Sore Hip Flexors after running?

Question

I've recently trained and ran my first half marathon. During training my hip flexors would get sore after 5/6 miles. Now a couple days after the half they are still really sore. I'm sure I probably didn't get enough mileage in before the race. What can I do now to ease the pain, stretches? Also what can I do when I start training again so the pain doesn't come back. I wanted to go for a short 4 mile jog this week, should I not be running until the hip flexors feel completely better? Any advice on current recovery, and future training would be great. Thanks!

Answer 1

Ugh....I pulled my hip flexor in Jan in a yoga class. It seemed fine after about 2 weeks but I re-injured it in a marathon in March. I didn't run for 2 months.

Here's what I did....

Ice and gentle stretches.

Resistance exercises at the gym like the abductor. I also used a bungee-like rubber band with handles on it. I attached one handle to something stationary, the other to my ankle and walked far enough away that I could feel some resistance in the bungee. Then slowly swing your leg back and forth. Do some sets.

Yoga helped too. I also made sure to use the elliptical and bike to keep up my cardio while I couldn't run. After 2 months of not running, I'm back without losing any endurance.

Good luck, it takes time, patience and resting. All three are hard to ask a runner to do.

Answer 2

I'd strongly counsel against aggressively stretching very sore muscles without first performing ice massage on the afflicted region[s].

The other day I explained the technique to an athlete experiencing excessive post-exercise pain (the technical term is DOMS, by the way, for Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness):

"Half fill a small (<8 oz/250 ml) wax paper cup with water and put it in the freezer. When it's frozen, tear the cup in spiral fashion to expose 1/2 in/1 cm of the ice. (What you're left with is in essence a really big ice cube which you can hold onto without freezing your hand.)

Rub the afflicted area in a circular motion. Keep a towel handy since there'll be a lot of melting. As you get numb, rub harder! Do sessions of 5-10 minutes as often during the day as you like... [I]t's typically OK to perform range-of-motion exercises after icing, or even to walk [or run] on it, *as long as you can maintain a normal gait.*

Indeed, *quickly returning to normal function* is proven to speed recovery. That's why you often see pro athletes getting a shot of ethyl chloride spray--which gets REALLY cold--and returning to the field immediately. (Of course, the trainer performing the evaluation and wielding the spray is him or herself a certified professional!)

Good luck!"

And good luck to you!

Answer 3

Stretching is the most important thing. stretch before and after you run. you should continue to run with the hip flexors to help them heal faster. one day you'll wake up and you won't feel it anymore.