Why Does My Hip Hurt After Running? PT in San Francisco!

Gearing up for San Francisco’s famous Bay To Breakers or the San Francisco Marathon?

As you add on mileage, you might be wondering, “Why does my hip hurt after running?” Whether you’re well-trained or new to running, hip pain occurs for a variety of reasons. 

Too Much Too Fast

When taking on a new activity or mileage goal, your body needs adaptation time. Adding too much too fast can create too much load on the body and cause injury. How much you should increase is highly individualized. Why does my hip hurt after running? It depends on a variety of factors including current and past activity, type of activity, recovery, intensity of activity, frequency of activity, age, medical issues present and past, and general life circumstances like stress and sleep. 

What race are you training for? We all know San Francisco’s terrain is abhorrently different from Fresno’s flat landscape. You need to take this into account when creating your training plan. Blindly abiding by the “10% rule” is a mistake and may be contributing to your hip pain. This is a good article discussing the rule’s shortcomings. 

Ultimately, meeting with a coach or an expert Physical Therapist can help you wrap all these variables together into a cohesive training plan to keep you injury-free for race day!

Request an Appointment in SF!

Cross Training Integration as to Answer The Question, “Why Does My Hip Hurt After Running”

You have to be strong to run, not the other way around. What are you doing on your “non-running” days? You should be strength training to create strong muscles that can power you up those San Francisco hills and protect you from injury. If your hip hurts after running, chances are, you’re not as strong as you need to be. 

But fear not! If you’re injured, don’t stop! You can continue to threshold train on a bike or elliptical to build your endurance while your body recovers. I trained for Boston 2024 injured and did 99% of my training with Matt Wilpers on the Peloton. 

Consider A Running Gait Evaluation to Reduce Hip Pain After Running 

Evaluating your running gait by an expert Physical Therapist is an easy way to improve running economy and reduce injury symptoms. The physical therapist will use technology to slow down your gait to look for asymmetries and inefficiencies and then re-train you to reduce/fix them. Additionally, optimizing your gait sometimes eliminates hip pain completely!

Our physical therapists can help you achieve your San Francisco-based running goal. They will complete a full hip evaluation and give you a home program that aligns with your goals and lifestyle. 

Request an Appointment in San Francisco!

Agile Physical Therapy has THREE San Francisco locations in FiDi, Castro, and Duboce Triangle.

We offer:

• Hour long appointments with no aides or assistants
• Expert advice on your training plan and evaluation of areas of pain
• Collaborative discussion on an exercise plan that works best for your lifestyle