Try these exercises to help with hip tendinitis (2023)

If you havehip pain, you may have hip tendinitis. The pain can be caused by irritation of the tendons and muscles that surround your hip. Hip flexor tendonitis can cause you to have trouble walking, running, or climbing stairs normally. Sometimes simply getting up from a chair with hip tendinitis is difficult.

If you have hip tendinitis, you may benefitExercise to relieve your pain. Exercise for hip tendinitis can help strengthen muscles, provide more support to your hip joint, and improve your ability to move normally.

Once the pain in your hip has subsided, exercise can be your number one tool in preventing future hip tendinitis problems. Other conditions, likeHüftarthroseortrochanterische Bursitis, can also be managed successfully with practice.

Many people benefit from working with aphysiotherapistfor hip tendinitis.Your therapist can assess your condition and prescribe the right exercises for you.

The hip joint and tendonitis

Your hip is a ball joint. The ball is located at the top of your thigh bone and fits into a socket in your pelvis. Severalribbonshold bones together and muscles help move your hips.

Muscles are attached to your hip bones by tendons, and overusing these tendons can cause pain and inflammation. Inflammation is your body's normal healing mechanism for injured tissue and causes chemical and mechanical changes to the affected tendons.

The chemicals involved in the inflammatory process can cause pain in the injured tissue. That is a good thing. Pain causes you to limit your movement and allow healing.

If you have hip pain, you should see your doctor for an evaluation. They can examine your hip, conduct diagnostic studies, e.gX-raysorMagnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and determine if hip tendinitis is causing your pain.

Treatment of your condition should focus on gaining weightfreedom of movementand hip strength.These exercises are a great way to achieve that goal.

Hip flexor exercises for tendonitis

If you have hip tendinitis, you should exercise depending on the severity of your condition. If your tendinitis is acute, you may need to start slowly as pain can limit intense exercise.

You should choose exercises that focus on gaining pain-free movement and strength, like the hip flexor stretch, pelvic tilt, and standing glute crunch. For these exercises, perform a set of five to ten repetitions once a day.

As your pain subsides and your hip strength and mobility improves, you can add an exercise every few days until you can do all the exercises in one session.

As your pain improves, you can increase the number of sets and repetitions of each exercise. Two to three sets of 15 reps is a good goal.

Once your hip pain is better, the exercises can be practiced three to five times a week to maintain strength and mobility and prevent future problems with your hip tendinitis. Three sets of 15 to 20 repetitions are recommended to maintain hip health and prevent future cases of hip tendinitis or trochanteric bursitis.

Before beginning any exercise for hip tendinitis, consult with your doctor or physical therapist. You can rest assured that you are exercising properly and that the exercise is safe for you. Also, stop any exercise that causes pain or excessive strain while performing.

Standing butt squeeze

To do this exercise:

1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart (do not lock your knees). Keep your feet straight.
2. Remember to push the ground away from you with your heels. (Your feet won't actually move, but you should feel yoursGlutes on the sides of your hipsinsert.)
3. Hold the position for 10 to 30 seconds before releasing.
4. Relax for a second or two, then repeat 10 reps.

Isometric hip press

To do this exercise:

1. Lie on the floor with your knees bent and your feet on the floor directly under your knees.
2. Loop a belt or waist circle around your legs just above your knees.
3. Press against the belt or hip circle with the outside of your legs.
4. Hold the contraction for 10 to 30 seconds before releasing.
5. Relax and then repeat the contraction.

Pelvic tilt with marching

To do this exercise:

1. Lie on the floor with your knees bent and your feet on the floor directly under your knees.
2. As you exhale, push your lower back into the floor.
3. Slowly raise one leg with your knee bent, as if you are marching.
4. Hold your leg in this elevated position for five to 10 seconds before slowly lowering your foot back to the floor.
5. Repeat with your other leg as if you are marching. When marching, be sure to hold the pelvic tilt position.
6. Repeat 10 to 15 reps.

Hip/glute bridges

To do this exercise:

1. Lie on the floor with your knees bent and your feet on the floor directly under your knees.
2. Exhale, then pull your tailbone up (your lower back should be flat on the floor).
3. Continue pushing through your heels and using your glutes to lift your hips off the floor until your glutes are fully flexed and your body is in a straight line from shoulders to knees.
4. Slowly bring your back back to the floor, concentrating on lowering one bone at a time from your back to the floor.
5. Relax for a second, then repeat the movement for 10 to 15 reps.

Side leg raises while lying down

To do this exercise:

1. Lie on your right side. You can extend your right arm and rest your head on it, or lean on your right elbow with your forearm flat on the floor. Choose what helps you balance better.
2. Keep your left leg in line with your right and lift it about 15 inches off the floor.
3. Slowly bring your left leg back just above your right, still keeping it in line with your right leg.
4. Repeat leg raises for 10 to 15 reps, then switch sides.

scissors

To do this exercise:

1. Lie on the floor with your knees bent and your feet on the floor directly under your knees.
2. Lift your tailbone and lift your legs off the floor so your knees are directly over your hips and your lower legs are parallel to the floor.
3. While tightening your abs and glutes, slowly extend one leg and hold it there for five to ten seconds.
4. Slowly bring your leg back to the starting position before repeating with the other leg. (Note: As you extend the leg closer to the floor, it becomes more difficult. If you are just starting out, you may want to extend the leg higher off the floor.)
5. Repeat the exercise for five to ten repetitions.

Leg circles while lying down

To do this exercise:

1. Lie flat on your back on the floor with your legs stretched out.
2. Tighten your abs and glutes so your lower back is flat on the floor.
3. Lift one leg three inches off the floor. Make small circles with this leg, keeping it straight the whole time.
4. Perform five twists with one leg before bringing it back to the floor and repeating on the other leg.
5. Repeat leg circles for 10 reps on each leg.

hip flexor stretch

To do this exercise:

1. Kneel on one leg and place the other foot in front of you at a 90 degree angle. You can put a towel under your knee for more comfort.
2. Keep your back straight and tighten your glutes as you push your hips forward. Push forward until you feel a gentle stretch in the hip flexor on the front of your thigh on the leg with your knee on the floor.
3. Hold this stretch for 10 to 30 seconds before pushing your hips back to the starting position.
4. Switch legs and repeat five reps on each side.

Pro tip: Make sure your abs stay tight as you move forward to stretch your hip flexors.

A word from Verywell

If you have hip pain from tendonitis or trochanteric bursitis, you may benefit from exercise to improve your condition. Exercise is a safe and effective way to improve hip mobility and strength and reduce pain from hip tendinitis.

Exercises like those in this program can be done to treat hip tendinitis and can be an effective strategy to prevent it. This way you can be sure to maintain hip health and enjoy pain-free hip function.