Hip pain tips can help you manage early symptoms, choose safer exercises, and recognise when to seek help. Hip and groin pain may come from the hip joint, gluteal tendons, muscles, bursae, pelvis, or referred pain from the lower back.

If your hip pain is new, worsening, or limiting walking, stairs, sitting, running, or sleep, a physiotherapist can assess the likely source and guide a plan. For broader information, see our hip pain guide and groin pain guide.

What Causes Hip Pain?

Hip pain can come from joint, tendon, muscle, bursa, pelvic, or lower back sources. Common causes include hip joint irritation, muscle strain, gluteal tendinopathy, bursitis, hip labral tear, hip impingement, hip arthritis, hernia-related pain, or referred symptoms from the lumbar spine.

How Is Hip and Groin Pain Diagnosed?

A physiotherapist will usually assess your symptoms, walking pattern, hip range of motion, strength, functional control, and aggravating activities. Imaging such as X-ray, MRI, or CT may help when symptoms suggest arthritis, fracture, labral injury, or another structural issue.

Can You Prevent Hip and Groin Pain?

You cannot prevent every cause of hip or groin pain. However, you may reduce risk by building hip strength, progressing activity gradually, using suitable footwear, avoiding sudden training spikes, and improving movement control during walking, stairs, running, squats, or sport.

What Self-Care May Help Hip Pain?

Early self-care may include reducing aggravating activities, using ice or heat, gentle walking, light mobility exercises, and avoiding painful loaded positions. However, self-care should match the likely cause. Tendon, joint, muscle, and nerve pain often need different strategies.

What Exercises May Help Hip Pain?

Gentle hip exercises may help some people, but the right choice depends on the cause of pain. If an exercise increases sharp pain, groin pinching, night pain, or limping, stop and seek advice. Two common starting options include a hip flexor stretch and bridge exercise.

Hip Flexor Stretch

Start in a kneeling lunge position with one knee on the ground and the other foot forward. Gently tuck your pelvis under, engage your core, and shift forward until you feel a comfortable stretch at the front of the hip.

Hold for 20 to 30 seconds, then change sides. Avoid forcing the stretch or arching your lower back.

Bridge Exercise

Lie on your back with your knees bent, feet flat on the floor, and arms by your sides. Gently tighten your abdominal muscles and glutes, then lift your hips until your body forms a straight line from shoulders to knees.

Hold briefly, then lower with control. Aim for 10 to 15 repetitions if comfortable. Stop if you develop sharp pain or strong hamstring cramping. Your physiotherapist may modify this exercise if your glutes are not yet coping with the load.

When Should You Worry About Hip Pain?

You should seek prompt medical advice if hip or groin pain follows a fall, prevents weight-bearing, causes fever, severe swelling, worsening night pain, numbness, weakness, unexplained weight loss, or sudden movement loss. These signs need proper assessment.

How Can Physiotherapy Help Hip Pain?

Physiotherapy may help by identifying the likely pain source and matching treatment to your goals. Your plan may include education, load management, strength exercises, mobility work, movement retraining, manual therapy, and a gradual return to walking, gym, running, or sport.

Hip rehabilitation often focuses on strength, mobility, balance, and load tolerance. Your physiotherapist may also review walking, stairs, running mechanics, gym technique, or sport demands when these activities trigger symptoms.

When Is Surgery Considered for Hip or Groin Pain?

Surgery may be considered when a clear structural problem keeps causing significant symptoms despite suitable conservative care. This can include advanced hip arthritis, some labral tears, or some hip impingement presentations. A surgeon should discuss risks, benefits, and alternatives.

Related Hip and Groin Conditions

• Hip pain
• Groin pain
• Gluteal tendinopathy
• Greater trochanteric pain syndrome
• Hip impingement
• Hip arthritis

Hip Pain Tips FAQs

What causes hip pain when walking?

Hip pain when walking may come from hip arthritis, gluteal tendinopathy, bursitis, muscle strain, hip impingement, or referred pain from the lower back. The location of pain, stiffness, strength, and walking pattern can help guide assessment.

Is bridge exercise good for hip pain?

Bridge exercise may help some hip pain presentations by improving glute strength and hip control. However, it may not suit every person. Stop if it causes sharp pain, groin pinching, limping, or strong cramping.

What is the best stretch for hip pain?

The best stretch depends on the cause of hip pain. A gentle hip flexor stretch may help some people with front hip tightness. However, tendon, joint, nerve, or labral symptoms may need different exercises.

When should I see a physiotherapist for hip pain?

See a physiotherapist if hip pain limits walking, stairs, sitting, sleep, work, gym, running, or sport. Early assessment may help clarify the likely source and reduce the risk of doing exercises that do not suit your hip.

What Should You Do Next?

If hip or groin pain is limiting your walking, stairs, sleep, work, exercise, or sport, book a physiotherapy assessment. Early assessment may help clarify the cause and guide safer exercise choices.

References

1. MacKay C, Cottrell M, Brown T, et al. Hip Pain and Mobility Deficits—Hip Osteoarthritis: Revision 2025 Clinical Practice Guideline. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2025.
2. Estberger A, Brämberg EB, Stigmar K, et al. Clinical assessment and treatment of patients presenting with longstanding hip and groin pain in primary care. 2025.
3. Tedeschi R, et al. Optimizing Conservative Management of Groin Pain in Athletes. 2025.