Hip pain can affect far more than just the hip itself.
Walking, climbing stairs, getting in and out of a car, sleeping, running, gym training or simply sitting for long periods can all become more uncomfortable when the hip is painful or stiff.
At Summit Physio, we’ll assess what’s happening, explain what may be contributing and build a rehabilitation plan around the things you want to get back to.
The hip is involved in almost every lower-body movement.
That means pain can sometimes develop gradually through changes in activity, strength or mobility, while other problems may begin more suddenly after an injury.
Symptoms may also be influenced by structures around the hip, the lower back or surrounding muscles and tendons.
That’s why we don’t treat every case the same way.
We first look at your symptoms, your movement and what your hip needs to cope with.
Hip problems can present in different ways.
You may experience:
The location of your pain can give us useful information, but it doesn’t always tell us exactly what is causing the problem.
A full assessment helps us build a clearer picture.
There isn’t one single cause of hip pain.
Possible contributing factors may include:
Sometimes several factors are involved at the same time.
Our role is to work out what appears most relevant to you rather than simply focus on one painful structure.
Physiotherapy can help you understand the problem, improve movement and progressively rebuild your hip’s ability to cope with everyday activity, exercise or sport.
Your plan may include:
If the hip feels stiff or certain movements are restricted, we can work on restoring movement where appropriate.
Building strength around the hips, glutes and lower body can be an important part of rehabilitation.
Exercises are selected around your assessment and progressed as your strength and confidence improve.
Hands-on treatment may be useful for some people alongside active rehabilitation.
We can help you understand how much activity your hip is currently tolerating and how to build up gradually.
If your goal is running, gym training or sport, rehabilitation can progress towards those more demanding activities.
Walking places repeated demands through the hip.
If you notice pain during longer walks, after a certain distance or when walking uphill, we may look at factors such as:
The aim is to help you build confidence and increase what your hip can comfortably manage.
Some hip problems can become particularly noticeable at night.
You may find it uncomfortable to:
Night pain can have several causes.
An assessment can help determine which factors may be relevant and how best to manage them.
Pain around the outside of the hip is common.
It may be associated with irritation around the tendons and other tissues on the side of the hip.
You might notice discomfort when:
Rehabilitation often involves gradually rebuilding strength and tolerance rather than simply resting indefinitely.
Running can expose problems that aren’t obvious during everyday movement.
If symptoms appear when mileage increases, during faster sessions or after longer runs, we may look at:
Where appropriate, this can link into Summit’s dedicated Running Analysis service.
Hip pain doesn’t always mean you need to stop training completely.
You may notice symptoms during movements such as:
Sometimes changes to load, depth, volume or exercise selection can allow you to stay active while your hip improves.
Your physiotherapist can help you decide which movements are appropriate and how to rebuild gradually.
Hip osteoarthritis can cause pain, stiffness and reduced confidence with movement.
Symptoms may include:
A diagnosis of osteoarthritis doesn’t automatically mean you should stop exercising.
For many people, appropriately progressed strengthening and movement can form an important part of maintaining function and confidence.
Your plan may focus on:
Physiotherapy is commonly used following hip surgery.
Depending on your procedure and the guidance from your surgical team, rehabilitation may focus on:
This may include rehabilitation after procedures such as hip replacement.
Pain around the hip, buttock or upper leg doesn’t always come directly from the hip.
Some lower back problems can refer symptoms into similar areas.
Your assessment may therefore include both the hip and lower back to help us understand where symptoms may be coming from.
If your main symptoms are centred around the lower back, our Back Pain page may also be useful.
We consider your hip, lower back, movement, strength, activity and goals together.
We want to understand what appears to be contributing before deciding what you need.
Exercises can develop as your hip becomes stronger and more capable.
Walking more comfortably, returning to the gym and getting back to running require different rehabilitation plans.
Choose the Summit location that works best for you.
Wrightington Hotel & Country Club
Moss Lane
Wigan
Greater Manchester
WN6 9PB
Not always.
Some hip problems may benefit from temporarily reducing certain activities, but complete rest is not necessarily the best approach.
Your physiotherapist can help you understand what you can continue doing.
Often, yes.
The amount you can comfortably manage will depend on the problem and severity of your symptoms.
You may need to adjust distance, pace or frequency for a period of time.
In many cases, yes.
Exercise often forms part of rehabilitation, although some movements or loads may need modifying.
Potentially.
You may still be able to train while changing certain exercises, loads or ranges of movement temporarily.
Pain on the outside of the hip can sometimes become more noticeable when lying directly on that side.
Assessment can help determine what appears to be contributing.
No.
Hip pain can have many different causes, including muscles, tendons, joints, previous injury and referred symptoms from the back.
Physiotherapy may help people with hip osteoarthritis by focusing on movement, strength, walking tolerance and activity management..
Long periods of sitting can make some hip conditions feel stiff when you first stand up.
Mobility, joint sensitivity and strength may all be relevant.
Yes.
Lower back problems can sometimes refer symptoms into the hip, buttock or upper leg.
This is one reason we may assess both areas.
Not everyone with hip pain needs imaging.
Your physiotherapist can assess your symptoms and advise whether further medical investigation may be appropriate.
There isn’t one standard timeframe.
It depends on the type of problem, how long it has been present and the activities you want to return to.
In most cases, you can book private physiotherapy directly.
If you’re using medical insurance, check whether your provider requires a referral or authorisation.
Seek prompt medical advice if:
If you’re unsure about the severity of your symptoms, seek appropriate medical advice.
Whether hip pain is affecting walking, sleep, work, exercise or sport, start by understanding what’s going on.
We’ll assess the problem, explain what we find and help you build the movement, strength and confidence to move forward.
