Hip Pain: Common Causes, Treatment, and When to Get Help
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Hip pain can make everyday activities uncomfortable: climbing stairs, getting out of a car, putting on socks, squatting, or rolling over in bed. Your hips support your body weight and help you walk, lift, and move in different directions.
Pain can develop in the hip joint, surrounding muscles, or tendons. Sometimes, pain felt around the hip comes from the lower back. It may appear in the groin, buttock, outer hip, thigh, or even near the knee.
This article is for general information only and is not a substitute for an individual assessment. Severe hip pain, pain following an injury, or symptoms accompanied by fever or difficulty bearing weight should be checked promptly.
What is the best way to treat hip pain?
The best treatment depends on the cause. A muscle strain, irritated tendon, and arthritic joint may require different approaches.
For many common hip problems, treatment involves adjusting aggravating activities, maintaining comfortable movement, and gradually rebuilding strength.
The goal is to help you move more comfortably and return to the activities that matter to you.
Temporarily adjust painful activities
Reduce movements that consistently cause sharp pain, limping, or a lasting increase in symptoms. You may need to change the depth, weight, speed, or duration of an activity rather than stop it completely.
Keep moving within a comfortable range
Prolonged complete rest can make returning to activity more difficult. Gentle movement can help maintain mobility without repeatedly forcing painful positions.
Try ice or gentle heat
A wrapped cold pack may provide temporary relief after a flare-up. Gentle heat may feel soothing when stiffness is the main complaint. Protect your skin and avoid extreme temperatures.
Build strength gradually
Progressive exercise can help improve your tolerance for walking, stairs, lifting, and training. The exercises and starting difficulty should match your symptoms and current ability.
Get assessed when needed
If pain affects sleep or daily activities, keeps returning, or has not improved after about two weeks of self-care, book an assessment.
At Synergy Movement & Rehab, an assessment helps guide a plan that may include progressive exercise, activity advice, and hands-on treatment where appropriate.
What is the most common reason for hip pain?
There is no single cause that explains everyone’s hip pain. The likely cause varies with age, activity, injury history, and the location of symptoms.
Common causes include:
Muscle strains involving the hip flexors, groin, or gluteal muscles
Tendon irritation around the hip
Greater trochanteric pain syndrome, which causes pain on the outside of the hip
Hip osteoarthritis
Femoroacetabular impingement, sometimes called hip impingement
Hip labral injuries
Pain referred from the lower back
Pain on the outside of the hip is often called “bursitis,” although nearby gluteal tendons may also contribute. Osteoarthritis is another common cause of hip pain and stiffness, particularly in older adults.
For active adults, symptoms may develop after increasing running distance, adding more lower-body training, or returning to exercise after time away.
Pain location provides useful clues, but it does not confirm a diagnosis. Groin pain, for example, can come from the joint or surrounding muscles.
How can I tell if hip pain is serious?
Most hip pain is not an emergency, but some symptoms need prompt medical attention.
When to go to an emergency department
Severe hip pain after a fall or injury
Inability to walk or bear weight on the affected leg
Tingling or loss of sensation after a hip injury
When to seek urgent medical assessment
Severe hip pain that starts suddenly without an injury
A hot or swollen hip
Hip pain with fever, chills, or feeling generally unwell
These symptoms may indicate a fracture, infection, or another condition that needs timely treatment.
Persistent pain also deserves assessment when it is worsening, repeatedly interrupts sleep, or limits everyday activities.
Night pain alone does not identify the cause. However, ongoing sleep disruption is a reason to seek help.
How do I get my hip to stop hurting?
Start by reducing the activities that clearly aggravate your symptoms while keeping comfortable movement in your day.
You do not need to force stretches or push through sharp pain to make progress.
Reduce the obvious triggers
Depending on your symptoms, aggravating activities may include:
Deep squats or lunges
Running hills or increasing mileage too quickly
Repeated twisting or pivoting
Sitting in low chairs
Crossing your legs
Standing with most of your weight on one hip
Sleeping directly on the painful side
Try modifying the activity. A shallower squat, shorter walk, or lighter load may feel more comfortable.
If an activity leaves you limping or consistently more painful afterward, reduce the demand and consider getting assessed.
