Hip pain in adults

Expert review by:
  • Sian French, Lead Therapist and Advanced Physiotherapy Practitioner

Hip pain includes pain in or around your hip joint. There’s a range of things you can do to manage hip pain, and treatments that can help too.

About hip pain

Hip pain can affect soft tissues such as muscles, or the bones in your hip joint. We describe potential causes of hip pain in our section on types and causes of hip pain. Each cause may have different symptoms. Some you can treat yourself at home, but for others you may need medical treatment.

Types and causes of hip pain

A number of conditions can cause hip joint pain. Here are some examples.

  • Sprain. If you have hip pain after exercising, you may have strained or inflamed your soft tissues. A strain is a stretch and/or tear of muscle fibres and/or a tendon (the cord of tissue that attaches your muscles to bone). It can happen if you stretch these beyond their limits, or force them to contract too strongly.
  • Greater trochanteric pain syndrome. This is inflammation or an injury to soft tissues that lie over the top of your thigh bone, on the outside of your hip.
  • Osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis is a condition that causes painful, stiff joints including hips. It means your joint may not work as well. Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis in the UK.
  • Rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune condition. This means it’s caused by your immune system attacking your healthy body tissues. Rheumatoid arthritis can cause inflammation and damage to your hip joint.
  • Psoriatic arthritis. Psoriatic arthritis is a type of arthritis that can affect your hip joint, tendons and ligaments. Ligaments are strong bands of tissue that help to stabilise your hip joint. Psoriatic arthritis is linked to psoriasis of the skin.
  • Ankylosing spondylitis. This is a type of arthritis that usually starts in your lower back and pelvis. But it can affect other joints too, including your hips.
  • Hip fracture (break). You can break your hip if you have a fall. Hip fractures are very common, particularly in elderly people with osteoporosis. This is because their bones are less dense and are fragile, so they break more easily. Younger people can also fracture their hip if they have an injury.

Symptoms of hip pain

Symptoms of hip joint pain will depend on the cause. Here are some examples of symptoms you can get with hip pain.

Sprain

If you have pulled (sprained) a muscle or tendon around your hip when exercising or have been overdoing things, you may feel some pain from inflammation. A strain can range from being mild to severe.

  • A mild strain will feel tender and painful, but your hip will feel that it has normal strength.
  • A moderate strain will feel more painful and tender. You may have some mild swelling and feel that your hip is weaker. You might also have a bruise.
  • A severe strain can feel even more painful and you probably won’t be able to walk. You’ll have some swelling, a bruise, and find it difficult to put weight on your leg.

A mild sprain will often get better within a few days but it’s likely to be a few weeks for a moderate or severe strain.

Greater trochanteric pain syndrome

If you have greater trochanteric pain syndrome, you’ll have swelling over the bony bit at the top of your thigh bone. You’ll also feel pain in the side of your hip. You may feel pain in your thigh and bottom (buttocks) too, and this can be continuous or come and go. Sometimes the pain can spread down the side of your thigh but it doesn’t usually go below your knee. The pain will often feel worse with activity, for example when you walk or lie in bed on that side of your body.

The pain from greater trochanteric pain syndrome will usually come on gradually and may get worse over time.

Osteoarthritis

If you have osteoarthritis in your hip joint, you may feel a deep pain in your groin and at the front or in the side of your thigh. The pain from osteoarthritis in your hip can spread to your bottom, knee and ankle.

The pain will feel worse when you exercise, and when you climb stairs. It will feel better when you rest. But if your osteoarthritis is severe, you may feel pain even when you’re at rest. It might also affect your sleep.

Your hip may feel stiff in the morning for a short time (less than half an hour) or after you’ve been resting. Osteoarthritis can affect how well you move and restrict your activities because you may find it hard to rotate your leg. You might find it difficult to put shoes and socks on, for example.

Rheumatoid arthritis

If you have rheumatoid arthritis in your hip, you’ll feel pain, heat and stiffness in the joint. You’re likely to have pain in other joints too. The pain will usually feel worse when you rest and haven’t moved for a while. You may also have some swelling around your hip joint.

Your hip is likely to feel stiff in the morning – this usually lasts over an hour. For most people, rheumatoid arthritis gets slowly worse with time. Rheumatoid arthritis can run in the family.

Psoriatic arthritis

If you have psoriatic arthritis, it can cause pain, swelling and stiffness in and around your hip joint, and likely other joints too. Your hip will probably feel stiff in the morning, and this stiffness will last for more than half an hour. You might have symptoms that affect your skin too. For example, you may have itchy, irritated, burning skin that’s painful and may bleed and scale.

Ankylosing spondylitis

If you have ankylosing spondylitis, it will usually affect your spine, and you’ll have pain and stiffness in your lower back and bottom. But while it mainly affects your neck and back, it can also cause pain and stiffness in other joints, including your hips. Your symptoms may so bad that they wake you up at night. You’re likely to find you’re your symptoms get better when you move and exercise, but don’t get any better if you rest.

Ankylosing spondylitis may be inherited and it might be linked to a group of other symptoms such as psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disease, and enthesitis (tendon problems).

Hip fracture

If you break (fracture) your hip, you’ll usually have a painful hip, as well as pain in your upper thigh and groin. You won’t be able to walk. Your bones might look out of place too – your leg may look shorter and be turned outwards.

Self-help for hip pain

Depending on what’s causing your hip joint pain, there are some things you can do yourself to help ease hip pain.

