Dealing with a sore hip that flares up when you walk, climb stairs, or lie on your side? Hip bursitis can be frustrating, especially when it stops you from doing the things you love. Here’s the thing – physiotherapy is one of the most effective treatments for hip bursitis, with studies showing over 90% recovery success with conservative treatments including physio.
How Physiotherapy Helps Hip Bursitis
Physiotherapy tackles hip bursitis by addressing both the symptoms and the root causes. Your physio will work to reduce pain, improve your hip’s range of motion, strengthen the muscles around your hip, and restore normal movement patterns. What we see in our clinic is that a combination approach works best – manual therapy techniques like massage and stretching, targeted strengthening exercises, progressive loading to build strength, and education on how to modify activities and improve posture.
Other treatments your physiotherapist might use include ice therapy, ultrasound, or dry needling to decrease inflammation and pain. The goal isn’t just to get you feeling better temporarily – it’s to help your body heal properly and prevent the problem from coming back.
What Your Physiotherapist Will Do
When you come in for hip bursitis treatment, here’s what you can expect:
Thorough Assessment: Your physio will evaluate how you move, your posture, muscle flexibility, strength, and biomechanics to identify what’s causing your bursitis. This isn’t just about the hip – we often find issues with foot mechanics, core strength, or movement patterns that contribute to the problem.
Pain and Inflammation Management: Using techniques like ice packs, ultrasound, dry needling, and electrotherapy to reduce your pain and inflammation. These treatments help calm things down so you can start moving better.
Hands-On Manual Therapy: This includes massage and joint mobilisations to improve flexibility and reduce muscle tightness around your hip. Manual therapy helps restore proper movement and can provide immediate relief.
Targeted Exercise Program: You’ll receive specific stretches to improve flexibility and strengthening exercises for the muscles supporting your hip. These aren’t generic exercises – they’re chosen based on your individual assessment.
Progressive Loading: As your symptoms improve, your physiotherapist will gradually increase the intensity of your exercises. This progressive approach helps strengthen your hip and surrounding muscles without aggravating your condition.
Addressing Muscle Imbalances: Correcting muscle imbalances and improving flexibility reduces pressure on the inflamed bursa. Often, tight hip flexors or weak glutes contribute to bursitis.
Education and Activity Modification: You’ll learn how to modify your activities to avoid aggravating the condition and receive practical advice on sleep positions and movement patterns that support healing.
Biomechanical Correction: Your physio might suggest orthotic insoles or specific exercises to correct poor foot mechanics that could be contributing to your hip problems.
Types of Exercises You Might Do
Your exercise program will be tailored to your specific needs, but here are some common exercises we use:
Stretches for Flexibility: Stretches target tight muscles like the hip flexors, gluteals, and hamstrings that often contribute to hip bursitis.
Strengthening Exercises: These build strength in your hip and supporting muscles:
Hip abductions: Lifting one leg out to the side while standing
Hip extensions: Extending one leg back and up from a hands-and-knees position
Side-lying leg lifts: Lying on your side and lifting the top leg straight up
Clamshells: Lying on your side with knees bent and lifting the top knee while keeping your feet together
Band walks: Using a resistance band around your knees or ankles and taking steps to the side
Balance and Stability Work: Balance exercises improve overall hip stability and help prevent future injuries.
Corrective Exercises: These address any specific muscle imbalances or movement patterns contributing to your condition.
Key Goals of Your Treatment
Our physiotherapists focus on five main goals when treating hip bursitis:
- Decrease pain in your hip so you can get back to daily activities
- Increase your hip’s range of motion for better movement
- Strengthen the muscles around your hip for better support and stability
- Retrain any problematic movement patterns that contributed to the problem
- Return you to your previous activity levels safely without fear of re-injury
Getting Started
Hip bursitis responds well to early intervention. The sooner you address the problem, the quicker you’ll recover and the less likely it is to become a chronic issue. What we’ve found in our clinic is that patients who start physiotherapy early often see significant improvements within a few weeks.
If you’re dealing with hip pain that’s affecting your daily activities, sleep, or exercise routine, don’t wait for it to get worse. Our experienced physiotherapists can assess your condition, develop a personalised treatment plan, and get you back on your feet.
Ready to sort out your hip pain? Book an assessment with one of our experienced physiotherapists today.
