Why do my hips hurt?
Where the hip hurts tells you most of what you need. Pain on the bony point at the outside is usually tendon irritation; pain in the groin points at the joint itself; pain at the back is often the lower back or glutes referring. The three need quite different approaches.
Hip pain, in plain terms
“Hip pain” covers at least three separate problems that people routinely confuse, and the treatments partly contradict each other — which is why generic hip advice so often makes things worse.
Pick whichever of these sounds most like yours. The answer is different for each, and the fix follows the cause.
Find your version
Outside of the hip, worst lying on it at night
Gluteal tendinopathy. Very common, very treatable, and made worse by the stretches everyone instinctively reaches for.
Deep in the groin, worse on rotation
Points at the joint itself. Worth getting assessed rather than self-managing.
Front of the hip, pinching when I bend
Often a movement pattern issue and frequently improves quickly with technique changes.
Stiff and achy after sitting
The most ordinary version. Hip flexors settling short and glutes going quiet.
Whichever version is yours, see a doctor first if
- The pain began after a fall, a crash, or a direct blow
- You have numbness, pins and needles, or weakness anywhere
- The area is hot, red, or swollen, or you have a fever
- The pain is worst at night and doesn’t ease in any position
- You have unexplained weight loss or a history of cancer
- Hip pain following a fall, especially over sixty — assume fracture until it’s ruled out
These are uncommon, but they point to problems that movement work won’t touch and that get harder to treat the longer they wait.