Running with lower left abdominal/groin pain, ANYONE?!?!

Sounds like a sports hernia

Do I need to stop running all together or can I keep going so long as I'm not in any pain until this passes? How long should I expect this to go on? I'm not in pain at all when resting or laying down. I only feel some pain during a warm up and only feel a tight intense pain during a flat out sprint. Anyone else?

Like the poster above said, it could be a sports hernia. If I was a betting man, I would say you have a strained psoas.

Ok I'll Google that and see if I have similar signs. Thanks!

Stagger Lee wrote:

Like the poster above said, it could be a sports hernia. If I was a betting man, I would say you have a strained psoas.

I Google' d psoas injury and there's some correlation but some I don't have, like walking up stairs doesn't hurt nor does raising my knee. I may have to make an appointment with the doctor to rule some things out. Just really pressed for time between working and going to school so it makes it difficult for me.

My psoas gets tight and feels like you describe. Mostly when just starting a run or running faster. When bad feels like side stitch. Mine is not injured, just tight. It is quite a large muscle with several potential release points. I go to a sports chiro and he digs in and gets it released. Self massage usually keeps it at bay for a while. There are several yoga poses that help.

Serious q: does it hurt during sex? What positions?

I am dealing with what you are dealing with right now.

If your hip is really tight, like if you lie on your back and hang your leg off the bed, and your leg won't touch the ground, then it could be a psoas. That would be good news. That is what we THOUGHT I had.

If hip flexibility is good, it could be a sports hernia. That is bad. Currently in my 5th week of no running. Google 'non surgical sports hernia treatment", there is some stuff out there that I wish I had started sooner.

FWIW, mine only hurts when I run and do certain ab exercises (it used to hurt when I sneezed or coughed, and it KILLED if I sneezed or coughed while actually running); I can still bike and swim. What activities can you do / can you not do currently?

I had similar symptoms, although the pain would increase with intensity....turned out I had a stress reaction/fracture in my pelvis. Took about 8 months to completely heal so I could run without discomfort - I was able to swim and cycle during recovery, so not a total loss.

Friend, there's no such thing as a "sports hernia."

There are a variety of different injuries affecting the groin and pelvis which are characterized by similar symptoms. Rather than taking the time to sort out which you have, a professional who wishes to diagnose you quickly will simply tell you that you have a "sports hernia".

It's roughly akin to telling each and every person with abdominal pain that they have a stomach ache.

GRV4 wrote:

Serious q: does it hurt during sex? What positions?

Yeah I do have some pain during sex. Mostly when she's on top. Only in my groin area. Thank god she only weight 100lbs. Anything else I'm good. Lol

thejeff wrote:

I am dealing with what you are dealing with right now.

If your hip is really tight, like if you lie on your back and hang your leg off the bed, and your leg won't touch the ground, then it could be a psoas. That would be good news. That is what we THOUGHT I had.

If hip flexibility is good, it could be a sports hernia. That is bad. Currently in my 5th week of no running. Google 'non surgical sports hernia treatment", there is some stuff out there that I wish I had started sooner.

FWIW, mine only hurts when I run and do certain ab exercises (it used to hurt when I sneezed or coughed, and it KILLED if I sneezed or coughed while actually running); I can still bike and swim. What activities can you do / can you not do currently?

I can run mostly not it pain. It takes me alot longer to warm up now, about 2 to 3 miles before I can start pushing my pace. Looking back, I remember feeling really good during and easy run and I think I hit my strides too hard at the end. I think doing some speed work 2 days later might have made it stand out. I only feel alot of pain, like a 7 to 8 out of 10 if I'm in a full out 100% sprint in my groin area which seems to radiate towards my lower abdomen on the left. I went out for a 5 mile run today and can feel a faint distant groin pain still. It does mildly hurt to do a sit up in the groin area but it's not gut wrenching pain or anything just feels like a over stretched feeling.

OP: my symptoms are very similar, and my pain is on the left, too. I got mine at the end of a marathon build-up, which is almost six months ago now. Ran pretty well in the marathon, but I felt tigtness in my abs kick in at about mile 17 and have been feeling it ever since. It is very frustrating. Rest really helps. I am finally experiencing some improvement, but would love to see it go away completely. I have been able to run faster in the last week or so, and today I ran some tempo in an eight-miler and had only very faint tightness. The legs were moving well.

I have read a lot about this, and I gather that the source of the problem for me is in the very lower oblique muscles, where they connect to the pubic bone. The pain radiates into the adductors, too. How close is your pain to your male part?

I'd say it's about 3 inches to left and above in the groin seam. Very close to the oblique area like you're mentioning. If I do a partial ab crunch I can almost pin point it. What's strange is when I sprint/hard kick I can feel the most pain in my lower abdominal above the groin area I just mentioned by about 2 inches or so but only when I put the hammer down. Resting absolutely helps, but I also think active recovery is helping too by keeping the area working. I can get by so long as I keep my pace moderate to easy with not much issue. Just sucks because I'm trying to work on my 5k time over the summer before I get back to marathon and half marathon training.

Osteitis Pubis

Yes, this injury stinks, but you have the right approach, and it is basically the same approach I have taken. The active recovery is good, but I was too aggressive early on. I was overloading my body with runs and exercises, especially ab work, and my body simply could not handle it. Once I "lightened the load," things started to get better. I now feel ready to do some ab work, and I have been for the past week or so. It is going well.

I know what you mean about the 5k. This injury has spoiled my plans to go after a 10k goal race and/or a possible 5k pr. My marathon phase will begin soon, and I am glad things are looking good for that.

All the best in your recovery...

outsiderunner wrote:

Yes, this injury stinks, but you have the right approach, and it is basically the same approach I have taken. The active recovery is good, but I was too aggressive early on. I was overloading my body with runs and exercises, especially ab work, and my body simply could not handle it. Once I "lightened the load," things started to get better. I now feel ready to do some ab work, and I have been for the past week or so. It is going well.

I know what you mean about the 5k. This injury has spoiled my plans to go after a 10k goal race and/or a possible 5k pr. My marathon phase will begin soon, and I am glad things are looking good for that.

All the best in your recovery...

Thanks man, same to you. I hope the best for your recovery as well. I think my sudden increase on speed workouts is what started it and my inability to stay still and listen to my aches and pains progressed it lol.

guessing wrote:

Osteitis Pubis

Went for an easy 5 mile run and I think this is it. I started pressing on the pub is bone and can feel the most pain in there now. I started wondering more on my run because I started feeling some right groin pain but only if I started pressing in there. (Which I didn't do before) so I'm pretty convinced that I'm going through Osteitis Pubis once I started reading more about it. Glad it's not a hernia, wouldn't have made much sense to me if it were a hernia for I still do deadlifts and back squats with the barbell.

stitches? wrote:

guessing wrote:

Osteitis Pubis

Went for an easy 5 mile run and I think this is it. I started pressing on the pub is bone and can feel the most pain in there now. I started wondering more on my run because I started feeling some right groin pain but only if I started pressing in there. (Which I didn't do before) so I'm pretty convinced that I'm going through Osteitis Pubis once I started reading more about it. Glad it's not a hernia, wouldn't have made much sense to me if it were a hernia for I still do deadlifts and back squats with the barbell.

I, too, have considered osteitis pubis, as my pain is right off of the public bone. However, my pain is to the left of it, not toward the center. I believe that osteitis pubis occurs in the center area of the pubic bone.