Hip pain can affect everything from walking and climbing stairs to sleeping comfortably at night. The hip is a large, weight-bearing joint that we rely on with almost every step, so when it becomes painful it is quickly noticed. At Back in Action in Penwortham, we care for people across Preston and Lancashire with hip pain, using drug-free, hands-on treatment and practical advice to ease symptoms and restore comfortable movement.
Understanding hip pain
The hip is a ball-and-socket joint where the top of the thigh bone sits within a deep socket in the pelvis. It is built for both stability and movement, supported by strong muscles, ligaments and a network of tendons. Because it carries so much load and is used so constantly, the hip and the structures around it are common sources of pain. Most hip pain is mechanical, relating to how the joint and surrounding tissues move and load rather than to serious disease.
Where pain is felt can be a useful clue. True hip-joint pain is often felt in the groin or deep in the front of the hip, while pain on the outer side may come from the tendons and soft tissues around the joint. Pain can also be referred to the hip area from the lower back, which is one reason a thorough assessment looks beyond the hip itself.
Hip pain affects a broad range of people. We see active runners and walkers whose training has outpaced their conditioning, people whose work involves a lot of standing or lifting, and older patients noticing that everyday movements have become stiffer or more uncomfortable. It can come on gradually, with no obvious trigger, or follow a specific strain or increase in activity. Understanding how your particular pain developed is part of working out what is driving it.
What hip pain can feel like
Hip pain varies considerably depending on what is involved. You might notice:
- Pain in the groin or front of the hip, often worse with weight-bearing
- Pain on the outer side of the hip, sometimes tender to lie on at night
- Stiffness and reduced movement, particularly first thing in the morning
- Difficulty with stairs, getting in and out of a car, or putting on socks and shoes
- An ache that spreads towards the buttock, thigh or knee
The pattern of your symptoms — where the pain is, what brings it on, and how it behaves through the day — helps point to the likely source, and understanding that is the first step towards helping it. It is also common for more than one structure to be involved, particularly when a problem has been present for a while, which is another reason a careful assessment is worthwhile.
Common causes and risk factors
Hip pain has many possible causes. Common contributors include:
- Wear-and-tear changes in the joint, such as osteoarthritis
- Irritation of the tendons around the hip, sometimes called hip tendonitis
- Inflammation of the fluid-filled sacs that cushion the joint, such as trochanteric bursitis
- Problems involving the hip, groin and pelvis together
- Referred pain from the lower back, or muscular tightness and imbalance
- Overuse, a sudden increase in activity, or the demands of a physical job
Often it is a combination of factors rather than one alone — for example, a period of reduced activity leaving the supporting muscles weaker, followed by a sudden increase in walking or exercise. Part of our assessment is identifying which of these factors is most likely for you, so that care can be directed sensibly rather than by guesswork.
When to seek help
Much hip pain settles with the right care and time, but some situations need prompt medical attention. Please seek urgent care if your hip pain follows a significant fall or injury, if you cannot bear weight or the leg appears shortened or turned out (which can suggest a fracture), or if the joint is hot, swollen and red with a fever, which can indicate infection. You should also see your GP for hip pain that is severe, steadily worsening, or accompanied by feeling generally unwell or unexplained weight loss.
Does hip pain mean I will need a replacement?
It is a common worry, particularly for those who have been told they have some wear in the joint, but the answer for most people is no. Plenty of hip pain has nothing to do with the joint surface at all, arising instead from tendons, muscles or referred pain that respond well to conservative care. Even where there are arthritic changes, many people manage very well for years with the right combination of movement, strengthening and hands-on care, and surgery is generally considered only when symptoms are severe and other measures have been exhausted. Findings on a scan do not always match how much pain someone has, so it is the whole picture that matters, not a label.
How chiropractic care can help with hip pain
Joint pain, including pain in the hip, is among the conditions chiropractors are recognised as able to care for. Following a thorough assessment — including the lower back and pelvis, since these are closely linked to the hip — our hands-on, drug-free care may include manipulation and mobilisation, soft-tissue work to ease tension around the joint, and a graded exercise programme to restore movement and build supporting strength.
Because we are a multi-practitioner clinic, we can also draw on physiotherapy for rehabilitation, which is often central to lasting improvement in the hip. We will always be honest about what care can realistically offer, and we will recognise when a problem needs imaging or onward referral.
Strengthening deserves particular emphasis with the hip. The joint relies heavily on the surrounding muscles — the glutes in particular — for stability and control, and weakness or imbalance in these is a frequent factor in hip pain. Hands-on care can help ease symptoms and restore movement, which in turn makes it possible to do the strengthening work that produces lasting change. Getting that balance right, and progressing it sensibly as you improve, is a large part of how we approach the hip.
What to expect at Back in Action
Your first visit is mostly about understanding your hip pain. We will take a careful history — how it started, what aggravates it, and how it affects your daily life — and carry out a physical examination of the hip, lower back and how you move, including tests of strength and range of movement. We will explain what we have found in plain language and discuss whether chiropractic care is appropriate.
Our team includes practitioners with a range of techniques and special interests, so you can be matched to the right person and approach. You can read more on our new patients page, with current charges on the fees page. We will be realistic about the likely course of care and review your progress as we go.
We will also be clear about your own role in recovery. Much of the lasting improvement in hip pain comes from the exercises and activity changes you maintain between appointments, so we will give you clear, manageable guidance rather than a daunting list, and adjust it as you progress. If you are not improving as we would expect, we will say so and reconsider the approach rather than simply carrying on.
Helping yourself: self-care and prevention
There is a lot you can do to support a recovering hip, and gentle, regular movement is usually far better than avoiding activity altogether. Measures that often help include:
- Keeping the hip moving within comfortable limits rather than resting it completely
- Staying generally active — walking and swimming are often well tolerated
- Building strength in the hip and surrounding muscles gradually, ideally with guidance
- Managing your weight where relevant, since this reduces load on the joint
- Adjusting your sleeping position, for example a pillow between the knees, if night pain is a problem
Small, consistent changes often add up to a meaningful difference over time, and the right exercises depend a great deal on what is actually going on, which is why guidance matched to your assessment tends to be more effective than generic routines. If you would like advice tailored to you, we can build a safe, progressive exercise and self-care plan around your particular hip problem.
Related conditions and treatments
Hip pain often overlaps with other areas, and it can help to read about related problems such as hip, groin and pelvis pain, hip tendonitis, trochanteric bursitis and osteoarthritis. Because the lower back and hip are so closely linked, low back pain and sciatica are worth understanding too. The care we provide draws on approaches such as chiropractic manipulation and exercise and rehabilitation, and may form part of a wider plan alongside our chiropractic and physiotherapy services.
Take the first step
If hip pain is getting in the way of your life, you do not have to simply put up with it. We are happy to talk it through and help you understand your options. You can get in touch to book an appointment, or to ask any questions before your first visit.