Eating for two

Hip pain management: How to diagnose and treat discomfort in the hip area

20 February 2020

Louis Stone

Hip pain is a more common occurrence than many people think. Whether your sport involves lots of jumping, sudden stops, or twisting/turning, you may experience pain in different areas of your hip. Some encounter discomfort on the outer hip area (lateral pain), while others struggle with soreness as a ring along the inner and outer hip region.

Hip pain may significantly affect your performance on the field in many different ways. You may struggle with balancing on one leg, walking/running at an optimal speed, or jumping and landing. This is why understanding the cause of your hip pain and getting timely treatment is critical for sports players.   

What's causing your hip pain?

The best way to diagnose the cause of hip pain is by understanding your hip bone and the muscles surrounding it. Your hip bone extends from the groin area to where it connects to the knee. This entire area is critical for any athlete, as it allows you to lift your knees, bend, and sit down when necessary.

There are many muscles and tendons that attach to the hip bone and support movement. Injury to any of these muscles or tendons may result in chronic hip pain. For example, soreness in any of the 3 outer thigh muscles that support your hip bone may result in hip pain.  

Tendon damage is another common cause of discomfort. This may occur after hyperextending a tendon, direct impact from another object/player, or the breakdown of tissue following long periods of heavy physical activity. Any repetitive movement that causes vertical or cross-sectional tension on hip muscles/tendons may result in hip pain. So how can you diagnose the exact cause of discomfort in this area?

1. Try to locate where your hip pain is coming from

The first step is to identify where your pain is coming from. You may experience discomfort in the outer hip region, on the inside area near your groin, or along the front muscles that support your hip bone.

Each origin of pain indicates injury to different sets of muscles/tendons. For example, outer hip pain may be caused by damage to the tendons that support your gluteus muscles.

2. Explore the potential causes

After location, the next step is identifying causes. Try to think of the activities you may carry out that worsen hip pain. For example, lying on the side of your hip may accelerate tendon damage to the gluteus trio of muscles. Excessive running and sharp turns may also overload the hip tissue and cause pain.

By working with a physiotherapist, you can accurately locate the origin of hip pain and identify what's causing it to get worse. Furthermore, your physiotherapist may recommend hot/cold therapy on sore muscles or rolling exercises along the groin area to build endurance. Reach out to a physiotherapy clinic to learn more.

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