Iliopsoas Tendonitis
Injury sucks. There is nothing more regrettable, restrictive and frustrating than having been injured. This time, fortunately, I don’t have these strong feelings, because the pain I have is not severe. Yet, the prospect of full recovery from this pain seems to resemble this San Francisco summer weather: Foggy and not encouraging. Yes, this is frustrating.
My self-diagnosis of this pain is I have Iliopsoas tendonitis. This past Monday, I went to Psoas to see if they can figure out what’s been bothering me. My symptoms are:
- Groin pain when I run without sufficiently warmed up.
- Groin pain when I do crunches with my left leg bent.
- Groin pain when I sneeze.
The groin pain is identical in all these scenarios. Rodney checked the alignment but he had difficulties pin-pointing the cause of my pain. When he found soar spots in my lower back, he suggested the tightness in Quadratus lumborum was somehow connected to the pain in Longus. His massage gave me piercing pain as he tried to loosen the tightness in Quadratus. It was so painful that I instantly believed his diagnosis without any doubt. However, looking at the anatomy diagram now, it does not seem to coincide with the area I am feeling the pain. Longus is a muscle that goes down further deep in legs, but my pain is near the top anterior side of the Pelvis. So I searched what could be bothering me other than still potentially Quadratus and Longus.
From what I read, my symptoms are consistent with those of Iliopsoas tendonitis. It is basically inflammation of Iliacus and Psoas muscles. Psoas is the stretch of muscle that is right next to the spine. Iliacus is the muscle next to Psoas. The location of Iliacus seems consistent with the location of my pain.
Similar to other conditions that stem from muscle inflammation, there is no quick treatment for this. Suggested immediate treatment is R.I.C.E., as they say: Rest, Icing, Compression, and Elevation. Two to three weeks of rest is usually suggested but more rest may be necessary, depending on the condition. Once inflammation stops, stretching and strengthening can help prevent the same inflammation from happening. When running, it is advised not to run on the hill, up or down, as well as less speed training.
This causes a problem to my training for the upcoming races. First of all, I am doing the Pride Meet less than two days from today. Then, immediately after the track meet, I am starting the Half Marathon training for the Oct 2 race. Then, I am hoping to run a Full Marathon before the end of this year. So, there is not going to be any rest between now and the Full Marathon. Three weeks or more rest is very restrictive to my training. After the Full Marathon, I will take a break for a couple of weeks before the training for Boston should start. It will be holiday season, so it is a good time to take the break. Can this condition wait until then? Would I make it worse by doing the track meet, Half Marathon, and Full Marathon? The reason injury is regrettable is because I often feel that I should have know better than getting injured. ‘I told you so’ moment is just waiting to happen, or would it go away without me knowing? It is true that I had the same pain in the right side of the groin, but it did go away after a while. I shall see. If it starts to feel worse, I will compromise.
Hi! I came across your story here by searching iliopsoas tendonitis! I too self diagnosed! lol. Anyway, I was wondering what ever came of this for you? I have this dull low right side anterior pelvic pain. Also groin issues. Which I thought initially was a groin pull! I’ve had MRIs, ultrasound and xrays of hips and I am good to go other than this strain dull pain in groin.pelvic area. So frustrating and seems hopeless even after 6 weeks off from running.
I’m doing low, slow miles right now, but need to start training in about a week or so! So any info would be helpful! 
Thank you.
Hi, Lisa. I am afraid that my condition has not improved, either. I have not had it checked out as you have, and I am taking it easy from running these days. One new suspicion is that my hip and legs are way too tight and are causing imbalance. I have plantar fasciitis right now, and it is getting better by stretching my calf muscle. So, I’ve been doing a little more stretching, including foamrolling. Hopefully, I will get to bottom of this soon, but I think it might take a while. Sorry I don’t have anything better for you. Good luck with your situation!
