Pain on top of thighs / outside of hip

TL;DR: pain in top of left thigh / outside of left hip, particularly when I lift my knee up/out or ‘squeeze’ my leg inwards.

A couple of weeks ago, I started to notice a bit of pain while squatting. This was after several weeks of higher volume than I’d ever done before, so I thought it was just some persistent soreness. After a few squatting sessions with minor pain, it got a bit worse and so I had to stop squatting mid-session.

I tried on subsequent sessions but it didn’t get better. Took 1.5 weeks off from squatting completely, but it actually got worse throughout that time. Previously, I could work up to a heavy single and just feel a bit of discomfort (then the volume work became impractical). Now, even trying to warm up is too painful - particularly at the deeper range of motion. I feel it when I walk or stretch.

It’s a sharp pain, usually on the outside of the top of my thigh, but it doesn’t seem to be in the exact same place every time. Deadlifting is relatively pain-free. I can reproduce the pain really easily while sat down by squeezing my leg inwards or lifting it up and out.

Any thoughts? Thanks a lot in advance!

Hey John,

Sorry to hear you are dealing with this issue. This certainly sounds like a tendinopathy issue. Especially given rest seemed to make things worse for you. Have you tried modifying the load you are attempting to lift or shorten the range of motion to a tolerable portion of squatting?