Yesterday I talked about some of the aches and pains I get from running. TTGF is worried about my Achilles tendon. I'm not too worried about it though. I'm hyper aware of it, and I will not push it too far because I know how long it can take to recover from.
But I am a little worried about my hip pain. For years now I've suffered from pain in my hips - more so in my left hip - when I walk any distance. I've always assumed that it was arthritis. The only time it was a problem was when we would go walking around the mall for a long time. Or when we'd go on a very infrequent nature walk. But when I started running and the hip pain sprouted back up I wondered if it was something similar to my Achilles tendon problem.
I did some research last week and I came across this page where ultra-marathon runners talk about hip pain from running. That got my attention because I've always assumed the pain would get better after I got in better shape. But if ultra-marathon runners can develop hip pain then maybe this isn't a short term problem. In fact, I started to see the same flawed logic I used when my Achilles tendon started bothering me.
So I've been paying special attention to my hips. When they ache I try to focus on where the pain is coming from. It seems to be coming from the ligaments that surround the hip joint. The pain doesn't happen while I'm running. It develops after, similar to my Achilles problem.
On the page about Hip Pain, one person said that compression shorts helped them resolve their problem. I thought I'd give that a try. Last night I bought a pair of Nike Pro compression shorts.
As soon as I put them on I felt a difference. The pain in my hip just melted away. That confirmed what I imagined was happening. The muscles, tendons, and/or ligaments in my left hip seem to be too weak to support my hip properly. The compression shorts seem to take just enough pressure off my hip to ease the pain. But I don't see the compression shorts as a long term solution. My body needs to be strong enough to support itself.
This morning I was listening to SimplyStu's interview with Jessi Stensland. She talked about how she almost had to quit competing because of hip pain. She said Core Performance was the solution to her problems.
I've seen the Core Performance book in the bookstore but I've never looked at it. I will have to check it out tonight.
P.S. Jessi has a discount code on her home page for 10% off at the Core Performance site. The same code gets you 3 weeks free training on the Core Performance site.