--- title: "Hip Pain: Common Causes and Treatment" description: "Common causes of hip pain, from osteoarthritis and greater trochanteric pain syndrome to referred pain from the spine, and their treatment." date: 2026-10-24 lastmod: 2026-11-02 canonical: https://drmotiva.com/en/articles/hip-pain-causes/ lang: en --- # Hip Pain: Common Causes and Treatment “Hip pain” can mean pain in the groin, the outer side of the hip or the buttock. The location is an important clue to the cause. ## Common causes - **Hip osteoarthritis:** groin pain and stiffness, especially in older adults [3] - **Greater trochanteric pain syndrome:** pain on the outer side of the hip, often worse lying on that side; involves the gluteal tendons and bursa [1] - **Femoroacetabular impingement:** groin pain in younger, active people. See [Hip impingement](https://drmotiva.com/en/articles/hip-impingement/) - **Referred pain from the lower back:** buttock pain, sometimes radiating down the leg - Less commonly, stress fractures, avascular necrosis or inflammatory arthritis Further reading: the [guide “Hip Pain”](https://drmotiva.com/en/guides/hip-pain/) and the articles [Knee Osteoarthritis Treatment Without Surgery](https://drmotiva.com/en/articles/knee-osteoarthritis-without-surgery/) and [Hyaluronic Acid Injections for Knee Osteoarthritis](https://drmotiva.com/en/articles/hyaluronic-acid-knee-injections/). ## Treatment - **Osteoarthritis:** exercise, weight management and education are core treatments [4] - **Greater trochanteric pain syndrome:** education, load management, exercise; corticosteroid injection can give short-term relief and shockwave therapy may be considered [2] - Physiotherapy and pain medicines ## Where the pain is: a practical guide - **Groin or front of the hip:** usually points to a problem inside the joint, such as osteoarthritis, impingement or a labral tear - **Outer side of the hip:** typical of greater trochanteric pain syndrome (irritation of the gluteal tendons and the bursa, a small fluid-filled cushion, over the bony prominence at the side of the hip) - **Buttock:** often referred from the lower back or the sacroiliac joint (the joint between the spine’s base and the pelvis) - **Pain spreading below the knee with numbness or tingling:** suggests nerve-root irritation from the spine ## Assessment Your history (age, onset, activity, night pain) and examination of the hip, lower back and nerves are the key steps. A standing X-ray of the pelvis is often enough to show osteoarthritis. Ultrasound can show tendon and bursa problems. MRI is used when a stress fracture, avascular necrosis (loss of blood supply to the bone), labral damage or an unclear cause is suspected. Blood tests may be needed if inflammatory arthritis or infection is possible. ## Treatment approach Treatment depends on the diagnosis: - **Hip osteoarthritis:** a structured exercise programme, weight management if needed, a walking aid on the opposite side during flares, and pain medicines. Joint replacement is considered when severe pain and disability persist despite adequate non-surgical treatment - **Greater trochanteric pain syndrome:** reducing compression of the tendons (for example avoiding crossing the legs and lying on the painful side), and progressive gluteal strengthening. Exercise and education have been shown to give better results than a wait-and-see approach in the medium term [2] - **Spinal causes:** treated as back or nerve-root pain Exercise programmes are planned and progressed by your physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist and the physiotherapist. ## Home measures - Stay active with low-impact activities such as walking, cycling or swimming - Sleep with a pillow between the knees if lying on your side is painful - Avoid sitting in very low chairs if bending the hip hurts - Keep a healthy body weight to reduce the load on the hip ## Red flags Seek urgent care for hip pain after a fall (especially in older people or people with osteoporosis), inability to bear weight, fever with a hot painful joint, or severe, persistent night pain. Unexplained weight loss or a history of cancer also needs prompt assessment. ## When to see your physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist Seek assessment if pain is severe, keeps getting worse, wakes you at night or does not start to improve within a few weeks; if numbness, weakness or any warning sign appears; or if you are unsure what your test results mean. Your physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) specialist, a doctor trained to diagnose and treat musculoskeletal and nerve problems without surgery, examines you, explains the findings and plans treatment together with the physiotherapist. Whether injections or other advanced treatments are suitable for you is decided by a PM&R specialist after examination. Prof. Dr. Engin Çakar works in this field and can be consulted online or in person; otherwise, please consult a PM&R specialist near you. To make the most of the consultation, it helps to bring: - A short timeline of your symptoms and what makes them better or worse - A list of your medicines and other health conditions - Previous imaging (the images themselves, not only the reports), test results and treatment summaries - Your questions and goals, such as returning to work, sport or a particular activity ## Frequently asked questions **Is buttock pain always from the hip?** No. It often comes from the lower back or sacroiliac joint. **When is imaging needed?** When pain persists, after injury, or when a serious cause is suspected. See [L5-S1 disc herniation](https://drmotiva.com/en/articles/l5-s1-disc-herniation/). **Can hip problems cause knee pain?** Yes. Pain from the hip joint can be felt in the thigh and knee, so the hip should be examined when knee pain is unexplained. **Is hip pain in young adults usually osteoarthritis?** Not usually. In younger, active people impingement, labral problems, tendon problems and stress injuries are more common. ## Assessment and contact You can request an appointment or a second-opinion review of existing reports and imaging: [Contact & second opinion (WhatsApp)](https://drmotiva.com/go/wa?l=en&t=&loc=inline_contact&p=%2Fen%2Farticles%2Fhip-pain-causes%2F). This page is general health information. Diagnosis and treatment decisions are made individually after examination. ## Sources 1. Williams BS, et al. Greater trochanteric pain syndrome: a review of anatomy, diagnosis and treatment. Anesth Analg. 2009. [PMID: 19372352](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19372352/) 2. Barratt PA, et al. Conservative treatments for greater trochanteric pain syndrome: a systematic review. Br J Sports Med. 2017. [PMID: 27834675](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27834675/) 3. Hunter DJ, et al. Osteoarthritis. Lancet. 2019. [PMID: 31034380](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31034380/) 4. Bannuru RR, et al. OARSI guidelines for the non-surgical management of knee, hip, and polyarticular osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis Cartilage. 2019. [PMID: 31278997](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31278997/)