Iliopsoas bursitis. Or, the thing that happens to my leg.

Image is from hipflexor.org, which also contains lots of useful information
  about hip stretches, strengthening and prevention of hip flexor injuries.

After another visit to Collingwood Sports Medicine, I finally have a more certain diagnosis of what the heck is going on with my leg: iliopsoas bursitis. This was well explained by Dr. John Bowman - essentially, the iliopsoas muscle group is the strongest of the hip flexors, it's vital for standing, sitting, walking, running, and in my case, pretty darned important for cycling, too - particularly in mountain biking where there is a lot of standing in the pedals and maneuvering around the saddle. Generally, iliopsoas injuries are caused by overuse/overtraining - which would be accurate for me, as, when this injury occurred, I was trail running, mountain biking, weight training and doing a lot of plyometrics - some weeks adding up to nine workouts/week. 

So what happens, as a rule, with me, is that I'll do one of the sports I love, sometimes have pain in the hip during, and then often or always in my hip, glute, outer quads, knee, and sometimes all the way down to my ankle the next day. So, I'll take that day off, see if I'm pain-free the next day, if I am, go for a ride/run/workout/whatever, and then repeat the cycle. The pain part of the whole deal is the result of the bursa becoming aggravated and inflamed and then sending its consequences down my leg. 

Since I've started my new workout regime, which, as mentioned, involves much in the way of hip strength/stabilization exercises - and stretching - the time from aggravation (pain onset) to resolution (pain mostly to completely gone) has shortened considerably. Where before it could take a few days for my leg to stop hurting, now it's usually on the order of 24 hours. This, obviously, is progress. 

Next steps for my hip? Well, first an ultrasound, to have a look at the bursa. I await an appointment at the Humber River Hospital, with Dr. Anthony Mascia - here is an interesting article about him and the treatment of a patient's chronic pain. Next, possibly a cortisone shot, depending on the extent of inflammation. And following that, I am told, disciplined adherence to exercises to keep my hips and core strong and resilient. 

It is pretty amazing, to have a name to put to this remarkably annoying chronic pain of mine. Also, nice to have an enemy to put forces decisively against. Rawr.