CodyDog

Last moth I purchased my first drop bar bike (Trek Checkpoint) since I was a kid. I consider myself in pretty good shape for a guy that just turned 60 and have been riding more upright bikes in the past few years, used to mountain bike a lot in my forties.

So now I've started having some hip pain (right side). Seems to have started since I started riding the drop bar bike. Went to the chiropractor today but too early to tell if that helped. I have had no prior hip issues. No falls or cashes on the new bike. Pain is in the front part of the right hip. I change the seat to a Selle Anatomic X2 a few rides back which is much more comfortable than the stock seat and have been properly fitted at the LBS. Not sure if the original seat was the culprit.

Has anyone else experienced this? Is it just getting used to this new riding position?

Hondo Gravel

jppe

FiftySix

Yep. My right side hip has had some new to me pain the day after a ride a couple times over the last month. It's with a new to me bicycle, where the reach to the bars is a bit longer than I'm use to. The pain lasts a few hours or all day, then goes away. Makes me feel crippled in the hip when it happens and I'm only 54.

It may be bike fit like the others mention. When my new to me 2013 Norco Cityglide first came, the saddle didn't work with me well and I had the bars flipped upside down with the stem angle down as well. In the end, my body preferred a different saddle (mounted well forward to work with the stem length) and the bars and stem flipped upright. The bar and stem flip results in nearly a 4 inch height difference. The bars in question are more or less a Northroad type.

Examples in my case:

Handlebars down - https://www.norco.com/bike-archives/2013/cityglide-ss/

Handlebars up - https://www.norco.com/bike-archives/...ityglide-8igh/

FiftySix

I might add, I'm not sure why my right hip has the pain while my left hip does not?

Reminds me of an improptu 10 mile hike I did in 3 hours many moons ago. Both my hips were sore, sore, sore after that.

So, probably just a muscle thing.

rnothog

I've had to have both hips replaced. First noticed pain in the front of my hips while riding motorcycles in my late 20's. Proceeded to dog me for 30 years. Kept running, until that became too painful, then I started hiking. Eventually, that became too painful, as well.

A visit to an ortho doc and an x-ray would tell the tale.

nesdog

How do you know the fit is correct? There are so many different styles. I've worked with several fitters who came up with conflicting results on the same bike.

Since you didn't have any issues before riding, I'd argue the fit needs to be adjusted.

Cyclist0108

Make sure saddle position and height is correct. I get hip pain if my saddle is too high.

CodyDog

Thanks wgscott. I'll give that a try tommorow.

CodyDog

nesdog, great point! I'll take it to another shop and see what they say on the fit.

TiHabanero

Still have OEM hips, but have had pain in the front of them before. Simple stretching routine was the fix. Not sure it will work the same for after market hips.

horatio 

Hip flexors? Mine have been sore lately, but I also haven’t ridden regularly for several years. My son showed me how to stretch them post ride.

JohnJ80

I'm 63, and had the same thing happen. So went to the PT and got a bunch of exercises etc... Nothing worked. Sports medicine doc took X-rays and it's arthritis - I could have been doing PT for a decade and it wouldn't have helped. Tomorrow I get a cortisone shot.

Not saying it's arthritis, but at your age it's something you should also rule out.

J.

CodyDog

J:

I think that is a possibility. Ive been pretty hard on the body over the years. I think an X-ray may be the next step.

JohnJ80

Yep. Got the shot on Tuesday and already much better.

My sports medicine doc took a look at the xrays and saw a lot more in the subtle detail than my family practice guy did. He’s had a ton more training in just that. So make sure you get it looked at by an expert.

Turns out the shots are somewhat diagnostic in their own right. The injection is given under guidance from ultrasound to make sure it goes into the joint capsule and that major vessels aren’t damaged in the process. You can literally watch the joint capsule expand as the cortisone/lidocaine liquid is injected (it’s kind of morbidly fascinating when it’s your hip).

If it works then that supports the diagnosis of arthritis/inflation in the joint by inference. Hard to figure out otherwise since you can’t really take it apart and look.

So if the shot works - good news and bad news. Good news is that the pain diminishes big time
and you’re back at it next day and in 2-3
days you’ll have a lot of relief. Bad news in that it’s arthritis and you’re wearing the joint out and should plan accordingly.

Basically - two things. One, getting older is not for the timid. Two, getting older basically sucks except the alternative is a lot worse.

f4rrest

Another common issue is femoral acetabular impingement, or FAI.

This is thought to be pre-arthritic, where the smooth tissue around the hip socket calcified a bit and interferes a bit with the hip bone at certain angles, causing pain.

The hip ortho can reshape it with orthoscopic surgery and possibly save it from degenerating into arthritis, but this is debatable. It's a 6 month recovery.