Runners....Question RE: Running Pain

[Christine]

Hey all you runners, I have a question that's kind of hard to phrase but I'll give it a try. It's regarding my son (teen) who has been running since early August. He has joined his high school's cross country team. He hasn't been doing much prior to that so, while he's not overweight, he's certainly not what I would call "fit."

As I said, practice for cross country started in early August. Prior to that, he had been doing small jogs on his own (2 miles). But we had so many heat advisories and over 100 degree days that he probably didn't do it as much as he should.

For the past 2.5 - 3 weeks he's been running 5 days a week with his team. They vary what they do. He's gradually improving--has good days and bad.

So this past Thursday, they took one of their longer runs and he was very pleased that he made it the whole way. He did tell me that his legs hurt but that seemed normal to me and him. He had run through woods, up hills, flat surfaces, etc and he seemed to think the trails/hills were what got him.

On Friday he had a break from breakfast and he did mention he was sore.

Saturday morning, they all went to a park and ran about 2-3 miles. He told me he didn't do too well because his "legs hurt". I started asking him where they hurt, thinking shin splints, but he said "up top." So I'm thinking his quads are sore.

Last night, he decides to go for a 2 mile run on his own. He was gone a while and came back in barely walking. Crashes down on the floor and appears to be in excruciating pain. He says he only ran a mile before the pain got bad and then he dragged himself home. He could hardly move, get up, he was just in misery. I finally got him to explain where the pain is. If you put your hands on your hips and then sort of slide them down to the very top of your leg that's about the general area. It is on the side of very upper leg and the front area. As you move down the leg the pain gets better. It's doesn't hurt to the touch and he said it doesn't hurt like regular muscle pain. He says it feels like his bones hurt but when I see where the area it is, it seems very large like it would be an entire muscle group.

He took some Motrin and took a shower and was feeling quite a bit better 45 minutes later.

So, I'm not sure what this might be. I've never really heard of pain in that area.

Is this type of thing normal? Should he rest for a few days? I knew he was already sore but my experience with that has been to get back out and more exercise seems to losen things up.

My husband is a runner but apparently never gets in any pain at all and didn't know what to make of it.

Also, he is wearing good shoes. He was fitted at a running store that has a very good reputation so I don't necessarily think it's a shoe issue, though it could be but he's been fine up until now.

If you have any suggestions, I'd appreciate it.

 

[golfgal]

Bad shoes tend to hurt your knees first and since you went to a good store, that probably isn't the problem. Watch him walk, do his knees turn in, is he bow legged? This is an odd problem. I would take him in to a sports medicine, orthopedic doctor and have them look at it. It's possible he has some hip joint issues being exasperated by the running. Another thing, how is his running form? If he bounces too much vs doing a good heal to toe pattern, it could be jarring his hips quite a bit. A call to the coach to ask about this might help too.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

It sounds like pain from the hips. http://www.runnersrescue.com/Running_Hip_Pain_Strain_Injury.htm

 

[PlutoPony]

Does his team have an experienced coach or trainer? If so, I would start by sending him to practice and having him tell them what he's experiencing. If they're good, they should have some ideas about the source of the pain, whether it's normal for a beginning runner, and what level of activity is appropriate for him at this point. Now if they're clueless or seem uninterested in this I'd jump to the MD route, probably a good sports medicine doctor if you can find one quickly.

Kids do seem to recover amazingly well (and quickly) from things like this IF they're not indicative of serious issues. Hopefully this is just a part of the conditioning process and he feels better this morning, able to run without pain.

Did you get his shoes at VA Runner or some place like that? That's another option for asking about the pain, but I would start with coach/trainer.

Good luck!

 

[AmericangirlinFrance]

Could definitely be a stress fracture - they are VERY COMMON in runners (also dancers, etc.) who increase mileage too quickly (and I'd say going from not really running to running 5 days a week is a pretty large increase!).

I went from not running much to about 25-30 miles a week and got a stress fracture in my foot - but as far as I understand, the hip is another place runners get stress fractures.

