Joint pain

[MaryFlynn]

Hi fit people,
I am hoping that you might have some ideas to help a lost cause. I am 50ish and 2 stone overweight. I am dieting and have lost almost a stone so far but I need to exercise for both fitness and weight loss. I have not been able to run for the last 10 years or so - my knees and ankles become painful within a couple of minutes - so in the past I have walked fast uphill on a treadmill. It is a bit boring but it does the job. Here is the problem - I am now getting pain in one of my hips when I am walking up hill!
I mixed it up a bit today with a cross trainer and exercise bike, but didn't really like them and still felt my hip slightly. Swimming is ok, but I can only fit in 1 session a week due to pool times.

Does anyone have any thoughts about exercise, supplements, physiotherapy or anything else that might help?

TIA
Mary

I am sat here with agony in my hip just now also! I am 45 and more than a couple of stone overweight. I have been running though, too far - did a 8k run last night, i do it for anxiety and im addicted so have been in tears this morning at the thought of having to stop.

One really important thing - have you had your gait analysed properly? I had this done and it has helped a great deal i just think ive been overdoing it. I "over pronate" which i think means my ankles collapse inwards when i run, a pair of good bloody expensive support trainers have helped.

There are a few things it could be, but i suspect mine, and maybe yours is something to do with a tendon/muscle that runs from the lower leg, through the knee and hip. It has a big long name i can't recall, begins with I. I think rest and exercises to strengthen it are the key. I'll have another google and see what i come up with.

I don't want to diet but weighing 14stone and trying to run 10k don't mix.

"If you have tight leg muscles and feel a dull ache on the outside of your hip during or after a run, you could have bursitis, an inflammation of the fluid-filled sacs that lubricate your joints. Bursitis is caused by overuse, or a tight hamstring or iliotibial band (the ligament that runs along the outside of the thigh). You may feel a dull ache, burning, rubbing, or popping sensation on the outside of your hip. Initially pain appears during or after a run. Reduce your mileage, stretch your hamstrings and ITB after a run, apply ice, and take anti-inflammatories. You should be better in about a week."

This is what i found on runners world - running is the same as walking i guess.

DP is smug, i need to stretch more!

my knees don't hurt but yours do?

"
If the outside of your knee also hurts, and most of your running is done on the roads or track, your hip pain could be caused by Iliotibial band syndrome, an irritation of the ligament that runs down the outside of the thigh from the hip to the shin. You can get it by always running on the same side of the road or the same direction on the track, running too much too soon, having tight hamstrings, or wearing old shoes. Change your route or alternate directions on the track, stretch your hamstrings and ITB, and replace your shoes. If you catch it early, you can reverse it in a week or so."

Hmm, Thanks very much. This ITB sounds a likely culprit. I will google how to stretch it and take things easy for a while.