Heavy Pack Hip Pain

[Mikido]

I sport a K2 with stiff lumbar pad.

Once I go above 50 lbs, the center of my hip on the back and the 2 “wings” experience pain. If I lower the pack, it’s hitting the top of my glutes which causes strain. Go up, my stomach hurts.
I’m skinny if that means anything.

Any tips?

 

[mtnbound]

I sport a K2 with stiff lumbar pad.

Once I go above 50 lbs, the center of my hip on the back and the 2 “wings” experience pain. If I lower the pack, it’s hitting the top of my glutes which causes strain. Go up, my stomach hurts.
I’m skinny if that means anything.

Any tips?

Is this a new pack for you? If not, has it always done this or just started?

 

[Mikido]

Had it for years. I’ll train with it súper heavy, but for limited time. The pain first came with my first heavy packout wearing the pack for several
Hours.

 

[darkwoods]

Is this with the hip belt fastened, without or both?

I always found swapping between fastened and unfastened helps through a long day. That and getting the load lifter's correctly tensioned.

 

[EdP]

Don't know your age but an older body generally means going with a lighter pack weight. When in my 60's I did find I could carry more with a pack of newer suspension design but even so, as time progressed the weight had to drop.

 

[mtnbound]

Had it for years. I’ll train with it súper heavy, but for limited time. The pain first came with my first heavy packout wearing the pack for several
Hours.

For me, the early versions of EXO frames did not work; they would shift/slide down and cause hip/pelvic pain, especially with loads over 50lbs. I switched to a Kifaru frame and had no issues. I ran the Kifaru frame until EXO released their K4 version. The K4 stays in place, and I have no pain, so I have been using it since.

I would recommend you try a different frame and see if the pain goes away. If it doesn't, I would consider consulting a Physical Therapy tech to evaluate you for any instability in your hip/pelvic area. You might also look into the McGill big 3, which are designed to strengthen the core and spine by targeting specific muscles.

 

[Brian Robeson]

I just have a 50L Kelty redwing. When I ruck I do so at 35lbs now, and I have been upping it a few pounds at a time for the last two months. You may need to condition your body for a month or two with a short hike 2 times a week and move up the weight from there. It doesn't sound like much but right now 35lbs for me feels like 20lbs did two months ago. Hope this helps.

 

[TaperPin]

I sport a K2 with stiff lumbar pad.

Once I go above 50 lbs, the center of my hip on the back and the 2 “wings” experience pain. If I lower the pack, it’s hitting the top of my glutes which causes strain. Go up, my stomach hurts.
I’m skinny if that means anything.

Any tips?

Once upon a time I had a pack that was uncomfortable like that and it turned out to be the belt was held at an angle that was constantly trying to rotate the top of my pelvis forward when cinched down with a lot of weight. That pack had aluminum stays that could be bent to better match my bones.

In general I’ve had the same skinny hip issues and a high quality belt of ideal shape to grab what little hips I have works, but only so far. I’ve accepted heavy weights will have to have a weight distribution more on my shoulders than the average dude and when a tight belt is making things uncomfortable I add weight to the shoulders.

Good luck, it seems all the skinny hip guys I know have had to try many different things to find what combination works best for them.

 

[Mikido]

Appreciate the input everyone!

 

[Marbles]

What kind of pain? Surface level? Deep in the bone? Muscle?

Surface is pack issue. Muscle could be pack or could be a need to train to correct some weakness or worst case a medical issue. Bone could be medical or training, but unlikely to be a pack issue.

For muscle, I would try training through it using weighted single leg and full ROM exercises such as box step downs, SL RDLs, box step ups, deep lunges, lateral lunges, Etc. It would take progressive worsening for me to seek a medical evaluation.

For bone, I would consider similar training, but get a medical evaluation earlier in the process.

Good luck.