Illiac Crest Pain

Question
I am a 29 yr old runner. I usually run 8 - 10 km 4-5 times per week. About May, 2014  i developed a 'stiffness' in my right hip after running. This occured only when my body was cold. It was most painful when standing up after sitting for a period of time. I saw a physiotherapist in August, 2014 and was told it was due to weak core strength. I started doing daily exercises, pilates and yoga once a week. By December, 2014 a sharp pain/ache was felt in my right hip during running. This continued until January, 2015 when it hurt too much to run on. I saw a GP who diagnosed bursitits of the hip after an MRI. I had an injection and nothing changed (injection was in the hip and NOT where the pain is, being the illiac crest).As a result i went and saw a sports physcian who said it was due to poor pelvic stability. I stopped running for 7 weeks and started a daily strengthening program, along with the continued yoga and pilates once a week. I did however continue to play basketball once a week.

After 7 weeks the sports physcian has said my pelvic stability is now strong enough for me to start running. I have informed her that the pain is still there on a daily basis, however is much worse after basketball. So much so that i cant sleep on my side those nights.

I have tried to start running again but i am still in pain. I dont know what to do from here. Should i keep running or not? Please help me! All i want to do is start running again.

Answer
Ashlee,

I'm sorry to hear you've had such trouble with this. With what I know I'm not confident in giving you instruction on whether to run or not. However, I can provide direction. It seems like you haven't had very detailed evaluations from any of the healthcare providers you've seen. All 3 of those are common misdiagnoses. A physio will likely have the best chance of coming to the correct diagnosis and treatment. The problem is it's tough to know until they evaluate you. Here are 2 things that should happen.

1)There should be some type of change with the initial treatment. If they can't ask them how long it will take.

2) Don't allow a "let's see how the next few weeks go" approach. You should be able to go run and see if what they've done or asked you to do has made any difference. It may not be all the way better, but you should note a difference.

You may need to see multiple physios to find this. If you see one and you want my opinion don't hesitate to send me another message.

Does that make sense? Sorry I can't give you a specific recommendation on running.