Hip pain can disrupt everything from your morning walk to your favorite hobbies. But the good news is that most hip discomfort isn’t inevitable — it’s often the result of preventable factors. By understanding how your hips work and building proactive strategies into daily life, you can protect your joints, stay active and enjoy lifelong mobility.
This guide walks you through the root causes of hip pain, targeted exercises for hip strength, smart lifestyle habits and when to seek professional help — empowering you to take charge of your joint health.
Why Do Hips Hurt? Uncovering the Common Causes
The hip is a powerful ball-and-socket joint, cushioned by cartilage and supported by a network of muscles and tendons. When any part of this system is stressed or out of balance, pain can develop.
Overuse Injuries
Repetitive movements or sudden increases in activity can inflame the tendons or bursae, leading to pain and swelling. Overuse injuries are common in athletes, runners and those with physically demanding jobs.
Conditions include:
- Bursitis is a painful condition involving inflammation of a bursa — a fluid-filled sac — in the hip.
- Tendonitis is the inflammation or degeneration of hip tendons, caused by repetitive strain or trauma.
- Hip strain occurs when the muscles or tendons supporting the hip joint are overstretched or torn.
- Labral tears affect the ring of cartilage that cushions the hip joint and helps keep the thighbone securely in the hip socket.
Muscle Imbalances and Weakness
Imbalances often develop from prolonged sitting or favoring one side of the body. This can result in weakened or tight muscles around the hips that force the joint to compensate, increasing strain and risk of injury.
Common causes include:
- Repeated slouching and crossing legs
- Improper lifting techniques
- Poor biomechanics during exercise or daily activities
- Age-related wear and tear can erode the cartilage
Fortunately, early intervention and joint health strategies can prevent or help manage hip pain.
Foundational Exercises for Hip Strength and Mobility
Strong, flexible muscles are your hips’ best defense against pain and injury. By targeting key muscle groups, you can stabilize the joint, improve movement and reduce your risk of future problems. Here are some foundational exercises for hip strength:
Glute Bridges
Glute bridges are ideal if you’re a beginner, returning to exercise after a break, have limited mobility or want a low-impact way to activate your gluteal region and build foundational strength:
- Lie flat, knees bent and feet on the ground, hip-width apart.
- Press down toward your heels and raise your hips upward, squeezing your butt muscles (glutes).
- Hold for two to three seconds, then lower slowly.
- Repeat 10-15 times.
Glute bridges strengthen the gluteus maximus, a primary hip extensor — a muscle that moves the thigh backward — supporting joint stability and reducing lower back strain.
Clamshells
Clamshells can strengthen hips, legs, glutes and the pelvis, helping to ease lower back tension:
- Lie on your side with your knees bent and feet together.
- Keeping your feet touching, lift your upper knee as high as possible without rotating your pelvis.
- Lower your leg slowly and repeat 12-15 times on each side.
Clamshells activate the hip abductors — the gluteus medius — which are crucial for pelvic stability and injury prevention.
Hip Flexor Stretch
The hip flexor stretch is designed to lengthen the hip flexor muscles, located at the front of the hip, which can become tight from prolonged sitting or activity, causing pain:
- Kneel on one knee with the other foot in front, forming a 90-degree angle.
- Gently shift your weight forward until you feel a stretch in the front of your hip.
- Hold for 20-30 seconds, then switch sides.
Hip flexor stretches help to release tight hip flexors after sitting for long periods of time, improving mobility and reducing compensatory strain.
Standing Hip Abductions
This exercise strengthens the hip abductor muscles, which are crucial for hip strength, stability during walking and balance:
- Stand tall, holding onto a chair for balance.
- Lift one leg out to the side without moving your torso.
- Gently lower and repeat 10 times per leg.
When performed regularly, this exercise may prevent muscle imbalances and help maintain a full range of motion.
Figure-4 Stretch
This is a stretch that targets the glutes and hip muscles, particularly the piriformis — a thick, flat muscle that is the most superficial among the deep gluteal muscles:
- Lie on the floor, cross one ankle over the other knee.
