It's been nearly two years since my injury, and the one question I'm asked most frequently about recovery regards how to manage the normal aches/pains of returning to exercise. Let me preface sharing my own experience by writing plainly that you should work closely with the advice of your physician/therapist/etc. You will experience aches and pains. It is frightening. The challenge is to learn to recognize what is normal vs. what is not. This is not an easy thing to do, and as I indicated before it is scary.
I started lightly running roughly 4 months after my injury. I mean lightly running, as in putting on a brand new pair of Hoka Bondi shoes and toe running gingerly. I never felt achy or sore during my running. Never. Had I felt even the slightest pain or ache during my run, I would have stopped without hesitation.
When I started back to even modest distance (e.g., 6 miles), I would later experience a slight ache in my groin at a point over the old fracture site. But...the ache wasn't quite as deep. This is difficult to explain, other than to write that the fracture ache was deep as in located in the dead center of the distance between my groin and my rear end. At the time of the fracture, it hurt when I ran. It hurt notably when I would try to stand up from a chair (or get out of the car). The ache of returning to running after non weight bearing was not quite as deep (even though it was located in the same place), and it didn't hurt until later in the day. I'd take a hot bath, and the ache would subside. I'd do aggressive self massage in the groin area, and the ache would subside. I'd try to do an adduction stretch to help with what I knew were tight iliopsoas tendons in the fracture area, and the ache would get worse. Bottom line: I agree with what most indicate regarding this injury: Everything is connected "down there," and the combination of a fracture and prolonged disuse (at least 8 weeks of absolutely no weight bearing) created a recipe for tightness & etc.
I also developed snapping hip (tight tendon again), which exacerbated the ache in the area.
This (ache and snap) would come and go, and as the months progressed (and my mileage increased), I learned to recognize it for what it was. The ache lasted for nearly one year - sometimes it would be gone for a few weeks and then return. Cycling made it worse, which was reasonable. Cycling places the hip (and as such the flexors/tendons) in a contracted state, and I'm certain this irritated the already shortened and stressed tendon.
As of today, I still can't stretch very aggressively on the formerly fractured side. No big deal. I still have the snapping hip, but it has lessened notably within the past six months.
Running now roughly 40 miles a week. Cycling/swimming/weight training as well. I'm always "aware" of my former injury, not in a bad way, as it seems to be healed. Rather, I never, ever want to have this occur again. Therefore...strengthen the glutes and flexors. Cross train more often. Take days off. Repeat. Take days off. Wear very good shoes. I switched to the HOKA brand 20 months ago. They are terrific. I also use Altra Lone Peak 2.5s for trail running. I no longer care about saving weight on shoes. I'd rather have 12 oz shoes on each foot with major cushion than to go through the injury again. If that's all it takes, so be it.
