Running Hip Injuries & Pain
Running and jogging can really take a toll on your body, especially on your hip area, if it’s not done properly. If you don’t warm up or cool down properly, for example, you’re just an injury waiting to happen. In fact, the following injuries are just a couple of the problems you might encounter while jogging through your favorite park.
Causes of Hip Pain
Your hip is what’s known as a ball and socket joint. That means that there’s a series of muscles and tendons, as well as bursas (fluid sacs) that work together to move your femur (upper leg) bone within your hip socket. If any of those components become compromised, you could have anything from a dull ache or a sharp, stabbing pain to total inability to walk, never mind run.
Of course, the wrong shoes, the wrong technique, or even running on the wrong surface can all play a role in hip injuries. For that matter, so can repetitive stress. There’s also the unexpected obstacle to consider. For example, if you trip over a tree root or a rock while jogging, it could certainly cause you to injure your hip or some other part of your body.
Hip Bursitis
In terms of specific hip injuries, bursitis is a big one for joggers. It’s usually caused by repetitive wear and tear, not a traumatic blow. The repetitive motions of running can cause the bursa (fluid sac) that cushions your bones to become inflamed. In this case, it’s time for an all natural anti-inflammatory, and the best we’ve found is CM8, which is a recently spotlighted type of “super-glucosamine”, found in Flexcin, our sponsor.
You have bursas in many places in your body, but in the hip region the one to worry about is the one on the outside of your hip. If it flares up, you’ll definitely know it. In those cases you’ll experience a stabbing pain any time you try to move either your hip or your leg.
Upper Hamstring Injury
You might think of the hamstring as being more a part of your leg than it is a part of your hip. That’s sort of true, but the two are connected and, really, any injury to your lower body can affect your gait (the way you walk). In doing so, such injuries can also cause your hips to be overly stressed or twisted in strange ways. So, you can experience any number of injuries. When you pull your upper hamstring, it’s a prime example of that.
Sprain Versus Strain
There are two main ways that you could injure your upper hamstring. One is a strain and the other is a sprain. The difference is that a sprain is a ligament injury, while a strain is a muscle or tendon injury.
Strains come in three different types, 1st through 3rd degree, with 3rd being the worst. Any type of strain will cause you some pain and even some swelling. It’s 3rd degree strains that can really put a damper on your running routine, though. They can cause a lot of swelling and pain and make it almost impossible to walk. Not only that, but the pain and swelling could travel to your leg, as well as your hip region.
