hip flexor soreness

[Trekx92012]

hi guys
just getting back into mountain biking after a few years off (stopped due to time commitments with two small children). i've kept quite fit running 25-30km a week. after a month or two of rides i have noticed my hip flexors are getting really sore especially after hills - and i seem to have no strength left after half an hour or so. it's quite off putting and frustrating and not making my riding enjoyable at all. i'm basically pulling my legs up and around towards the end of the ride. The soreness stays around for a bit. it certainly doesn't feel like a leg strength or fitness thing - it feels more like bike setup/technique/core strengthy thing. its really hard to describe.

has anyone had this happen?

Cheers

 

[JTmofo]

hi guys
just getting back into mountain biking after a few years off (stopped due to time commitments with two small children). i've kept quite fit running 25-30km a week. after a month or two of rides i have noticed my hip flexors are getting really sore especially after hills - and i seem to have no strength left after half an hour or so. it's quite off putting and frustrating and not making my riding enjoyable at all. i'm basically pulling my legs up and around towards the end of the ride. The soreness stays around for a bit. it certainly doesn't feel like a leg strength or fitness thing - it feels more like bike setup/technique/core strengthy thing. its really hard to describe.

has anyone had this happen?

Cheers

Running is great for cardio fitness, but it works different muscles than riding. I found that either riding more, or doing core/leg/glute training in the gym helps me a lot.
Deep squats,psoas, abductor, glute and lower back strength and flexibility makes my riding far more enjoyable.

 

[DJR]

I got it quite bad after recovering from a pelvic fracture. More in the glutes and quads but my hip flexors were pretty bad.

The physio got me doing hip flexor stretches (on knees, one leg back one straight under and thrust your hips forward), glute bridges and core work with a gym ball. Things like:

- calves on gym ball, shoulders on ground, lift one straight leg slowly at a time. lower and reverse
- Shoulders on gym ball, feet on ground and hips raised off the floor (core and legs to knee horizontal), raise one leg at a time

Most of the work I was doing was around stabilising/strengthening core and remediating all the muscle injuries after my injury.

Physiotherapists aren't that expensive (esp considering the cost of time off work with muscloskeletal issues), might be worth having a session with one.

Also might be an idea to play around with seat position - fore/aft position , angle and height a bit and see if that helps

 

[Hamsta]

This ^^^^^ and check out foam rollers. My physio seems to think most people who cycle regularly should be using a foam roller after every ride to help stretch the ITB.

 

[my02]

i'm basically pulling my legs up and around towards the end of the ride. The soreness stays around for a bit. it certainly doesn't feel like a leg strength or fitness thing - it feels more like bike setup/technique/core strengthy thing. its really hard to describe. Cheers

Are you actually pulling the pedal up with your feet (assuming you're clipped in).

 

[dej]

i was getting very sore in the upper quads/hips when i started running again earlier this year
Have been working on a stretching routine which seems to have cleared up the soreness.

<-this pose has helped a lot with the upper quad/flexor soreness
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/zuzka-lights-9-move-post-workout-stretching-routine.html <-this has a variety of stretches on there, mainly yoga poses
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x30rjVT-TLo <-it's mainly for ITB stretch but it's mainly hip/tfl stretching. nice vid as you can just sit there and hold the positions as long as the guy does in the video

 

[rsquared]

This ^^^^^ and check out foam rollers. My physio seems to think most people who cycle regularly should be using a foam roller after every ride to help stretch the ITB.

Your physio should know better! Yes foam rolling is great for cyclists but randomly rolling around on one without knowing what you are doing can be pretty useless. Your ITB is a thick band of connective tissue (not a muscle), it cannot be manipulated by rolling directly on it. If it is tight, it will typically cause friction/pain on the outside of your leg just below your knee. If it is tight, you need to release the tension by massaging or stretching the TFL and Glute Max join up near the hip to form the ITB. Once you have stretched these, you need to stop them tightening up again, which typically is due to them being overactive hip stabilisers due to the Glute Med not doing it's job. Activating and strengthen the Glute Med by doing lateral leg raises, clams, resistance band crab walk and monster walks or many of the single leg yoga poses is crucial.

The following exercises and stretches should be standard for any cyclist. Roll your quads, hip flexors and glutes; hip flexor stretch; couch stretch; pigeon stretch; Glute Med activation exercises; Glute Raises/Hip Thrusters to strengthen Glutes; Straight Leg Toe Touch; Deadlifts; Squats; Lunges;

In regards to the original question, while running is great for cardio, it isn't great for leg strength or retaining muscle mass. Without looking at your bike technique or setup, it sounds as if you are pulling up on the pedal through the upstroke rather than effectively delivering power through the opposite foot power phase of the pedal stroke. This may be due to loss of technique, fatigue from lack of muscle strength/mass or both. I would stay away from hills as much as possible for a while until you develop your base strength back up on the bike and maybe try and get some gym work in to maintain some lean muscle.

Good luck!

(Edit: Regarding the physio comment. After re-reading your comment, I may have been a bit harsh on the physio, it just depends on where they are telling you to use the foam roller in order to relieve ITB tightness. Yes foam rolling can be good for ITB tightness; No you shouldn't roll directly on it to 'release' it).

 

[marc.r]

Pilates beginner's matt class will sort you out cheaper than a physio for long term hip flexor/core stability issues! Can be a bit embarrassing but a class a week will def get you moving better on the bike!

 

[Ideate]

Get some of this into you, care of PinkBike.

 

[Calvin27]

I just did a bike fit (about 20 minutes ago) and this was one of the areas I neeed to work on.

Basically he said more hip flexor stretches but also some (running) sprints. I remember doing these for another injury a while back and sprinting give the hip flexors a massive caning!

 

[brados20]

+1 on the hip flexor stretch. Very common for cyclists to get tight hip flexors. I would even recommend visiting a reputable sports/remedial massage therapist. Don't bother with the shopping centre Chinese ones, you want to find a decent one who will do an assesment and treat accordingly.

 

[Jubas]

Get some of this into you, care of PinkBike.

View attachment 320265

Those videos are great. I actually ended up buying a couple of her series (15 x 15min videos) and do them each night after work. I've noticed a significant improvement in flexibility, mobility, and pain. I also used to suffer from very tight hip flexors/psoas, but am now much better!

 

[MelbRod]

Pilates beginner's matt class will sort you out cheaper than a physio for long term hip flexor/core stability issues! Can be a bit embarrassing but a class a week will def get you moving better on the bike!

Yeah, being told to imagine sucking a straw up your clacker while surrounded by middle aged women and one cute girl kind of sucks. Plus there's that whole thing of women having hamstrings that are about eight feet longer than mine.

As an alternative there's this.

Matwork for Men.

Baggy shorts and a tshirt are fine. Zero pilates experience is fine. The instructor is pretty cute, but she's married to a great guy (me) so off limits to you all.:heh:

 

[Odissius]

If the stretches aren't doing anything worst case scenario is that you could have femoral acetabular impingement (FAI). I have it, it totally sucks and it first presented as a chronic feeling of tightness in the hip flexor. If you're stretching and you have reasonable flexibility and still have pain it's worthwhile going to a sports physician who can refer you on for an MRI. In my experience of chronic injuries the MRI has been essential in the correct diagnosis of my aches and pains. Physio is great but it's a gamble on getting the correct diagnosis on chronic conditions without information MRI scans provide.