Your hip, being the site of attachment of a host of muscles and tendons from both above and below, experiences a great deal of biomechanical stress during running. Overuse injuries such as bursitis and stress fractures are common, but acute injuries often strike the hip area as well. Some can be managed at home, while others may require intervention by a professional.
Hamstring Strain
According to Brooks Running Canada, a strain of the hamstrings -- the muscles that run from the pelvis to the back of your knees -- results from an imbalance or an overload, as occurs with sprinting or running hard over uneven surfaces. This usually causes pain in the lower part of the buttocks, but less frequently the pain is located in the back of the thigh. If the strain is severe enough, you may feel or even hear a "pop" that signals a partial or complete tear.
Hip Flexor Strain
As with a hamstring strain, an acute injury to the hip flexor muscles, which draw the thigh upward toward the waist, most often occurs as a result of overload or overuse of the muscles in front of thigh and hip. Uphill running is a common cause. A biomechanical imbalance can also lead to strain in this muscle group. As with most soft-tissue injuries, ice, resting, strengthening exercises and stretching are the recommended treatment steps.
Labral Tear
The labrum is the ring of fibrocartilage surrounding the acetabulum, the recess on both sides of the pelvis into which the top of the femur articulates. It acts to cushion and stabilize the joint. Damage can occur as a result of running hard without stretching beforehand, especially in people with arthritis of the hip, structural malformations or a history of hip fracture. An MRI confirms the diagnosis, and treatment usually involves correcting any underlying imbalance using orthotics, although surgery may be required.
Other Injuries
Owing to the complex anatomy of the hip joint, a variety of other acute injuries can curtail your running. Among these are iliotibial band syndrome, in which pain occurs anywhere from the top of the hip to the outside of the knee; snapping hip syndrome, which results from connective tissues passing repeatedly over the greater or lesser trochanter at the top of the thigh bone, the front of the hip capsule, lesser trochanter, or the hip bone itself; and pulls of one of the many muscles in the butt, in particular one of the gluteal muscles.
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