Use gentle movement
Choose movements that feel comfortable rather than following a generic routine through pain.
Options may include:
Short walks on level ground, if you can walk without limping
Gentle standing hip movements while holding a counter
Comfortable heel slides while lying on your back
Regular movement breaks during prolonged sitting
Avoid repeatedly stretching into a sharp groin pinch or forcing the hip through a painful catch. If pain continues or movement becomes more difficult, seek assessment.
Build back slowly
As symptoms settle, gradually increase the activities that matter to you.
Your rehabilitation plan may include hip strengthening, balance work, and practice with movements such as stepping or squatting.
The starting point should match your current ability. Progress by making manageable changes rather than immediately returning to your previous training volume.
How can I tell if hip pain is muscular or joint-related?
Symptoms can provide clues, but muscle, tendon, and joint problems often overlap.
Pain location or one painful movement cannot reliably tell you which tissue is involved.
Signs that may suggest muscle or tendon involvement
Pain around the outer hip, buttock, or a specific muscle area
Pain when contracting, stretching, or loading the affected tissue
Tenderness when pressing over the painful area
Soreness after increased activity
Some muscle strains can also cause groin pain, so groin symptoms do not automatically mean a joint problem.
Signs that may suggest hip joint involvement
Deep groin pain, sometimes extending into the thigh or knee
Pain with deep bending, rotation, pivoting, or weight-bearing
Difficulty putting on socks or getting out of a low chair
Reduced movement or persistent stiffness
Hip osteoarthritis, for example, can cause groin pain, stiffness, reduced movement, and pain extending toward the knee.
What about clicking or catching?
Clicking does not automatically mean a labral tear. Tendons can also snap as they move around the hip.
Painless snapping may not require treatment. Painful catching, locking, or a change in function should be assessed.
A good examination considers the hip and lower back, along with strength, movement, walking, and your activity demands.
What sleeping position is best for hip pain?
The best sleeping position is one that feels comfortable and avoids sustained pressure on a sensitive area.
Two options to try are sleeping on your back with a pillow under your knees, or on your less painful side with a pillow between your legs. Pillow support may improve comfort for people with hip arthritis.
If sleeping on your back
Place a pillow under your knees and adjust its height until your hips and lower back feel relaxed.
There is no need to hold a rigid position all night. Use support that feels comfortable.
If sleeping on your side
If pressure on the outer hip hurts, avoid lying directly on that side.
Try lying on the other side with a pillow between your knees. A longer pillow that also supports your ankles may help keep your upper leg from dropping across your body.
Positions to adjust
Consider changing positions that consistently worsen symptoms, including:
Lying directly on a tender outer hip
Letting the upper leg fall far across the body
Holding the hip in a deeply bent position
Sleeping with the hip and lower back twisted
If pain continues to wake you despite changing positions, book an assessment.
When Self-Care Is Not Enough
Self-care is reasonable when symptoms are mild and improving.
Seek assessment when:
Pain has not improved after about two weeks
Symptoms are worsening or keep returning
Walking, stairs, work, or exercise are becoming difficult
Pain repeatedly interrupts sleep
You are losing movement or developing a limp
An assessment should connect your symptoms with your movement, strength, injury history, and daily demands. It should also determine whether medical evaluation or imaging is appropriate.
Treatment should help you move more comfortably, rebuild strength, and return to your usual activities with greater confidence.
Hip Pain Treatment at Synergy Movement & Rehab
Hip pain making it harder to train, walk, or get through your day?
At Synergy Movement & Rehab in South Edmonton Common, Dr. Steven Buchan provides chiropractic care and movement-based rehabilitation tailored to your symptoms and goals.
Your assessment helps guide a plan that may include progressive strengthening, mobility exercises, activity changes, and hands-on treatment where appropriate.
Why Choose Synergy Movement & Rehab?
An assessment focused on your symptoms, movement, and daily demands
Exercise guidance tailored to your current ability
Practical support for returning to work, training, and everyday activities
Clear explanations and a plan you can follow between visits
Take the First Step
Book a hip pain assessment at Synergy Movement & Rehab, located inside Evolve Strength at South Edmonton Common.
No gym membership required.
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