Hip Pain

Hip pain assessment showing outer hip symptom location during physiotherapy review

Hip pain location often helps identify the likely cause.

Hip pain is discomfort felt in the groin, outer hip, buttock, or upper thigh. Common causes include hip joint irritation, gluteal tendon problems, bursitis, muscle strain, or pain referred from the lower back or pelvis. The pain location and what aggravates it often help identify the main source.

Quick Hip Pain Check

Front hip or groin pain often relates to the hip joint, hip flexors, the labrum, or femoroacetabular impingement syndrome (FAIS).
Outer hip pain is commonly linked with greater trochanteric pain syndrome (GTPS), gluteal tendinopathy, or trochanteric bursitis.
Buttock pain may come from the deep hip region, gluteal muscles, or referred pain from the lower back.
Seek urgent medical review if you cannot weight-bear, pain followed a fall, or the hip is hot and swollen and you feel unwell.

Hip pain can make walking, stairs, sleep, work, and sport harder than they should be. Some people feel symptoms deep in the groin, while others notice pain at the outer hip, buttock, or front of the thigh. If your symptoms overlap with stiffness, catching, or pain spreading into nearby areas, related pages such as hip arthritis, hip labral tear, and the groin pain hub can help narrow down likely causes.

A physiotherapist can assess your hip joint, surrounding muscles and tendons, and movement patterns to identify what is driving your symptoms. From there, treatment can be tailored to your goals, work demands, training load, and current irritability.

What Is Hip Pain?

Hip pain is a symptom rather than a single diagnosis. It may arise from the hip joint, gluteal tendons, bursae, nearby muscles, or referred sources such as the lower back and pelvis. The pain location, aggravating movements, and examination findings usually help identify the main driver.

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Common signs may include:

Groin pain or a deep ache at the front of the hip
Outer hip pain that worsens when lying on that side
Buttock pain, stiffness, or reduced stride length
Clicking, catching, or pinching during hip flexion
Pain with running, squats, stairs, hills, or getting out of the car

Where Is Your Hip Pain?

The location of your symptoms often helps narrow the cause. Groin pain is more likely to come from the hip joint or nearby front-of-hip structures. Outer hip pain often relates to gluteal tendons or the bursa. Buttock pain can also overlap with the lower back, pelvis, or deep hip muscles.

Pain pattern	Common examples	Often aggravated by
Groin or front of hip pain	Hip arthritis, labral irritation, FAIS, hip flexor issues	Walking, deep squats, stairs, getting out of the car
Outer hip pain	GTPS, gluteal tendinopathy, trochanteric bursitis	Lying on that side, stairs, hills, prolonged walking
Buttock pain	Gluteal muscle issues, deep hip irritation, referred back pain	Sitting, walking, lifting, prolonged standing
Clicking, catching, pinching	Labral involvement, impingement-related pain, joint irritation	Hip flexion, twisting, sport, pivoting

What Causes Hip Pain?

Hip pain may start from the joint, a tendon, a bursa, a muscle strain, or a nearby area such as the lower back. Many people have more than one contributing factor, such as reduced hip strength, increased training load, repetitive compression, prolonged sitting, poor sleep positions, or abrupt changes in activity.

Hip Arthritis

Hip arthritis often causes groin or front-of-hip pain, morning stiffness, and discomfort after longer walks. Management commonly focuses on education, progressive strengthening, and improving day-to-day tolerance. When symptoms persist, your physiotherapist can guide rehab and discuss when medical review may be appropriate.

Hip arthritis: signs, movement changes, and what often helps.
Hip replacement rehabilitation: what to expect after surgery and how physiotherapy supports recovery.

Trochanteric Bursitis and GTPS

Outer hip pain often sits under the greater trochanteric pain syndrome umbrella. Many people notice pain when lying on the affected side, climbing stairs, crossing their legs, or walking for longer periods. While the term bursitis is often used, gluteal tendon irritation and reduced hip load capacity are also common drivers.

Trochanteric bursitis: symptoms and common triggers.
Greater trochanteric pain syndrome (GTPS): why lateral hip pain flares and how to manage it.
Gluteal tendinopathy: a common tendon source of lateral hip pain.
Bursitis treatment: practical strategies to settle irritated tissue.

Sporting Hip Issues

Sport-related hip pain often involves load spikes, sprinting, kicking, deep squats, or change-of-direction work. Common issues include hip flexor strains, groin-related pain, femoroacetabular impingement syndrome, and labral injuries. A clear diagnosis helps direct training modifications and rehabilitation progressions.

Hip labral tear: symptoms, diagnosis, and rehab priorities.
Hip flexor pain: common causes and treatment options.
Femoroacetabular impingement syndrome (FAIS): how hip shape, load, and movement patterns can influence symptoms.

Referred and Overlapping Pain

Not all hip pain comes from the hip itself. The lower back, pelvis, and groin can all refer symptoms into the same region. That is why your assessment may also include screening for lower back pain, pelvic contributors, and related groin pain conditions.

When Should You Worry About Hip Pain?

