I’m 31 and have always been very active, without pain.
3 years ago, after playing basketball, I felt a sharp, stabbing pain over my iliac crest/ASIS on both sides.
I’ve been in PT ever since and have seen two orthopedic surgeons. Both performed MRIs of my left hip (which felt slightly worse than the right, though they’re basically the same) and found damage (torn labrum, impingement). This led to two separate arthroscopic procedures…but neither relieved the pain even a bit.
I now have had recent hip and pelvis MRIs and neither shows any damage. My surgeon and PT are completely at a loss for why I’m in pain. Maybe, they say, it’s related to my abdomen or an autoimmune issue.
That doesn’t make perfect sense to me because the pain is movement-dependent — the more I move, the more I feel it. So it’s at its worst at night, after a day of movement. It also flares up specifically when I get into hip flexion, which is why I now avoid any such movements in my workouts.
Any ideas? Really hoping someone can help me out. This has been a frustrating few years!
@Dr_Grove_Higgins Still haven’t found any answers – I’m baffled. Would love any insight you might have. Any type of hip-hinge movement makes it flair up.
@bkb333 Sorry, this has been a really painful issue for you. The labral tears are an obstacle for sure, but maybe not as bad as one may think. There may be other significant issues that are causing you to move poorly around the hips that caused the labral tears and prevent you from improving.
If you are up for it, shoot me a video so we can see several movements that may point to areas to improve. Use this video as a guide to do the video.
That is incredible. I don’t know if you’ll be able to discern anything from the video – as I indicated, among these movements, I only feel pain on the squats – but THANK YOU for doing this! The pain is directly on my ASIS on both sides, and the two labral repair surgeries didn’t do anything to address it.
Keep up the great work man; I’m not here to offer any solutions just encouragement, I started another thread about my situation - I’ll be having a Total Hip Replacement on June 7th.
I have FAI and enough damage to need a new hip…I consider myself an endurance athlete and am very familiar with the pain you are in…just keep training and doing the next right thing; the guys around here are great and will give you all sorts of solid advice.
Hope everything turns out well and you start finding some relief.
Holy shit!! That is awesome! I’m also very into martial arts, have a few rankings in a few different martial arts and come from a family where the men fight; WW II, Korea, Desert Storm, and 2 grandfathers that were pro boxers plus 2 uncles, a dad, and a brother who all have black belts in one form of martial art or other…this is incredible…cannot believe that got past me man; thanks for the smiles
@bkb333 Quick question: I will shoot an answer based on the video and everything. You point to the very top of your iliac crest for where you have pain, it looks like. Can you clarify exactly where the pain is and at what point you stat having the pain in the squat movement? Thanks!
Thank you for following up, good sir! Indeed, the pain is right at the top of the bone, at the very top of the iliac crest/ASIS. I feel the pain all the time, but it’s especially pronounced at the bottom of the movement (anytime I break parallel or hinge over my hips).
When I don’t move much during the day, the pain diminishes. When I move a lot or do any leg movements (especially squats/deadlifts), the pain is amplified. I’ve also noticed the pain recently after doing hip thrusts, step-ups, and any type of jumping. The pain isn’t terrible while I’m doing the movement, but I can feel it, and it really sets in later that day.
Your adductors are working hard when you are walking.
The placement for your pain is odd. It is not a typical hip pain-related pain location. What lives in that area is the illiacus muscle. It is odd to have pain on both, but the attachment there could get sore if you are overusing it. Unless you have something that presses in there, like a belt or equipment from what you do.
@bkb333 , How are things going? Another thing hit my mind for you. Where you are pointing for pain generated in the squat is the attachment for a muscle called sartorius. Here is a stretch I’d love for you to try.
Thank you so much for checking in on me! I have been regularly doing these stretches, but if I’m being honest, I haven’t noticed much of a difference. I’m wondering if there’s a deeper issue that can’t be resolved through stretching, though the MRIs look normal.
I’m meeting with my surgeon again tomorrow and will report back after our discussion
@Dr_Grove_Higgins My surgeon thinks you might be onto something with the adductors idea. He thinks this is a musculoskeletal issue, perhaps a sports hernia. He referred me to a physiatrist who’s well-known in the area and thinks trigger-point injection would be useful to identify the source of the issue. He also mentioned that down the road, I could explore PRP or maybe even stem cells.
Much love, man.