For me, the key was going to a good sports orthopedist - I went to my family doctor and she told me to ice it, rest it, and take an anti-inflammatory. The orthopedist was much more helpful, although by the time I got to her it was much worse than it originally was.

So go to the doctor now before it gets worse!

 

[Christine]

The coach has watched him (prior to the pain) and said that he has good form and efficiency.

PlutoPony--Yes, I got his shoes at VA Runner and my husband spends a TON of time up there so maybe that's our next stop.

I certainly HOPE this isn't some sort of stress fracture but if it doesn't improve by the end of the week, I guess I will have no choice but to try to get in with an orthopedist.

 

[Christine]

It sounds like pain from the hips. http://www.runnersrescue.com/Running_Hip_Pain_Strain_Injury.htm

Thanks for this. It does sound like this might be his issue. He's got *everything* going against him, it seems.

He overpronates (he does have orthotics), he's got SUPER long legs. He has been to an orthopedist before when he got an injury in Tae Kwon Do, so I know that he has joint laxity (so do I) so his joints are hypermobile when he does anything.

 

[golfgal]

While not out of the realm of possibility, it is not typical to get a stress fracture that high up. Those bones are pretty thick and take a lot of abuse. Typically you see stress fractures in the lower(thinner) leg bones and in the feet. Read the thread about Perth's disease too-another possibility.

 

[lil mermaid]

Is this type of thing normal? Should he rest for a few days? I knew he was already sore but my experience with that has been to get back out and more exercise seems to losen things up.

QUOTE]

I am a runner (not a doctor), and I've had various pains/injuries, etc. over the years. Most of the time when I or others I've known have been hurt, it is a case of too much too soon.

I am not going to try and diagnose your son, but any time someone has pain from running that causes one to "crash down on the floor" it is time to go to a doctor.

 

[PlutoPony]

The coach has watched him (prior to the pain) and said that he has good form and efficiency.

That's good to hear and will definitely be a help as his conditioning improves. Boys especially are reluctant to tell their coach about aches and pains, but in our experience the coaches have been great about honing in on causes of pain. Plus they really don't want the kids to suffer in silence so to speak, too much chance of further damage and/or turning the kids off on the sport.

Yes, I got his shoes at VA Runner and my husband spends a TON of time up there so maybe that's our next stop.

With the XC programs in full swing now, those now working at the good running stores around here are the really knowledgeable adults or casual high school runners. Hopefully you can talk to one of the former when you go in - and take his shoes along so they can look at the wear pattern, just in case there's a clue there.

My first thought was a joint issue or maybe Osgood-Slaughter's, with the long legs and a lot of growth in the long bones. Is he going to try practice today?

 

[smb6]

My ds also started cross country for the first time early August and went from very little running to running 2-5 miles 4-5 days per week. He has been having some leg pains also, but not as extreme as your son. So, far I think his is within the normal range. I have no advice, but appreciate the thread because my son has been running in regular shoes. They are good quality shoes, just not "running" shoes; so I guess I need to check into that..... Hope your son's leg pain goes away and isn't anything serious...

 

[Christine]

Is this type of thing normal? Should he rest for a few days? I knew he was already sore but my experience with that has been to get back out and more exercise seems to losen things up.

QUOTE]

I am a runner (not a doctor), and I've had various pains/injuries, etc. over the years. Most of the time when I or others I've known have been hurt, it is a case of too much too soon.

I am not going to try and diagnose your son, but any time someone has pain from running that causes one to "crash down on the floor" it is time to go to a doctor.

Well, he didn't really "crash". I'm sure I was exaggerating!! He walked into the house of his own accord and said "OMG, my legs hurt" and immediately laid down on the floor and massaged his legs. He then got about about 10 minutes later. He's moving fine but it just hurts.

 

[golfgal]

My ds also started cross country for the first time early August and went from very little running to running 2-5 miles 4-5 days per week. He has been having some leg pains also, but not as extreme as your son. So, far I think his is within the normal range. I have no advice, but appreciate the thread because my son has been running in regular shoes. They are good quality shoes, just not "running" shoes; so I guess I need to check into that..... Hope your son's leg pain goes away and isn't anything serious...

