Hip pain at night and when running

[ClockWatchingLady]

I started getting hip pain (feels like deep in the joint) when I've been lying on one side too long soon after having DC1 (7 years ago), and was told it's common when pregant and just after. However, recently it's come back and got worse although my youngest DC is nearly 4. I now wake up several times a night with it. I also noticed that both hips now hurt a bit on the rare occasion I go for a run. Any idea what this might be?
Many thanks in advance.

I have this too and was told to rest from running. Mine is more when I twist, the papain is so sharp it takes your breath away. I've not run through the winter and the pain has gone but I now have it in my other hip. I was a bit worried as I've been on hrt for 10 months and worry a bit about osteoporosis.

I have the same thing - started in pregnancy, never really went away, and just recently, have started to really hobble with pain after going for a a "power walk" (not built for running! ). However, I do pretty much already have a diagnosis, as I was born with CDH (Congenital Dislocation of the Hip) and therefore have a very shallow hip socket. I'm putting off going to the GP about it, but probably should sooner rather than later.

There is something that affects the gluteus medius if it is worked too hard - marathon runners suffer from it. There are exercises you can do to stretch that muscle like the 'clamshell' (lying on side and opening your legs out but keeping feet together) Google 'gluteus medius pain' if you think this sounds like you.

Thank you all for the replies.

hairypaws and TattyCatty, sorry to hear you've also got hip pains. I suppose hips are pretty complicated and they take a battering because of pregnancy. I worry because it seems to get worse over time and I'm only 34 so wonder whether it's going to get really bad over time.

sister, this is interesting. I don't think the working too hard bit can apply to me - I only jog for about 15 minutes once in a blue moon! - but it's certainly worth knowing about.

I had a routine X ray a couple of years ago (I'm 41), and was told that I would need surgery "within 10 to 20 years". My sister was born with the same condition and had a hip replacement at the age of 37, so I'm doing well in comparison. That being said, it has transformed her life, so for me it's just a question of balancing any future pain in the years to come with the upheaval of an op, but then also taking action before it starts to impact on being able to carry on with a "normal" active life.

I hip pain after doing a marathon. It turned out my quads were (are) tight. That's the one you stretch by holding your heel to your backside.

Tatty, that sounds a complicated set of decisions to make. I also know two people whose lives have been turned around (very much for the better) by hip replacements.

Mojang, interesting that tight quads can cause hip pain. Never knew that.

I get this too. Hip pain when I was pregnant and now 5 years later it flares up occasionally and is basically painful at night. It is especially bad when I have been using the exercise bike or walking too much or sometimes before my period. I have found that it benefits from a few days rest and massaging round my lower back and hip joint. An osteopath visit would be better but more expensive. It feels jointy but actually appears to be muscular.

Interestingly after I stopped bfing at 10 months I started to suffer very tight muscles in both my quads and my hamstrings and have to do stretching exercises everyday.

this may be completely off the wall but I have had hip pain and stiffness since having dc 1 (he is now 17) - it got considerably worse before Xmas having difficulty getting up stairs/on and off train etc.

I have had my vit d levels tested and quite low - 30 mm/ol. I am now supplementing.

However the gp dismissed my symptoms as having anything to do with low vt d levels.

But couldn't really say what they did relate to.

Wow, it seems like this is more common than I'd thought.
Interesting that what feels jointy can actually be muscular, tobias.
sincity, this is also interesting. I'd be surprised if I was too low in vit d as I've been supplementing religiously since 2008 and am a bit of a sun worshipper, but it's worth keeping in mind.
Hope you're all having a pain free day!

Get yourself (yourselves!) checked out! It may be 'normal', but it could be the start of something serious... Specifically, press for x-rays that will show any arthritis. I had these symptoms, undiagnosed, along with hypermobility syndrome and dropped arches, and 15 years on and still in my 40s, I now have severe arthritis and am on the waiting list for a hip replacement. If it had been picked up earlier, there would have been specific muscle-strengthening exercises I could have done which would have delayed the need for a hip replacement.

Hi flow. Really, sorry to hear about your arthritis. I imagine it's difficult waiting for the transplant.
I have wondered about hypermobility. I'm really not very bendy (e.g., tight hamstrings), but some of my joints are quite loose IYSWIM. So my knees straighten well beyond 180 degrees, and I can bend one of my fingers so it almost lies flat against the back of my hand. But all the tests for hypermobility seem to require that you can do things like touch the floor with your palms with your legs straight, which I was nowhere near doing before getting more flexible through yoga. Is it possible to be hypermobile in your joints but really stiff in your muscles?
Many thanks for the response, flow, and all the best with the transplant.