Do:

  • take over-the-counter painkillers such as paracetamol or ibuprofen to give you some hip pain relief
  • take it easy and get some rest, particularly if you’ve strained a muscle or tendon
  • put some ice on your hip – wrap the ice in a towel and put it on for no longer than 20 minutes every 2–3 hours
  • put your leg up on a pillow to help the swelling go down
  • look at ways to help support your hip at work - your employer can give you a workstation assessment to see how to help you
  • ask your GP, physiotherapist or an occupational therapist for advice about any aids to help you walk – for example, a walking stick
  • take some steps to lose weight if you’re overweight because this can put more strain on your hip

Don’t:

  • put too much strain on your hip – keep moving if you can, but try not to do any major activity for the first two to three days while you recover
  • lie on the side of your body with the painful hip when you sleep
  • sit in low chairs as the angle of these will bend your hip more, which can increase your pain
  • carry any heavy weights
  • stand on one leg – when you get into a car, sit on the side of the seat and swing both of your legs in

If your pain is really bad and hasn’t improved after taking painkillers regularly for two weeks, call your GP. If you have an injury, you may need to go to hospital.

Diagnosis of hip pain

If you see a doctor about hip pain, they’ll ask you some questions about your symptoms and will examine you. They’ll also ask about your medical history. Depending on what they suspect may be wrong with your hip, they may do some investigations. Your GP may:

  • move your hip in certain ways, to see the range of movement
  • look at how you walk and how this is affected by your hip pain
  • gently press on certain areas to see exactly where the pain is

You may need to have some tests to help diagnose the cause of your hip pain. These might include:

  • an X-ray to see if your hip is broken or, sometimes, to see if you have osteoporosis or osteoarthritis, for example
  • blood tests to see if your pain is caused by a condition such as rheumatoid arthritis
  • a CT scan, which uses X-rays to form a 3D image of your hip
  • an MRI scan to investigate the muscles and tendons inside your hip
  • an ultrasound scan to look at muscles and tendons, in particular this can help to diagnose osteoarthritis and greater trochanteric pain syndrome

Treatment of hip pain

The treatment you have for hip pain will depend on what’s causing the pain. Your GP may treat you, or refer you to a specialist who may do some investigations and arrange your treatment. Here are some possible treatments for hip pain.

Medicines (painkillers and steroid injections)

If you have tried self-help measures but still have pain, your GP or specialist doctor may prescribe painkillers or offer you a steroid injection.

Always read the information leaflet that comes with your medicine and if you above any questions, ask a pharmacist for advice.

Physiotherapy

Your GP may refer you to see a physiotherapist if you have hip pain. You can also book a private appointment yourself.

The exact therapy you have will depend on what’s causing your hip pain. Your physiotherapist will usually give you some exercises to help strengthen the muscles in your thigh and around your hip, and to ease any stiffness. They’ll also give you exercises that will improve the range of movement you have with your hip. And your physiotherapist will give you some advice on how to improve your posture.

Occupational therapy

If your hip pain is affecting you at work, your GP or employer can help you get some occupational health support. An occupational health therapist can help you to change the way you do things to adapt to your hip problem. They may recommend equipment or adaptations to put less strain on your hip at home, work, or while you’re driving. You can also see an occupational therapist privately.

Surgery

Sometimes you will need surgery for hip pain. If you have a fracture, for example, a surgeon will stabilise the bone and hold it in place. They might need to replace part of your hip joint too.

If you have hip pain caused by arthritis, you may eventually need to have your hip replaced in an operation. You’ll need to have physiotherapy after hip surgery while you recover.

Physiotherapy services

Our evidence-based physiotherapy services are designed to address a wide range of musculoskeletal conditions, promote recovery, and enhance overall quality of life. Our physiotherapists are specialised in treating orthopaedic, rheumatological, musculoskeletal conditions and sports-related injury by using tools including education and advice, pain management strategies, exercise therapy and manual therapy techniques.

To book or to make an enquiry, call us on 0345 850 8399

Hip pain is exactly that – pain in or around your hip joint. Depending on what’s causing your hip pain, you may have other signs too. If you have a severe strain in a muscle or tendon in your hip, you’ll have some swelling, a bruise, and find it difficult to put weight on your leg. If you have rheumatoid arthritis in your hip, it will probably feel stiff in the morning – this usually lasts over an hour.

For more information, see our section on symptoms of hip pain.

Depending on what’s causing your hip pain, there are some things you can do yourself to help ease hip pain. You can take some over-the-counter painkillers such as paracetamol or ibuprofen. And try not to put too much strain on your hip. Don’t sit in low chairs, for example, because the angle of these will bend your hip more, which can be painful.

For more information, see our section on self-help for hip pain.

If hip pain is severe and doesn’t get better despite taking painkillers regularly for two weeks, call your GP. And seek medical help if you feel unwell and have a fever or night sweats. If your hip joint becomes hot and swollen or you have early morning stiffness that lasts longer than 30 minutes, you should get some help.

See a doctor straightaway if you’ve had a fall or injured your hip.

There isn’t one main cause of hip pain. There are many possible reasons why it could be happening. Hip pain could be caused by anything from a strained a muscle to a health condition such as a type of arthritis.

For more information, see our section on types and causes of hip pain.

It’s best to go and see a doctor or physiotherapist about hip pain so they can find the reason for your pain. They’ll ask you some key questions about your symptoms and will examine you. They may move your hip in ways to see the range of movement. They may look at how you walk and if this is affected by your hip pain. They may also gently press on certain areas to see exactly where the pain is.

For more information, see our section on diagnosis of hip pain.

More on this topic

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