Tendinitis in right hip, rehab suggestions?

I'm an avid weightlifter, have competed in a figure competition and am planning to compete in another in early June.

I have what feels like tendinitis in my right hip. I know it was caused by over training and front squats. But, now I can't squat, deadlift or complete any lower body movements. It has been over a month and a half now. A week and a half ago I buckled down and went to the doctor (previously I had simply been resting, icing and stretching) and he agreed and I got an anti-inflammatory (neproxen, sorry about the spelling), but is not helping very much.

I have an appointment for physiotherapy on the 22nd of January. The referral saying "1/12 hx of right groin pain".

Is there anything I can be doing right now to help get back into training?

What are the chances of being prescribed something like HGH (growth hormone) to help strengthen my tendons (I had a tendon injury in the summer in my right wrist from a manual labour job)?

It may also be that my hips and knees are not tracking properly, but that would be difficult for anyone to assess unless seen in person.

If anyone has any advice or information, that would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks.

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Originally Posted by pumpingiron

I'm an avid weightlifter, have competed in a figure competition and am planning to compete in another in early June.

I have what feels like tendinitis in my right hip. I know it was caused by over training and front squats. But, now I can't squat, deadlift or complete any lower body movements. It has been over a month and a half now. A week and a half ago I buckled down and went to the doctor (previously I had simply been resting, icing and stretching) and he agreed and I got an anti-inflammatory (neproxen, sorry about the spelling), but is not helping very much.

I have an appointment for physiotherapy on the 22nd of January. The referral saying "1/12 hx of right groin pain".

Is there anything I can be doing right now to help get back into training?

What are the chances of being prescribed something like HGH (growth hormone) to help strengthen my tendons (I had a tendon injury in the summer in my right wrist from a manual labour job)?

It may also be that my hips and knees are not tracking properly, but that would be difficult for anyone to assess unless seen in person.

If anyone has any advice or information, that would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks.

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Hello fellow weightlifter,

I have had many experiences with personal injuries myself indeed. Some detail about what type of training you do, and description of the onset of injury is useful. As well do you feel pain, where? What activities increase/dec.

If you can imagine, re-aggravation of your injury will only continue to delay your return to full fitness. I know what it feels like to be out because of a training injury. It is important to realize with the right nutritional ingredients consumed over the course of rehabilitation you can come back as strong as before

A novel investigation by Kraemer and colleagues examined the effects of a period of no training on strength and power performance, as well as blood hormone levels in a group of experienced bodybuilders.

The scientists assessed strength (1-RM in the squat and bench press) and took body composition (skinfold and girth) assessments and blood samples for hormone concentrations regularly while the bodybuilders did not train for six weeks.

Compared to an equally matched group that kept training, those that did not train showed no significant differences in most of the parameters assessed. Particularly, there was no significant decline in strength, muscle mass and blood anabolic hormone profiles.

The take home message here is that bodybuilders who train consistently and consume the right diet, need not fear a few weeks of missed training. If you have to miss a number of weeks of lifting, be sure to keep your protein intake high and keep to your supplement schedule. What little gains you may lose will be made up rapidly once you recommence training.

Source: The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 16;3:373–382, 2002.

This is the key advice for your rehab program. You can include some modified activities of course that do not cause pain or increase the onset of your symptoms.

I would concentrate on effectively targetting your upper body in the next 4-6 weeks. Before each lower body stretching or training session, apply a topical cryotherapy gel which does not contain any ibuprofen ingredient within it. When completing your lower body training select moderate weights, (machines if pain free), in a range that is pain free. Complete slow cadence movements especially on the eccentric portion of the movement. Make sure to complete your stretching activities, and reapply ice after each training session, while this is the ideal time to take any nutritional supplements.

Depending on your age, I would not suggest HGH personally without medical supervision. There are better ways to increase your HGH naturally through manipulation of ones nutrition. Few studies can substantiate the use of exogenous HGH for increasing rehab of injured joints.

FInally, all of this should be naturally done in conjunction with hands on physiotherapy. There is nothing better than having a physiotherapist fascilitate normal movement of the hip, via stretching, re training of stabilising muscle activation, and massage or specific complimentary therapies.

All the best, and good luck on your upcoming competition.

Regards, Canuck Physio

Thank you, Canuck. I think your story is very much inspiring and should help "pumpingiron". I would like to add that a lot of hip problems could well be caused by backproblems at large. In this joints as well as muscles like Quadratus lumborum and Iliopsoas. I think for a weightlifter a good assessment of the lift might help (after returning to normal training with low impact). Something does alarm me since "pumpingiron" has another injury as well, I am therefor wondering if the training buildup isn't to straineous and that "pumpingiron" has problems to recover. If so, pumpingiron, be very careful with restarting your training how much you love it, you might have to take a step back and consider zhere you are going. I know this isn't easy (I always struggle to control the time I like to spend on physical) but it will pay off.
Oh by the way Vastus lata also known as tractus iliotibialis and the underlying bursea could well be the cause.

Thank you for your suggestions!

Before the injury, I was training four days a week.

As for my form on front squats (it was during the movement that I felt something in my hip strain), I had an olympic lifting coach watching my form because I wanted to be sure it was correct (I hadn't done front squats in a long time). So, I don't think form was an issue and when I reached "depth" (the bottom portion of a squat when your bum is below parallel), he made sure that my lower back and pelvis did not round.

I was, however, pushing my knees wider to get deeper and I think that's what strained the tendon. In theory, that shouldn't be enough for injury, but if my hip isn't tracking properly then maybe it contributed, or maybe my adducters were simply too tight. I'm not sure.

As for the pain, it isn't a sharp pain, but more of it feels more like an aggravated, 'achy' kind of pain. It happens whenever my hip flexors engage in a lift. When I attempt a bodyweight squat, for example, I get pain at the very body portion of the movement and three-quarters of the way out of the squat when my quads engage. I feel this pain to the left of my right hip bone, but more towards the groin.

My diet is bang on. I eat a very clean diet and track my foods every day. I'm making sure my protein consumption remains the same (I usually get 2g of protein per lean body mass a day) and I cycle my carbs and fats. My supplements have remained consistant.

I'll try using a topical cream before stretching to see if it helps. Any suggestions as to brands? Or where I can get it? And I'll make sure to continue icing, its just that it's a difficult region to get at.

The information on loss of mass and strength did help boost my mood a little. But, I have lost about half an inch on my quads and I fear it will be a while before it gets back up there.

I had been toying with the idea of a powerlifting meet before the injury, but it will now have to wait until next year. I think I'll be able to recover soon enough for the figure competition because I don't have to train quite as heavy, just volume may be an issue.