Do you suffer from pain on the side of your hip?

Pain on the side of your hip is a very common issue, especially for people aged between 40-60 years old. Previously, bursitis was seen as the main source of this pain which involves inflammation within a fluid filled sac over the bone on the side of your hip. It is still a common self-diagnosis or diagnosis from Dr. Google that patients come in with. This results in the use of anti-inflammatory medication, ice and in some cases cortisone injections. Patients commonly would fail to improve or would have a relapse in symptoms after this type of interventions.

Evidence has shown that the fluid in the bursa is more of a result of the muscles around your hip, not directly from the bursa itself. The gluteus muscle group is the common cause of this problem with the condition being call a Gluteal Tendinopathy rather than bursitis.

So, what is the best management for this condition?

1.   Reducing excessive load through the tendon.

This could be from several things including walking, running, sporting load. This doesn’t necessary mean stopping completely, it can be just some tips around how much.

2.   Increasing the capacity of the tendon.

Getting the muscles and tendons around your hip stronger than you can do more activity before the symptoms occur. Strengthening exercises specific to your needs, goals and restrictions can be very important in the rehab of this condition.