I just completed the Great Chesapeake Bay Swim on Sunday and once again, I had to fight through terrible hip pain during the race. The pain is on both the left and right sides and is basically in the bone/joint area. I thought the wet suit may be contributing to the pain, due to a different positioning in the water, but have tried OW races without a wetsuit and still have the same pain. It hurts to walk after the races and also hurts the next day. The pain typically starts around mile 2 of a race. I never get the pain while swimming distance in a pool. I am 31 and average over 30,000 yards a week so the OW races I have competed in are not longer distances than I am used to swimming. Has anyone had similar pain or any advice?
I haven't experienced exactly what you describe, but I suffer from osteoarthitis affecting my hips. Your hip pain sounds a bit troubling.
I think your pain may be a warning signal. I suggest that you consult an orthopedic specialist to take a look at the hip joints. You may be in early stages of OA - if so you will want to manage your hips carefully. I'm not a medically trained person, but I would be happy to tell you more about my experiences with OA if relevant/helpful to you. PM if you prefer
Hi Kurt
I too am a surfacehippy and have had a similar experience. My concerns for Jamie are:
1. I hope she doesn't have OA, but I think she needs to check out the hips thoroughly.
2. If she does, she's still very young to consider a resurfacing or replacement, so if her symptoms are manageable a "pre-hab", no running/impact etc. regime would probably be best in the medium term.
3. Women's joints are different/less bone so orthos are much more cautious about recommending the resurfacing option (as far as I know).
But as you say, there usually are good options for active OA sufferers.
Glad to hear your swimming goes well.
Sounds like the classic sign of osteoarthritis. I am an extensive masters swimmer and I have had my right hip resurfaced due to OA, and I couldn't be happier. You should have it checked out by an orthopedic Dr and if they mention "total hip replacement" head for the hills. Definately check out "hip resurfacing" as that is what I had and it is much better for active, younger people. I'm 46, had surgery when I was 42, and just won 2 events at Y Nationals this year after a long layoff, so the resurfacing has worked wonders for me. Google the term, "surfacehippy". It's a yahoo chat group that gives great info on hip pain and surgeries. I personally saw a guy in Comumbia, SC, Dr Thomas Gross, (www.grossortho.com) and again, after being in severe pain for years, I am very happy with my results. There is hope!
In the last mile or so of my 5-miler two years ago, I noticed my right hip feeling a bit sore--not as severe as what jheil described, but I too didn't have any problem with it in the pool (even when I swam the race distance). I also didn't notice it during shorter OW swims such as a mile.
Toward the end of my long race, there was a lot of chop. I wonder if that could be a factor, but I'm no expert.
Thanks so much for all of your advice. I've never posted on the forums before and it's nice to get advice from others who have similar issues. I wrote down the number of an orthopedic specialist tonight and will be making an appointment tomorrow. I also checked out surfacehippy...thanks again. I am doing an 8 mile swim in Vermont in August and can't bear the thought of having this pain creep up on me at mile 2 again. I'll post again once I get some news from the ortho, wish me luck!!!
Interesting. I did my first Chesepeake Bay swim this past Sunday and also had hip/pelvis pain for the first time ever. Mine was only on the right side though and I was able to work it out. I wouldn't have thought twice about it until I read this post.
I think you're correct and it has something to do with the wetsuit and the position it holds your legs/body in, especially when you turn on your side to breath.
Mine was not as bad as yours though and I worked it out during the race and had no problems after.
If you ever figure it out, let me know.
Funny you should ask about kicking- I hate kick sets and am not very good at kicking fast, so I avoid kick sets when I can, but I'll try your advice and throw some more kick in my workouts. Good point that you have to look up and sight while swimming OW- raising my head does put stress on the lower half of my body. Thanks again for all of your help!
The big differences out in OW are no flip turns and lots of looking up for sighting, and the chop makes it harder to sight. Flip turns change/relieve pressure on the hips; sighting increases pressure on the hips. Therefore OW stresses hip flexors more.
The thing that concerned me about your post was the persistence of the pain after the race. That's why I suggested an ortho check. In any event, you will probably want to start to doing PT specific to hip girdle, flexors, core etc which will help you cope with the stresses of OW competition. Hope this is helpful.
PS Do you do much kick training? If not, you may find that doing some will help build hip flexor strength and make the OW racing easier, even if you hardly kick in the race.
Glad to hear a few others have had this pain in OW too!! I noticed that doing 6 or 7 kicks breaststroke at about every mile mark during the Bay swim seemed to stretch out my hip joints and made them feel better for at least 15 min or so (although I was unhappy that I had to slow down and do breaststoke). I would agree that it likely has something to do with the chop since those conditions aren't present in a pool. I also wonder if it has to do with tensing up in a race setting, although I am not sure how to change that so I relax more. I will definitely post anything that I find out about this!
