Managing Hip Pain Through Modifications and Exercise

Modify Recreational and Daily Activity

• Avoid exercises involving repetitive hip flexion, the motion involving bringing your hip or leg up toward your chest.
• If doing squats, keep them shallow and hold off on lunges entirely, until you receive a diagnosis from your doctor.
• Do not work through pain.
• When walking or running, pay attention to pain. If the discomfort accompanies running, then stop. If it occurs with walking, lessen your stride length by taking smaller steps.
• To minimize pain while sitting, open the seat angle so that your knees are below your hips while maintaining good upright posture.

Core Strength Exercise for Hip Pain

Because of the complex nature of a hip injury, a proper diagnosis is required before proper strengthening exercises can be recommended. In fact, with some hip injuries, routine strengthening and stretching might complicate the problem. However, a core strength exercise won't harm and can actually help to "re-educate" the lower abdominals so that they provide the best support.

• Lie with knee bent up.
• Maintain a neutral/comfortable spine position.
• Gently tighten your lower abdominals initiating from the pelvic floor. If you are familiar with a Kegel exercise, perform a Kegel.
• Tighten up the lower abdominals by gently pulling "up and in" without moving your trunk.
• Hold 5 seconds without changing your breathing pattern.
• Complete 3 sets of 10 repetitions, 5 times a week.