Hi guys. I too came across this post while Googling. Mine however was for “Running with psoas tendonitis” as I was officially diagnosed by three different doctors. Prognosis is grim. I am not sure the severity of your pain, but mine was a 12 on a scale of 0-10. I was injured in late-July and did not seek professional help until January (I missed two days of work due to pain). Like you, I continued running and working out (at least through October after the initial injury and for a couple weeks in December). I saw a physical therapist for the first time yesterday. It’s not good. The PT told me I would likely never run competitively, ever again. The psoas tendon will never fully heal. She told me the best I can do is to practice strengthening exercises to increase my tolerance level. She let me run on a treadmill for 4 minutes (I was in excruciating pain by 1:30, but kept it to myself to see how long she’d let me run – it’s been 3 months since I had any real cardio). She told me after a FEW months, I could attempt a run/walk running program (which makes me absolutely crazy… RUN WALK, you have GOT to be kidding me). But I am sanctioned to the stationary bike and target exercises for now. Long story short, this tendonitis thing is a big deal. If you can afford PT, you may want to try it out to at least learn specific target exercises. My insurance only covers a very, very small percentage, so the cost adds up. I plan on going only 2 times, once to learn (what I did yesterday) and again in a couple weeks to see if I’ve made progress and to report any changes (hoping to get cleared to use the elliptical machine… oooooo) – it’s devastating news to any runner.
On a side note, I had similar issues with instability and imbalance in my entire leg and my back. This has to do with the whole psoas system – you are not supposed to cross your legs when sitting as this upsets the hip-flexor, which affects the psoas. No leg raises. Pilates are out – yoga is good, but overstretching that entire affected side could cause more pain. I’ve been “resting” for months now, way more than the RICE treatment. In fact, the PT said the psoas tendon is so deep, that ice may not even relieve any inflammation at all.
No good news for me anyways. Hopefully you guys can get some relief and that I didn’t ruin anyone’s day with my poor outlook.
Signed,
Discouraged [I'll be canceling my gym membership this evening] Runner
Oh no! I am very sorry to hear that. And it is not very encouraging news to me and others who face the similar problems… My pain level is not as severe as yours, but if indeed I have iliopsoas tendonitis, I’d better do something about it! Thanks for your comment, and I hope at least your pain goes away soon.
Hi, I also came across your post by once again googling this injury to see if there are any new articles on it. From my experience this injury is the worst I’ve ever had, it’s extremely stubborn. I used to play competitive tennis until 2008 when I got this injury and I wasn’t able to do any lower body exercises for 2 years. In fact the pain was so bad that I couldn’t walk without pain. I was misdiagnosed by 7 or 8 different doctors until I finally saw a doctor at Duke who immediately figured out what was wrong. 5 years after I initially got injured, I am still having problems..and I’ve been taking it easy. I have been doing home work outs, so that I can control the pain level and choose the right exercises to avoid getting the groin aggravated. Yesterday I finally thought I was ready for a little run. I went for a 6 mile run and I can barely walk today. It’s a really painful sensation, mixed with pulling and it hurts to the touch. My injury started with the right hip and now I am starting to experience the same problems with my left hip. The only thing that I found helps me is stretching. Lots of groin stretches a few times a day. I am sorry that I don’t have better news, Koji, but I have to tell you that those two years of no exercise for me were very, very frustrating.
I would recommend anyone who has this injury to take it easy when the pain starts, rest and stretch a lot before continuing with a the more vigorous runs or exercises. I really hope your injury is not as severe as mine.
Thank you, Yana. Fortunately, my symptoms are nowhere near as severe as yours but still there despite reducing mileage. I am afraid I have to live with this. =( Not happy but I agree I have to watch it closely and no make it worse.
Sorry folks but I’ve had this for ten years. The trouble is I can’t figure out what aggravates it although I suspect a lot of bending is not good. Anyone any ideas? It only seems to hurt later not at the time I’m doing anything.
I still do yoga .
I have not figured out what my condition actually is and it is still bothering me, although it has not gotten any worse. I am going to see a different doctor and see what she has to say.
I came across this blog while researching psoas tendonitis. How frustrating for all of you who are struggling with this. Anybody have a doctor who has suggested or looked into your hip as far as impingement (FAI) or labral tears? The pain varies with patients but can be very similar to what some of you are describing. I have tears in both hips, diagnosed via MRA (mri with dye contrast) and will be having surgery for it in hopes that I can get back to an active lfestyle. Anyway, just thought I’d share for anyone who is still looking for answers and haven’t looked into the aforementioned things as a possibility. I chased my pain down for nearly 2 years and multiple doctors before I finally got an answer. Good luck!
Thank you for your comment. I have not had MRA or any images done but going to see a different doctor hopefully next week. This is going on for almost two years and time to get it over with!
Good luck with your surgery and recovery! I would love to hear how your recovery goes.