There are two common exercises that people do to help hip bursitis that may actually make the problem worse. Watch the video below to learn which exercises to avoid with hip bursitis and what to do instead.
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What Is Hip Bursitis?
Hip bursitis refers to inflammation of the bursae around the hip joint.
Bursae are fluid-filled sacs that reduce friction between tissues of the body.
There are two major bursae in the hip: one located between the hip bone (greater trochanter) and the gluteus medius tendon, and the other between the hip bone and the IT band.
Activities such as sitting with legs crossed, standing with more weight on one leg, or walking with weak leg muscles can over-stretch these tendons and lead to inflammation of the bursae or tendons.
Exercises To Avoid With Hip Bursitis
Often, when something hurts, our first instinct is to stretch it. However, overstretching can further aggravate the problem. Here are two exercises you should avoid if you have hip bursitis.
Exercise To Avoid #1: Glute Stretch
Many people try to relieve hip pain by performing a glute stretch, bringing the leg across the body.
While this might provide a temporary "hurts but feels good" sensation, it can aggravate the problem if the muscles are already overstretched.
Therefore, it's best to avoid stretching your leg across your body if you have hip bursitis or gluteal tendinopathy.
Exercise To Avoid #2: IT Band Stretch
The IT band stretch involves crossing one leg in front of the other and pushing the hip out to the side.
The IT band is a long, strong structure that connects the hip muscles to the outside of the knee. It is not designed to be stretched. Instead, this exercise can worsen the problem by stretching the gluteal muscles, which may already be overstressed.
Exercises To Help Hip Bursitis
Instead of stretching, focus on strengthening the muscles around the hip to provide better support and stability.
Single Leg Stance
Practicing standing on one leg helps strengthen the gluteal muscles.
Weak gluteal muscles can cause the hip to drop, overstretching the tendons.
To perform this exercise:
- Stand on two legs and load your weight over to one side.
- Squeeze your gluteal muscles to keep your pelvis level.
- Lift the other foot off the floor without letting your pelvis drop.
- Use a mirror to ensure your pelvis remains level.
- Hold on to a counter, table, or chair if needed.
Walking With Hip Bursitis
Walking can be challenging for those with hip bursitis due to muscle fatigue and subsequent tendon irritation.
When walking, focus on squeezing your gluteal muscles on the side you're stepping on to keep your pelvis level.
This can help prevent the tendons from rubbing and causing pain.
Walking With A Cane For Hip Bursitis
If you experience pain while walking, using a cane can provide additional support.
Although most people don't like the thought of using a cane, doing so helps assist your hip muscles so that you can walk longer without pain.
By doing so, you'll build the strength and endurance in your hip muscles so that over time, you can get rid of the cane and walk pain-free without it.
Here's how to use a cane properly:
- Use the cane on the opposite side of the sore leg.
- Move the cane at the same time as the sore leg to offload weight.
- Use just enough pressure to keep your pelvis level.
- Gradually reduce the amount of pressure on the cane as you get stronger.
Remember, the goal of using a cane for hip bursitis is NOT to make it a crutch that you become dependent on for the rest of your life.
The goal is to use it on a temporary basis to allow your hip tendons and bursa to heal and your muscles to get stronger.
DMI Sports Walking Cane and Stick for Ad...
Additional Things to Avoid With Hip Bursitis
Avoid activities that cause hip adduction and stretch the muscles over the outside of the hip, such as:
- Sitting with your legs crossed
- Sitting with your knees together.
- Lying on your side with one leg draped over the other.
- Standing primarily with your weight shifted over one leg.
Tips to Release Knots In Hip Muscles
Sometimes, the hip muscles may feel tight due to knots or trigger points in individual muscle fibers even if the muscle itself is overstretched.
Self-Massage and Myofascial Release
To release these knots without further stretching, you can try self-massage techniques or other methods to target the trigger points directly.
Learn more about how to do that on your own in this post: Relieve Annoying, Achy Pain in Outer Hip Joint and Glute Muscles
Dry Needling for Hip Bursitis
Furthermore, dry needling can be very effective to relieve pain from hip bursitis.
We often find that patients get significant relief in as little as 1 session of dry needling.
It's still important to strengthen the hip muscles so that the pain doesn't come back.
However, if you live in the St. Louis area and would like to find out how to relieve hip bursitis pain as quickly as possible, plus what to do to keep it from coming back in the future, we'd be happy to help you.
Tap the button below to request an appointment with one of our specialists.
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