Good quality regular shoes just won't cut it for cross country running. Take him into a RUNNING shoe store- not Foot Locker, etc. and have him fit. The cost of the shoes will be less then the dr bill for whatever injury the other shoes might cause . Even different styles of running shoes can cause problems if they are not fit property. The clerk should watch him walk, have him do knee bends to check for pronation/supination problems, look at the bottoms of his current shoes (so bring a pair that he has worn for a while with you) and check his arches.

 

[Christine]

That's good to hear and will definitely be a help as his conditioning improves. Boys especially are reluctant to tell their coach about aches and pains, but in our experience the coaches have been great about honing in on causes of pain. Plus they really don't want the kids to suffer in silence so to speak, too much chance of further damage and/or turning the kids off on the sport.



My first thought was a joint issue or maybe Osgood-Slaughter's, with the long legs and a lot of growth in the long bones. Is he going to try practice today?

Re: the bolded part. That's him totally. He has pretty bad allergies/asthma (treated) and sometimes he won't tell the coach if his breathing feels 'off' because he doesn't want the coach to think he's using a medical excuse to get out of running. He also said that a few times his legs hurt he didn't want to tell him because he thinks the coach will think he's just trying to get out of it.

As far as tonight, I've e-mailed the coach and told him what was going on and did he think he needed some rest or did he want my son to come in and show him where the problem was. Hopefully he'll get back to me.

 

[Guy Incognito]

could just be a hip flexor strain....

http://injuredrunner.com/injury_region/hip/hip_flexor.htm

 

[FireDancer]

Does he take ice baths? They do wonders for the little aches and pains that come from training. I bought the smallest garbage can I could stand in comfortably and fill it with ice water past the top of my knee. Do 20 minutes in the ice, 20 out, 20 in again.

Before jumping to any conclusions about stress fractures I would ice the legs for a day or two and rest. It sounds like his lack of summer running meant that when he went back to training with the team he increased the mileage too quickly. I think just about every runner has done something similar and the majority of the time it is nothing more than an over use injury. If a day or two or ice and rest don't help he can go see a doctor.

 

[PlutoPony]

As far as tonight, I've e-mailed the coach and told him what was going on and did he think he needed some rest or did he want my son to come in and show him where the problem was. Hopefully he'll get back to me.

IMO that's a good approach. The coach needs to know what's going on, and his response will give you a better idea of how he handles these things. Injuries are unfortunately very common in XC, even with experienced runners. Your son sounds like a first time runner that the coach would want to keep interested in his program. They have been in team practice for several weeks so his coach probably knows by now who is trying to get out of work and who is not

Hope your son feels better

 

[BlueIrish]

I'm not a doctor but I am a runner. I think your doing the best thing, have the coach/trainer come in on this problem. It could just turn out to be to much to soon hill running is tough on the body when its not use to it. But it could also be a hip flexor strain.

 

[Christine]

IMO that's a good approach. The coach needs to know what's going on, and his response will give you a better idea of how he handles these things. Injuries are unfortunately very common in XC, even with experienced runners. Your son sounds like a first time runner that the coach would want to keep interested in his program. They have been in team practice for several weeks so his coach probably knows by now who is trying to get out of work and who is not

Hope your son feels better

I don't know why DS is being so sensitive about speaking up!! He told me that he is the only one so far that has not missed a practice. I'm pretty sure the coach knows he's not a slacker...

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I couldn't tell from the OP if the pain was more on one side than bilateral. This could help determine whether it's a hip flexor strain vs overuse injury. But either way, he should rest it. I know he doesn't want to seem like a slacker, but he can cause more injury if he pushes it when it's already strained, so he needs to give it some time to heal.

(And, for your son's benefit) no two runners or other athletes are ever exactly alike. Each one needs to learn their own natural rythms and limits and pay attention to when their body is telling them something. Training should be gradual and knowledgable, with an emphasis on safety re body mechanics.