Q: I’m having a lot of pain that goes between my left hip, what feels like a kink in my hip flexor, and deep glute pain. It all seems to be at relatively the same time though…. despite me feeling it more in one area or another. I didn’t injure myself to my knowledge - that is to say, I don’t remember anyhow. So what is causing this pain? I’m not doing really anything different.

A: These sorts of transient pains - that go between three areas - are hard to pinpoint, for sure, and cause people to seek out specialist after specialist. Since I’m not seeing you in person, that is a hard call. But, if I am understanding what you’re describing, it could be a common ailment of tight hip flexors. I experienced the same a few years ago, and it wreaked havoc throughout that entire joint area. Remember, hip flexors, hip joint and glutes are within close proximity, despite the fact that we think of them separately. They are, however, interdependent - meaning they all rely on one another to work in cooperation. If one is out of whack, all are out of whack. Stretching is usually the thing that will cure this problem. It’s going to be painful at first, however. I am unsure of your age, but I remember having to begin a hip joint stretching routine at around 32. I had never done any stretching because I was young and it seemed unnecessary. Then, with 12 years of lifting under my belt and a lot more weight per lift, I began experiencing problems. Stretches that help hip flexors are hurdle stretches, half splits with the sore hip flexor leg back straight behind a curled opposing leg. Sit cross-legged and bring the soles of your feet together. Legs are splayed out to the side. Put your hands on the inside of your knees and gently press down and hold. You can do a lot of this in front of the television at night, and the more you do, the better your hip flexors will become. You can also lay off squats for awhile and do leg extensions with concentrated squeezes, lifting off the pad to engage the hip flexors for more strength in that area. Main thing is, stretch, ice, and take anti-inflammatory drugs while you are correcting the problem. If that does not help, there is a possibility that your IT bands may be tight and need planing and stretching.

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