Your exercise program does not necessarily have to end if you have a hip injury. Your hip is a ball-and-socket joint formed by the head of your femur and the acetabulum of your pelvis. It allows you to flex, extend, abduct, adduct and rotate at the joint so you can move in different directions. If you bruise your hip you will need to modify your program but can probably still perform many P90X workouts.
Hip Bruise
A hip bruise can be to the soft tissue around the hip joint or a bruise to the bone itself. A regular bruise comes from small blood vessels damaged under the surface of the skin causing blood to leak and discolor the area. It can be swollen and painful but often heals on its own. A bruised hip bone is often caused by a fall or knock to the pelvic bone and is tender and swollen to the touch. It can be very painful and may limit your range of motion depending on the severity.
P90X Workout Program
The P90X program is an at-home workout program that includes a set of 12 DVDs, exercise guide and nutrition program. Five of the 12 DVDs concentrate on muscles of your upper body and abdomen and may be fine to do even with a hip bruise. The other seven are lower body workouts and cardio programs that involve more strenuous use of the hip joints.
Exercise Modifications
Not every injury is the same for every person. You may find that certain lower body movements do not aggravate your bruised hip while others are extremely painful. Listen to your body and avoid any aggravation to the joint so that it may heal properly. Focus on the upper body and core muscles so that you may continue to see physical fitness benefits. Before doing resistance exercise or high-impact, high-intensity cardio workouts in P90X make sure you can walk and do normal movements without pain and with full range of motion.
Considerations
If your hip does not heal or get progressively less painful, see a physician. You may have a severe bruise that needs other treatment besides rest. It is also possible that there is something else going on within your hip joint. Once your doctor says it is okay to do your P90X workouts again, go slowly and progress gradually. Treat the exercises as if you are completely new to them and pay attention to how your hip feels.
References
- "ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription"; American College of Sports Medicine; 2010
- Sports Injury Clinic: Hip Anatomy
- Common Sports Injuries: Bruised Hip
- Medline Plus: Bruises
- Beachbody: P90X: What You Get