- Gently move the uncrossed leg in the direction of your chest, stretching the hip and glute.
- Hold for 20-30 seconds, then switch sides.
Figure-4 stretches can improve flexibility in the hip rotators and glutes, reducing tension and easing back pain or sciatica affecting nerves that run down the lower back into the legs.
Smart Lifestyle Habits for Maintaining Hip Health
Small, daily choices can have a big impact on your hips over time. By making a few smart adjustments, you can reduce stress on your joints and set yourself up for long-term comfort and mobility.
The Importance of Weight Management
Every extra pound of body weight adds three to four pounds of pressure to your hip joints with each step. In addition, fat cells release proteins into the body that cause inflammation. Maintaining a healthy weight reduces wear and tear, lowers inflammation and helps prevent osteoarthritis.
Choosing the Right Footwear
Unsupportive, ill-fitting shoes can alter your gait, leading to misalignment and increased hip stress. Look for shoes with:
- Good arch support
- Cushioned soles
- A snug but not tight fit
- Avoid high heels
Hydration and Anti-Inflammatory Nutrition
Short-term inflammation after a joint injury is a normal part of healing, but chronic inflammation can happen when the immune system mistakenly attacks the joints, leading to ongoing pain, swelling, stiffness and progressive joint damage that can become irreversible.
Hip pain prevention tips include keeping well hydrated and following a healthy anti-inflammatory diet, avoiding processed and fried or grilled foods.
Examples of anti-inflammatory foods:
- Omega-3 fatty acids: Fatty fish, nuts, seeds and canola oil.
- Vitamin C: Fruits, including citrus, and vegetables like bell peppers.
- Polyphenols: Colorful, plant-based foods, whole grains and olive oil, coffee, tea and dark chocolate.
- Gut-healthy foods: Rich in probiotics and prebiotics like yogurt, Jerusalem artichokes, asparagus and bananas.
The Overlooked Link Between Your Spine and Hips
Your hips do not work in isolation — they form a kinetic chain with the spine and pelvis as its central point. When one link in this chain is out of alignment, the others are forced to compensate, often resulting in pain or dysfunction:
- A misaligned pelvis or lower back can change the way your hips move, increasing strain on muscles and joints.
- Subtle spinal issues can cause uneven leg length, altered gait and chronic hip discomfort.
To prevent hip pain and maintain healthy joints, proper alignment, strength and coordination of the lumbo-pelvic-hip complex (LPHC) are important for optimizing function and promoting overall musculoskeletal health.
LPHC exercises focus on improving core strength, hip function and overall body alignment. Movements include:
- Kneeling hip flexor
- Standing adductor
- Single-leg bridges
- Clamshell exercises
- Hip extensions
Exercise interventions should always be tailored to individual needs to avoid injury or aggravating existing comorbid musculoskeletal health conditions. A thorough musculoskeletal assessment by a chiropractor looks beyond the site of pain to identify root causes and ensure lasting relief or prevention.
When Is It Time to See a Professional?
While many hip issues can be managed with self-care, some signs indicate it’s time to seek expert help. Don’t ignore these red flags — early intervention can prevent more serious problems down the road.
Seek help when:
- Pain persists for more than a week.
- Pain disrupts sleep or daily activities.
- Pain is accompanied by a clicking or popping sound.
- Limited range of motion that doesn’t improve with stretching.
- Swelling, redness or warmth around the joint.
Take Control of Your Joint Health at Thrive Chiropractic Group
The best approach to lifelong hip health is a personalized one. At Thrive Chiropractic Group, our expert team is dedicated to helping you move beyond pain and toward lasting mobility.
We provide comprehensive evaluations to identify the root cause of your hip issues, from muscle imbalances to spinal alignment problems. Our care plans are tailored to your unique needs, combining chiropractic therapy for hip pain, targeted exercises and long-term joint health strategies.
If you’re ready to move past hip pain and invest in your long-term mobility, explore our chiropractic services on our website or schedule a consultation with our caring team today.
