What Does Hip Bursitis Feel Like?

When your hip (or hips) hurt, everyday activities get much more difficult and your quality of life suffers, no matter how old you are. But because there are so many different causes of hip pain, there are nearly countless explanations and recommendations for hip pain relief online that may or may not be right for the condition you’re experiencing.

One way to narrow down your search is to ask yourself what your pain really feels like, which can direct you toward a more easy-to-understand diagnosis. The best way to know what’s causing your pain and how to treat it is by seeing a physical therapist, but for now, we’ll walk through a common cause of chronic and noticeable hip pain: hip bursitis.

What is hip bursitis?

Hip bursitis is an inflammation of the bursae in the hip region. Bursae are small, fluid-filled sacs that cushion and reduce friction between bones and soft tissues throughout the body. They’re like mini shock absorbers for your joints, ensuring smooth movement and preventing bone-on-bone contact.

These bursae can become inflamed, however, which leads to the pain and discomfort of hip bursitis. The hip joint is one of the largest and the most flexible in the body, allowing a wide range of movement necessary for activities like walking, running, and even sitting. However, this flexibility also makes it vulnerable to stress and injuries.

Something that can be confusing when researching hip bursitis is that it’s a general term that includes other related conditions, including trochanteric bursitis. Trochanteric bursitis describes hip bursitis that affects a specific bursa located at the outer part of the hip, near the greater trochanter bone.

While trochanteric bursitis falls under the umbrella of hip bursitis, it has unique characteristics and may require different treatment approaches compared to other forms of hip bursitis.

What does bursitis of the hip feel like?

Hip bursitis symptoms definitely vary from person to person, especially considering some causes of hip bursitis are from chronic conditions and others are from injury or damage to the hip region.

In general, hip bursitis can feel like a persistent ache or sharp pain on the outer part of the hip. This discomfort can extend to the thigh and buttock areas, making everyday activities like climbing stairs or even lying down on the affected side uncomfortable. The pain might start as a mild annoyance but can escalate to a sharp, intense sensation that disrupts sleep or everyday routines.

Like other musculoskeletal disorders and joint pain, pain from hip bursitis can radiate to other areas of the body. For example, pain may shoot down the leg or into the lower back, leading people to mistake it for sciatica, which has a much different treatment plan than hip bursitis. This radiating pain can make self-diagnosis and self-treatment difficult for hip conditions.

When meeting with a physical therapist, they’ll ask you about what worsens or helps the pain that you experience to gain valuable clues about the true underlying condition. We utilize both your internal experience of hip pain symptoms as well as external evaluations and tests to decide exactly how to treat your hip pain.

Hip pain treatments with physical therapy

Because hip bursitis can disguise itself as other types of hip pain or disorders, we always recommend seeing a certified physical therapist to listen to your symptoms and perform an evaluation to give you the most accurate, targeted, and effective treatment so you can get back to your normal life.

The tried-and-true methods of physical therapy are both evidence-based and personalized to your pain and preference for treatment. Most hip bursitis patients use some of the following techniques to get relief and prevent future pain:

• Activity/hobby modification
• Hip flexibility stretches
• Hip strengthening exercises
• Massage therapy
• Ice and heat therapy

Start the path to recovery from hip pain today

At Advent Physical Therapy, we want to make it as easy as possible for people to find relief from the conditions that affect them daily. Hip pain is no joke and can affect anyone from seasoned athletes to people experiencing the effects of the aging process. No matter what level of fitness you might be at, we are here to help. Start a conversation with our team about your symptoms and what you can expect from treatment by calling a Grand Rapids clinic or by requesting your appointment online today.