I fixed my internal snapping hip syndrome - this is what I did

[kaleida]

This post is a summary of everything I did to fix my internal snapping hip syndrome. I'm just leaving it here in case anyone searches for the same issue. I had a lot of trouble finding successful case stories when I was looking for options to fix this.

Fixing My Internal Snapping Hip Syndrome



What is internal snapping hip syndrome?
During hip flexion/extension, the iliopsoas snaps over a bone deep inside the hip - either the femur head, or a small bump on the pelvic bone.
I had this painless click in both of my hips, for about two decades. There are other kinds of snapping hip syndrome, but this is the type I had.
See Wikipedia for more info about snapping hip syndrome.

Cliffs version - what I did to fix it:
- Big reduction in the amount of time spent sitting
- More glute strength because that helps align the femur head correctly in the hip socket
- Stretching a series of tight muscles that was causing my pelvis to tilt higher on one side
- More detail about what I did here: Fixing My Internal Snapping Hip Syndrome

This is a list of the hip symptoms I was trying to fix:
- A subtle painless clicking sound in my groin region during hip flexion and extension.
- The ability to "pop" both hips very loudly - audible to everyone in the room - which I felt in my hip socket. The angle that made my hips pop was putting my thigh out to the side with at least 90 degrees of hip flexion - for example, sitting and then putting one knee out to the side while I keep my torso facing forward.
- A painful "frozen hip" feeling when my hip was not recently popped. By frozen hip I mean a limited range of motion, plus pain when I go to the edges of that range of motion. Once I popped my hip, full range of motion was restored without pain.
- Occasionally, the inability to pop my hip - leaving it in the frozen, painful state. Luckily, this didn't happen to me very often. In two decades, it happened only a few times - riding my bike and needing to stop for a few minutes until my hip could pop. Once, the frozen state lasted a few days because a strained hip adductor muscle prevented me from getting into the popping position.
- If I continued normal activities with my hip in the frozen state (which only happened once - after my adductor strain) then I had intense pain in the groin region. It was difficult to tell exactly what was hurting - either the iliopsoas or the hip socket directly underneath it.

After fixing it:
- big increase in my squat strength - I feel like hip extension is easier when everything is symmetrical and lined up correctly
- no more clicking sounds in my hip
- less pain in my hip (although my hip pain was intermittent to begin with, so I am lucky there)

[kaleida]

I got an email question about this blog post and I will answer it here:

I stumbled across your blog looking for information regarding "snapping hip" syndrome...
I am having a similar problem with my hip accept my snapping hip has actually stopped me from squatting all together. Even a bodyweight/ air squat is pain full. Did you continue to work out and squat while you were doing your self treatment? Also, were there any particular resources that you found helpful in helping you figure things out? I appreciate any response and was happy to see that you were able to make some change to your condition.

I think you are wise to temporarily stop doing what hurts and work on the hip issue first!

I did squat while I was fixing mine but that was because I was lucky enough to find a squat variation that didn't trigger any hip pain for me. Squat variations with an upright torso seem neutral for my hips - not enough to fix it, but not making it worse either. I think that's because upright torso setup gives me better glute activation, and glute activation is like an anchor that keeps my hip aligned correctly. High bar, goblet squats, and front squats are the upright torso variations that don't seem to make my hips any worse. Low bar squats seem to trigger my hip socket pain the next day whenever I do them. So I did keep squatting while I worked on this, but only the upright-torso variations, and only because my hips were happy with that.

In the future I don't plan to squat on a "bad hip day." I still have them occasionally - my biggest trigger seems to be either a low bar squat session, or sitting the day before - sitting long enough that I no longer feel a stretch in my glutes. Maybe someday I'll be immune to sitting but for now I work around it.

I'm a little bit worried about long-term cartilage damage because a "bad hip day" means my femur head is slightly out of place in the hip socket and it gives me some impingement pain to squat like that - based on what I read, the impingement pain might be hip socket cartilage (labrum) getting pinched between the femur head and the acetabulum (hip socket bone). Even though the pain is minor for me I think it would add up over time.

When my hip is out of alignment there are a few things that seem to help it pop back into alignment so I plan to do those things instead of squats - glute bridges, standing or lying down flat instead of sitting, heating pad, stretching any pelvic alignment muscles that seem like they are trying to revert to tight again (except gluteus maximus - I try to never stretch that because I need tension there to pull femur head into the right position in the hip socket).

For resources - I googled a lot and put a lot of small tidbits of info together ... I wish I had kept links
Some of the things I googled while I was fixing this:
- anterior femoral glide
- femoral acetabular impingement
- lateral pelvic tilt
- which muscles attach to femur and how to stretch them
- which muscles attach to pelvis and how to stretch them

[iwant2beswole]

I have had this same issue for the past few months, and have seen my squat go from a 315x5 top set to a measly 225 for 5 reps. Inner right hip pops a lot, and loudly, but also gives pain when I squat heavy.

I also believe sitting has the biggest impact on this for me... Although I pretty much have to sit all of the day (driving to school, classes, computer science hw). Thanks for the post!

[Len4]

Hi, how did you learn what kind of snipping hip you have? I went to the doctor, he did not even touched me to see what was going on. Xrays showed no tear. Is ultrasound recommended? I hear clicking in one hip only. I did lots of yoga sessions, stretching, some physical therapy and still on my way to the full healing of my hip. Thank you!

[Ccarrigg]

Hi Kaleida,

I have the same internal snapping hip issue and im trying to access your link but i get a message that i need to be invited.

Can you please invite me? My username is ccarrigg

Also, was your pelvis laterally raised on the snapping hip side or opposite side?

Many Thanks,

Chris

[lstecker]

Would love to read your entry on snapping hip and tips for healing. Have been trying to do this on my own for several years now! Gmail is lsstecker@gmail.com

[Kerib86]

Please invite me to how you fixed this issue. I have a loud audible but painless snapping in my right side. When I lift knee 90 degrees and bring leg back it pops and is coming from the lateral portion of my glute medius. It almost feels like my right buttocks snaps. My email is kerisa.bella28@gmail.com thank you

[SuffolkPunch]

OP hasn't posted on this forum for 5 years...