lower back pain, cold/strange feeling on thighs

[runnmont]

Hi,
I've been a regular runner for years. A month ago, I felt stiff after a run and have had lower pain pain and sore hips since. I've also got a strange feeling that runs from my hips down to my knees - it's hard to describe but my legs feel cold and it feels terrible when I'm sitting down. It's really uncomfortable. I thought the pain was a simple overuse injury and that it would disappear if I took it easy for a week or so. More than 4 weeks later and I'm not running at all. I also have pain at the front of my legs, parallel with my hips. I wonder if anyone has any idea about what could be wrong??
I've been to the gp and I'm waiting for a physio appointment as I write.
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Heidi]

Hi
Problems with the glute muscles cold cause the lower back pain and uncomfortable and cold feelings into the back of the legs that you describe. Could be piriformis syndrome. The symptoms from this vary slightly depending on how bad it is etc.
Try really stretching the glute muscles (provided this isn't painful) and the hamstrings and see if this helps.

[runnmont]

Hi Heidi,
Thank you so much for your reply. The discomfort is running down the front and sides of my thighs, not the back. It goes down to my knees. I've been trying a (gentle) stretching routine, targeting my glutes/piriformis and hamstrings, but this only seems to make things worse, so I'm not sure what to do next. The weird thing is that I feel ok when I'm mobile, but as soon as I sit down or drive I almost feel like I'm wearing a 'sock' of pain!