Hi everyone! I'm at my wits end so I'm hoping that some of you may have thoughts/ideas about my running predicament.
I'm currently a freshman in college, started running cross country in middle school and ran all throughout high school. The summer before my senior year I trained really hard and sustained what appeared to be an overuse groin injury. I rested and iced for a week after getting the injury but after a week I still had pain so I ended up being out for the whole season. I attempted to run one more time at the end of the season and still had pain. Sooo, I quit running for 6 months after which time I decided to start physical therapy (I was still having pain occasionally while walking, and wasn't running at all.) I went to PT for about 3 months and they said I had very tight hips with low flexibility/range of motion, as well as poor running form (something about my feet striking very flat-footed when I ran and me bouncing too much when I ran). At this time I also got an x-ray and an MRI, both of which showed nothing wrong. I continued with PT for 3 months and gradually started running on a treadmill again, mostly without pain, while also doing the exercises they suggested. I quit PT after those 3 months and ran outside a handful of times that summer; I still had pain sometimes while running outside. Now in my first year of college, I've been running pretty consistently throughout the year, but only like once or twice a week and always very slowly and short distances, and for the most part I've been without pain. This running has all been on a treadmill. Recently in my second semester I've started increasing my speed and distances hoping that my injury is gone for good since I haven't had pain in a while. I've also developed a much stronger core and glutes than I had before. However, a few days ago I ran for 25 minutes straight which is longer than I usually have been and now the pain is back, causing me to limp while walking. I tried icing briefly this morning and will again later today but I'm not hopeful, since this feels so similar to the very first time I got this injury.
So I was just wondering if any of you have any ideas of what my problem might be and what I should do? My PT never came to a conclusion about what my problem might be. I'm really frustrated that it's been a year and a half and I'm still feeling pain, and I just want to run normally again!
Thanks for your help!