If you’ve been dealing with hip pain, you’re not alone. Studies have shown that up to 10% of the general population suffers with hip pain. When looking for solutions to your hip pain, you may find yourself getting overwhelmed by the hundreds of exercises out there all promising to “fix” your hip pain. My goal is provide my top exercises I’ve found over 13 years of practice that can significantly help your hip pain and take less than 10 minutes a day to complete. Who would say no to doing fewer exercises and seeing quicker results?
Before I give you my top 3 exercises for hip pain, I want to discuss the difference between true hip pain and referred pain in the hip. Understanding this concept is the “ah ha” moment for many of my patients who have suffered with hip pain for years and failed all other treatments. What I find is that 50% of my patients don’t truly have hip pain, they have pain in their hip that is coming from their lower back. Curious if this is you? Check out my top 5 signs and symptoms that point to a back, not a hip, problem. If you can answer yes to at least 2-3 of these, there is a high likelihood your hip pain is coming from the lower back.
Here are some common signs and symptoms of hip pain coming from the lower back
- Posterior hip (most true hip pain is in the front and outside of the hip)
- Hip pain that is worse with sitting and better with walking/standing
- Pain that travels from the hip and goes down past the knee
- History of low back pain (especially if it is the same side as the painful hip)
- Any numbness or tingling below the painful hip
So, let’s say you don’t have many of those symptoms above. I want to list the most common symptoms that point to the hip as the source of your hip pain.
- Pain along the outside of the hip that can wrap around to the groin
- Pain that is worse with walking or standing
- Increased morning pain that gets better once you move around
By now, I hope I’ve clarified the difference between true hip pain and referred hip pain from the lower back. Let’s jump into my top exercises for hip pain.
- Prone press ups. If you found yourself saying yes to the low back questions, this exercise is for you. This exercise helps move the painful joints in the low back that are causing your “hip pain”. If this exercise produces low back pain, don’t worry. It is actually a good thing if your hip pain moves to your back. This tells me that the body is starting to heal itself, and don’t be surprised if your hip pain disappears within a week. My general recommendation is to start slow with the exercise; start with 10 repetitions, 3-4x/day.
- Hip flexor stretch. Due to our sedentary lifestyles, I find the hip joint can get tight. There are many great stretches for the hip, but I find the hip flexor stretch is my “go to” exercise for hip joint pain, especially if your hip pain is in the front of the hip. This stretch should be performed 3 times for 30 seconds with the goal to go deeper into the stretch as the hip allows. I would start doing the exercise twice a day with the option to increase to 4-5x/day if you find significant pain relief with the exercise.
- Bridging with a band. If your hip pain isn’t due to tightness in the hip joint, it is likely from general weakness around the hip. This exercise is great because it strengthens the back and side of the hip. With strengthening, it is important not to overdo it when starting, unless you want to be so sore that getting on/off the toilet is a chore! Trust me, it happens far too often to me after a heavy leg day at the gym! My recommendation is 3 sets of 10 with a 5 second hold with each repetition. I would start with 3-4x/week instead of daily to begin.
I hope you find these exercises beneficial. If for any reason, you find these exercises increase your hip pain, please stop these exercises immediately. In that case, you may be a great candidate for a physical therapy evaluation to get to the root cause of your hip pain. With our whole-person, root cause approach to hip pain, we are able to identify areas of dysfunction and recommend a personalized home program to address your hip pain without expensive imaging, pain pills, or cortisone injections.
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**Disclaimer: this is not medical advice. Please consult with your provider.