited the pain I feel when running.

I discovered while doing a right side plank at home, that if I bend the right leg while planking, the hip pain becomes unbearable, can't hold my body up.

I'm nearly convinced(as was phys therapist) that this is a stress fracture.

will see my ortho monday. i will ask for an mri.

I have pain on the very top of my right leg. It is excruciating when I walk after sitting for a time. When I run, it hurts for 5 minutes then is a dull ache. So I am pretty sure it is not a stress fracture - prob a hip flexor issue.

The muscular diagram with the circles on this site is exactly the place where it hurts.

http://www.sports-injury-info.com/hip-flexor-injury.html

I think it is a trauma injury from racing down a hill very hard.

So I will keep running on it.

Was it a fracture? I just started running and was about six weeks in to a very conservative beginners running program when I felt a pull in the upper thigh groin area. It was ok for the rest of that day. When I went again two days later I could not do it. I thought stretching would help and that is when the major limping began. So I have been limping around for about 10 days icing and Ibuprofen. I saw the Ortho yesterday nothing showed up on the X-ray and he gave me crutches and said if not better by Monday he would do an MRI. It is not terribly painful but I can't walk on it or like you do certain pilates moves that require weight on that hip. I am not an athlete just a person who wanted to start exercising so I am at a loss.

Hello JonG,

Could I ask what you were eventually diagnosed with? I am having the exact same symptoms of pain while sitting and when my leg is hovering above the gas pedal--pain while sitting is especially notable at panty line and then goes down through leg in aching sensation. I'd appreciate any input.

Thanks so much,

Tricia

Have you looked into pirifomis? I had this mixed with a hip flexor strain and it was brutal.

All of this is nonsense wrote:

Have you looked into pirifomis? I had this mixed with a hip flexor strain and it was brutal.

I looked it up and will check it out. The pain started at the top front of my femur, rather than rear..but, it sort of seems like a mass of moving ache in my front thigh, thigh hip juncture and butt. The fact that my presently aching and numb leg feels better when laying on my stomach as I type this seems to be in favor of your comment. What was the treatment you did?

I know this is an old thread but hoping I can get more details on your hip flexor Sx when you started to return. I have a FNSR (did not fracture) dx'd by MRI in Nov 2016, and am frustrated in my return. I am a triathlete and basically continued training bike 30-60min and swim (2/3-3/4 buoy work) ~2000yd workouts during my recovery. I have not run since end of Oct 2016 (4mths). When I started to aqua run and take longer walks in hopes of progressive return to running, I have now suffered 2 "setbacks" where I'm having aching in upper thigh and hip flexor. I think I must have been overdoing it while recovering but not sure if it's just hip flexor now. Hop test is negative. Jogging across the room feels great actually, but it aches later. Is that how your Sx were??