Seek urgent medical review if you have severe pain after a fall, cannot weight-bear, feel unwell with a hot or swollen joint, or notice strong night pain that is rapidly worsening. These features do not always mean something serious is wrong, but they do deserve prompt assessment.

Seek urgent medical attention if you notice:

Severe hip pain after a fall or collision
Inability to weight-bear or walk normally
A hot, swollen hip joint with feeling unwell
Rapidly worsening pain that is not settling with rest

Should You Keep Moving or Rest?

Generally keep moving if pain is mild, settles quickly, and you can walk without a limp.
Reduce load if hills, stairs, deep squats, side-lying, or sport are clearly flaring your symptoms.
Book an assessment if pain lasts more than 1 to 2 weeks, keeps returning, affects sleep, or limits walking, work, gym, or sport.
Seek urgent medical review if you cannot weight-bear, have severe pain after a fall, or have a hot swollen joint and feel unwell.

How Is Hip Pain Assessed?

Assessment usually starts with a clear history, including where the pain sits, what brings it on, and what helps. Your physiotherapist will then assess hip range of motion, strength, balance, control, and how you move during tasks such as squats, stairs, walking, and single-leg loading.

In many cases, nearby areas that commonly refer pain into the hip are also checked. This can include the lower back, pelvis, and groin. Identifying the main driver matters because treating the wrong source can slow progress.

Hip pain assessment often includes strength, control, and movement testing.

Do You Need a Scan for Hip Pain?

Not everyone needs imaging. A physiotherapist may recommend a GP review if symptoms do not improve with appropriate care, if the diagnosis remains unclear, or if red flags are present. Scans can sometimes help rule in or rule out specific conditions, but the findings still need to match your symptoms and physical examination.

For a plain-language overview of common causes of hip pain and when medical review may help, see Healthdirect’s hip pain information.

Physiotherapy Treatment for Hip Pain

Physiotherapy for hip pain usually focuses on load management, exercise, movement retraining, and a gradual return to activity.

The exact mix depends on whether the main issue comes from the joint, tendon, bursa, muscle strain, or a referred source. Clinical guidelines support exercise and education as first-line care for hip osteoarthritis and many tendon-related hip pain conditions.

Settle the Irritability

Early on, your physio may recommend short-term load changes, such as reducing hills, deep hip flexion, sprinting, or side-lying pressure. This does not mean stopping all activity. Instead, it means keeping you moving while symptoms settle.

Build Strength and Capacity

Progressive strengthening often targets the glutes, hip rotators, and trunk control. For many people, better hip capacity reduces flare-ups and improves tolerance for walking, stairs, and sport. Your program should match your current tolerance and then build steadily.

Improve Mobility and Movement Patterns

Some people benefit from improving hip mobility, joint control, and technique for lifting, squatting, running, or kicking. Manual therapy may help some individuals in the short term, but it usually works best when paired with active rehabilitation.

Return to Sport or Higher-Demand Work

If you play sport or have a physical job, your physio can plan graded exposure back to running, cutting, jumping, or prolonged standing. Clear progressions may help reduce the risk of repeated flare-ups.

If muscle tension or recovery is also a factor, you may combine care with massage therapy. For longer-term conditioning, exercise physiology may also support strength, fitness, and sustainable load management.

Related Hip and Groin Conditions

Common questions about hip pain often focus on cause, seriousness, walking tolerance, and when to seek help.

Frequently Asked Questions About Hip Pain

What is the most common cause of hip pain?

Hip pain can come from the hip joint, tendons and bursae around the outer hip, muscle strains, or referred pain from the lower back. Common examples include hip arthritis, GTPS, gluteal tendinopathy, and groin-related conditions. A clear assessment helps match treatment to the main driver.

How do I know if my hip pain is serious?

Hip pain deserves prompt review if you cannot weight-bear, the pain followed a fall, the joint is hot or swollen, or symptoms are rapidly worsening. Pain that persists, affects sleep, or keeps returning also deserves assessment even if it is not an emergency.

Can hip pain come from my back?

Yes. The lower back, pelvis, and nearby nerves can refer pain into the buttock, outer hip, or upper thigh. That is why a good assessment often checks both the hip and the lower back before deciding on treatment.

Is walking good for hip pain?

Walking is often helpful if it stays within a comfortable range and does not leave you limping or flared for hours afterwards. However, some people need temporary load changes, shorter walks, or flatter ground while the hip settles and strength improves.

Should I stretch or rest a sore hip?

Complete rest is rarely the best long-term plan. Most people do better with guided load reduction, smart activity changes, and progressive strengthening. Stretching may help some people, but the right approach depends on whether the pain is coming from the joint, tendon, muscle, or a referred source.

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Hip pain rehabilitation showing confident walking and guided recovery

Guided rehabilitation can help restore hip strength and movement confidence.

What to Do Next

If hip pain is limiting walking, stairs, sleep, work, or sport, a physiotherapy assessment can help identify the main driver and guide the right treatment plan.

Bring a short list of what aggravates your symptoms and what goals matter most, whether that is work, sport, stairs, sleep, or daily comfort. If you want to book now, use the PhysioWorks online booking page. You may also find it helpful to review related guidance on hip replacement rehabilitation or lower back pain if your symptoms overlap.