This might not be the best place to seek advice but I know there are many on this forum that have extensive experience and knowledge and since the activities I love the most in life are hiking and backpacking hopefully I’m able to find answers from others who enjoy the same activities.
In July I took my 2 1/2 year old son (34lbs) and 18 month daughter (26lbs) hiking. My daughter rode in our kid carrier filled with food, water, clothes, diapers, wipes, etc (another ~ 15lbs). We hiked a few miles up the trail which had about a 1000ft per mile incline. I determined it was time to head back and my son decided he wasn’t going to walk and that I had to carry him. After doing my best to encourage him to walk down the trail and failing miserably I decided to just carry him.
In hindsight (I’m 35 but with outdoors activities have the mind of a 16 year old) this was a terrible idea since I’m only 5’4″ and ~ 160lbs and haven’t been super active since we’ve had 3 kids in under 3 years. The hike down was exhausting but I felt no pain and we returned home with another great hike under our belts.
The next morning and almost every day since I’ve had quite a bit of stiffness in my hips, hamstrings, and Quads, specifically on the outside of my legs. I also am experiencing dull consistent pain on the front of my groin/joint and every once in awhile a stronger, shooting pain when my legs are up and I turn (like when sitting and then turning my upper body, or when running up a flight of stairs and making the turn to the next flight. Since birth I’ve always had very stiff hips and legs and am one of the least flexible people I know, which has probably contributed to some of the issues I’m experiencing.
The pain and stiffness (more severe in my right side than my left but present in both) aren’t extreme enough to keep me from doing normal daily activities but they have been enough to effect my level of fitness since I’m just not exercising as much as I would normally, and it’s kept me from backpacking and hiking more than very short, easy trips.
I finally broke down and saw a doctor (the past six months have been very busy and I hate seeing doctors and spending money I don’t have) and he took x-rays and said it looks like I most likely have a pincer impingement and that I’m a candidate for FAI but that from what he can tell it’s not an extremely serious case at the moment. He wanted to do an MRI and another test to diagnose my condition further but we simply cannot afford that at the moment, let alone surgery (which regardless of the money I want to avoid at all costs).
As I’ve googled it looks like many people believe that FAI can be successfully treated without surgery so I’d like to put together a routine of exercises and stretches that I can do to hopefully overcome the pain and stiffness I’m currently dealing with so I can get back to taking my wife and children outdoors and so that we can enjoy the backcountry together without feeling like I’m an 80 year old man.
Any advice is greatly appreciated.