Sorry, replacement not transplant - no idea what I was on about there...

Hi Clock, thanks for the good wishes. I have only just had the news and been put on the list this week, so I'm still getting my head round it...

There's a test called Beighton that they use as part of the diagnosis for hypermobility syndrome (HMS). You score points (out of 9) for bendy little fingers, thumbs that touch wrists, knees and elbows that bend beyond 180 degrees and hands that touch the floor flat... Here's a link. What do you score?

Oh and yes, it is very definitely possible to have hypermobile joints but tense muscles: in fact it is common for hypermobile people to have more muscle tension, and even muscles in chronic spasm, because their muscles may have to 'work harder' to hold unstable joints in place.

I was given an informal diagnosis of hypermobility as a teenager, as I was forever getting strains to ankles / knees that took a long time to heal, and I also suffered quite badly from growing pains in my hips. On the Beighton test, I score 5 at the moment, but probably would have been higher in my supple youth. I used to sit in a "frog" position with my lower legs at right angles to my thighs, which freaked my teachers out no end .

Thankfully, the x-ray that I had 2 years ago (which was reviewed by a Orthopaedic / Hip Specialist) didn't show any signs of arthritis. However, given my family history, I will keep a very close eye on it.

Flow4 - as I mentioned before, my sister had her hip replaced at the age of 37. 13 years later, it is still going strong which is really encouraging as she put it off for as long as possible due to the possibility of having to repeat the operation after just 10 years. She has even taken up Tap Dancing - something that she would never have considered before the op. Fingers crossed that your wait isn't too long.

That does sound a lot to get your head around, flow. Hope you're feeling OK.

And thank you for the info. I score 6 (both knees, little fingers and thumbs). I've always wondered about this because I'm "double jointed", etc., but thought I couldn't be hypermobile because hypermobile people are supposed to be good at ballet and gymnastics and other bendy stuff, aren't they? I've always been really stiff and it's taken years of yoga to touch the floor easily with legs straight.
Are rolling-in ankles relevant to this, too? I've had this, and related foot pain, for a long time.
Was awake for ages in the night again with the hip pain last night.

Could it be your IT band?

hmm,

i had SPD in pregnancy, and ongoing pain for years, in fatc dd is now 11 and i still get twinges.

check you don't need insoles for your arches. i have plantar fasciiatis, which can cause hip pain.

dd is hypermobile, walked on the inside of her foot. so has always needed supportive footwear. BUT, and this is what made me open your thread, she suffered excruciating hip pain three yrs ago, which lasted for about 2 months.

It turned out to be a tight illiotibial band, and it caused pain on the hip joint. might be worth looking into.

crossed posts with BIWI.

I would deffo asscociate the feet and hips. try some arch supports.

My feet naturally turn in when my legs are relaxed. It's partly to do with suspected Talipes when I was born which was never corrected - my mum was fobbed off with being told that it was common in bigger babies (I was 9lb 15oz) as they don't have enough room in the womb. I've learnt in later life that there is a correlation between CDH and Talipes. There is probably a link to the hypermobility as well though.

Have you spoken to your GP about the pain? I would push for an x-ray so that you can determine if there is any potential issue that can be treated before it gets too bad.

oh and don't discount the IT band, when it says it's always mainly in the knee that you get the pain.

we saw a specialist who diagnosed the hip pain within minutes. (after weeks of clueless investigations)

Oh, yes, IT band looks possible. Thank you both.
I'm most definitely not an "athlete" as is mentioned in the link , although I suppose I did quite a lot of sport and running in my dim distant pre-DC past, which could have tightened the IT band up.

Checking about insoles sounds a good idea.

Hope all's well with you DD now, pirate

IT band stretch:

Lie on your back and raise your knees up, with your feet flat on the floor.

Then put your right foot on your left knee and let the right leg drop towards the floor - push it down and let it stretch for 10 seconds. Then, keeping your foot in your knee, raise your left foot off the floor, and hold for another ten seconds. Repeat on the other side.

Clock, a score of 6, plus joint pain that has lasted more than 6 months or that is in more than one joint, will get you a diagnosis of joint hypermobility syndrome (HMS), if you see a specialist. Looseness in other joints, including particularly ankles, are also a common feature. So it does sound like a possibility.

Arthritis develops early and more quickly in some people with HMS - it is definitely worth checking out.